Mixed Martial Arts

Robson de Olivera Soares (top) pushes Rene Catalan Jr on the floor during their match at the AFC 25 event at The Grand Ho Tram Strip in Bà Rịa Vũng Tàu Province on June 10. Soares won with a TKO. Photo of Cocky Buffalo

HÀ NỘI — Robson de Olivera Soares technically knocked out Rene Catalan Jr in the main card at the Angel's Fighting Championship 25 (AFC 25) at The Grand Ho Tram Strip in Bà Rịa Vũng Tàu Province on June 10.

Catalan of the Philippines was at his peak with nine wins from 10 recent matches and was favourite to beat Brazilian Soares, a three-time jujitsu champion.

The Filipino landed two consecutive high kicks on Soares but he successfully dodged the full blows and fought back.

The two fighters exchanged heavy punches in the first round of the flyweight (56kg) category.

In the second round, Soares wrested Catalan down to the floor and tightly locked his arm. Catalan tried his best to escape from the lock but struggled to get out of the Brazilian's grip.

Soares delivered a series of punches to the face of Catalan before the main judge decided to stop the match as he found the Filipino could not take anymore.

He announced a TKO for Soares who became famous after a controversial defeat to Vietnamese champion Trần Ngọc Lượng in the Lion Championship 5 on April 22 in HCM City.

Supporters at the AFC 25 night also witnessed four other knock-out results.

In the opening match, Rodrigo Caporal of Brazil and Burenzorig Batmunkh of Mongolia fought a fierce fight in the welterweight (77kg) class.

Batmunkh was a master of heavy sweep technique. He made use of his strong point to hurt Caporal's leg before delivering a left-leg kick on his rival who collapsed to his knees and was unable to continue.

Batmunkh secured his win when it was one minute to the end of the second round. It was his fourth TKO win in his career.

Later, South Korean Jang Bum-seok made the audience excited with his KO win after only two minutes in the light heavyweight (90kg) bout against Nosherwan Khanzada from Hong Kong.

Khanzada, who turned pro a decade ago, approached and wrested Jang down. But unfortunately, it was Jang who got an advantageous position when both were on the floor, he rose up and presented Khanzada with uncountable punches to easily wrapped up the match.

Phan Huy Hoàng (left) gets out of Tạ Quang Hải's lock and fights back at the AFC 25 event at The Grand Ho Tram Strip in Bà Rịa Vũng Tàu Province on June 10. — Photo of Cocky Buffalo

A fight between Vietnamese pair Phan Huy Hoàng and Tạ Quang Hải in the bantamweight (53kg) also ended with a KO.

Hải made a surprise arm lock against Hoàng early in the first round, but he was not experienced enough to convert his advantage into a win.

Hoàng escaped from the lock and hit back with a heavy punch to Hải who went down to the floor immediately.

A match between Mhar John Manahan of the Philippines and Kim Eui-jong of South Korea in the lightweight (70kg) class also ended in the first round.

Manahan was strong with his heavy punches while Kim's wrestling technique was remarkable. He locked Manahan's hand and kept punching the Filipino rival.

Kim was so moved by his TKO he burst into tears after the judge's announcement.

The only match that needed a judges' decision was in the bantamweight (53kg) class as Brazilian Felipe Negochadle won over South Korean Choi Han-gil on points.

Along with fierce matches, South Korean artists including famed singer Lee Dae-won livened up the night with their glittering performance of songs and dances.

The AFC 25 was organised by Cocky Buffalo, a leading gym in Việt Nam in managing and training fighters and organising tournaments, and AFC, a South Korean mixed martial arts promotion. VNS