(Sherdog.com)ONE Championship 30: What to Watch For RJ Gardner August 31, 2015 Events, Previews, Promotions, Spotlight On Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2015, ONE Championship heads to the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai, China for ONE Championship: Dynasty of Champions (Shanghai). Asia has a rich and vibrant MMA history, and while ONE Championship isn’t PRIDE FC by any means, it is a great alternative to the major promotions here in the US. ONE Championship’s roster is loaded with great talent and their fight cards are filled with exciting matchups. Soccer Kicks and Better Judging All of ONE Championship’s fights take place outside of the US and as such they utilize the Global MMA Rule Set. This is important to fans for one reason…soccer kicks. Kicks are allowed to the head of a grounded opponent and that makes the ground and pound in ONE Championship extremely exciting. In addition to the different rule set, ONE Championship utilizes a much better judging system. Rather than using the antiquated 10-point must system from boxing, judges score the whole fight; no individual round scoring just a decision of who won the fight. Top Asian Talent Steeped in a rich history of combat arts, Asia is overflowing with talented fighters. Watching ONE Championship is a great opportunity for American fans to see what the Far East has to offer. Four-Man One-Night Flyweight Tournament This marks the organization’s third trip to China and ONE Championship has a great treat for the local fans. Tuesday’s event will kick off with a four-man flyweight tournament that features some of China’s best undiscovered talent. The winners of the two semifinal matchups will meet later on Tuesday evening where a tournament champion will be crowned. Return of Roger Huerta After taking yet another year off, fan favorite Huerta will once again grace the cage of ONE Championship to take on Koji Ando. Even though Huerta is coming off of a win in his most recent outing, the former UFC standout’s career has not been pretty. Since 2008, Huerta has only competed at total of eight times and has amassed a disappointing record of 2-6. At 32, there is still time for Huerta to turn it around, but he needs to be more active and more consistent. Middleweight Title Fight In the main event of the evening, ONE Championship middleweight champion, Igor Svirid, will look to defend his title against undefeated Vitaly Bigdash. Svirid claimed the title at ONE FC 22 back in November where he knocked out Leandro Ataides in just 17 seconds. Undefeated in competition, Bigdash has stopped every one of his sever career opponents. This should be a great matchup between two tough and hungry fighters.
