On Friday, Oct. 9, 2015, ONE Championship heads to Putra Indoor Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for ONE Championship: Tigers of Asia.

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.

Prospect Watch: Gianni Subba

Even though ONE Championship features some of the best Asian up-and-comers in the world, there is one name on this card that should be drawing a lot of attention; Gianni Subba. A dynamic finisher, 22-year-old Subba is one of the top young flyweights in MMA today. Fighting in front of a home crowd on Friday, expect to see Subba at his best.

Middleweight Title Fight

In the main event of the evening, ONE Championship middleweight champion, Igor Svirid, will look to defend his title against the 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 seven career opponents. This should be a great matchup between two tough and hungry fighters.

About The Author

RJ Gardner
Content Coordinator

RJ Gardner is a rabid sports fan and a long time MMA enthusiast. After watching UFC 1 at ripe old age of 11 RJ was hooked and his passion for the sport has continued to blossom over the years. RJ has been covering MMA since 2007 and has had work featured on Bleacher Report, SI.com, CBSSports.com and UFC.com. RJ is also a Petroleum Transportation Operations Manager during the day.