ONE: ‘Edge Of Greatness’ Preview (Pt. 1)

ONE: “Edge of Greatness” is set for the Singapore Indoor Stadium this Friday and the 10-fight card is headlined by a bantamweight Muay Thai title bout between Nong-O Gaiyanghadao and Saemapetch Fairtex.

This will be the fourth event the promotion has put on this month, including the ONE Hero Series show. It will also be the first time that an event in Singapore has not been headlined by an MMA fight.

Here’s my preview of the first five fights:

Muay Thai: Brown Pinas vs. Liam Nolan (Featherweight)

Liam Nolan took on Bangpleenoi Petchyindeeacademy in his most recent ONE Super Series matchup and pushed the top ranked Thai all the way. He did better against the top ranked Thai than Brown Pinas but both men went the distance.

Pinas finished Yohann Fairtex with a spinning back elbow. He also went the distance with Chmuaktong and is a tall, rangy fighter who likes to use straight punches and low kicks.

Shuya Kamikubo vs. Bruno Pucci (Bantamweight)

Bruno Pucci (7-3) is a multiple tile no-gi grappling world champion. He’s very dangerous with chokes but has been knocked out three times and is always vulnerable in striking exchanges.

Shuya Kamikubo (10-1-1) comes from a wrestling background and almost always goes the distance. He will probably try and put Pucci on his back but might be tempted to use his wrestling to keep the fight standing and test the Brazilian’s chin.

Muay Thai: Yuta Watanabe vs. Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat (Flyweight)

Yuta Watanabe dropped a decision to Rui Botelho in his ONE Super Series debut. The Japanese southpaw was dropped hard and did well to go the distance in that bout.

Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat was the standout performer on ONE Championship’s maiden event in Vietnam. He finished Azwan Che Wil with a devastating overhand right and will be looking to land the same shot here.

Muay Thai: Petchmorrakot Petchyindeeacademy vs. Charlie Peters (Featherweight)

Petchmorrakot Petchyindee returns to Muay Thai after two kickboxing bouts with Giorgio Petrosyan. He will be much more comfortable using his knees and elbows and trying to dominate in the clinch.

Charlie Peters has emerged as one of the biggest stars on the U.K. scene. But he was outclinched by Chamuaktong Fightergym last time out and Petchmorrakot, who is even taller, will look to do the same

Alex Silva vs. Peng Xue Wen (Strawweight)

Alex Silva (8-4) was coming off a run of three straight decision losses before his submission win against Stefer Rahardian. He has been in with some of the division’s best fighters and has never been stopped.

Xuewen Peng (3-5) holds a decision win over Rahardian but there is nothing to suggest that the Chinese fighter has what it takes to hang with a BJJ black belt and former strawweight champion.

The entire ONE: “Edge of Greatness” fight card will be available to view live and free in some territories using the newly launched app which you can download here.

www.twitter.com/jamesgoyder