ONE: ‘Battleground’ part II preview

ONE: Battleground’ II is being broadcast on Friday and it will feature a pivotal lightweight fight between TUF China winner Zhang Lipeng and two time title holder Eduard Folayang. The former has been on top form since leaving the UFC while the latter is on the worst losing streak of his career.

The all MMA card will also feature a promotional debut for undefeated Norwegian giant Thomas Narmo. He faces ageless kickboxing specialist Alain Ngalani in a heavyweight fight.

Otgonbaatar Nergui vs. Rahul Raju (Lightweight)

Otgonbaatar Nergui (5-2-1) has a wide stance and likes to walk forwards, applying pressure to opponents. He has some solid punches and spinning strikes, it’s difficult to gauge how good his wrestling is but he is dangerous with submissions.

Rahul Raja (7-6) has two ONE Championship wins and they both came by way of rear naked choke. He is definitely more comfortable on the ground and has been either knocked out or knocked down in his last two appearances.

Eko Roni Saputra vs. Liu Peng Shuai (Flyweight)

Eko Roni Saputra (4-1) wrestled at a national level. He is riding a four fight winning streak and all four wins have come inside a round, with the Indonesian generally reliant on his takedowns to win.

Liu Peng Shuai (6-6) uses a lot of kicks and can fight either orthodox or southpaw. He couldn’t stuff the takedowns of Saputra’s teammate Roshan Mainam last time out and faces a very similar challenge here.

Thomas Narmo vs. Alain Ngalani (Heavyweight)

Thomas Narmo (4-0) is a huge heavyweight but the former ice hockey opponent’s four previous opponent’s have zero wins between them. He faces a big step up here and the Norwegian will need an early takedown if he wants to survive.

As always Alain Ngalani (4-6-0-1) will want to turn this into a striking battle. His speed and power are staggering and if he can keep it standing he is one of the best in the division but if an opponent can take him down he generally loses.

Alex Silva vs. Miao Li Tao (Strawweight)

Alex Silva (9-6) has some solid body kicks but will always be primarily a grappler. The BJJ black belt has been the distance seven times in his career and lost on six of those occasions, he either wins with a submission or not at all.

Miao Li Tao (6-3) faces an Evolve MMA fighter for the fourth time, he has already beaten two of Silva’s teammates. His takedown defence is good, he is fast in the scrambles and will attack constantly which could be a problem for Silva if he can’t get the fight to the ground straightaway.

Eduard Folayang vs. (Lightweight)

Eduard Folayang (22-11) is on the longest losing streak of his career and the 36 year old is in desperate need of a win. He has the wushu style and is aggressive with some devastating kicks but has been submitted three times in his last six fights.

Zhang Lipeng (30-11-2) is very comfortable on the ground and has numerous submission wins on his record. He is not much of a wrestler and prefers to stay in the pocket and trade but if an opening presents itself during a scramble he will not hesitate to attack with submissions.

The entire ONE: “Battleground” Part II fight card will be available to view free in some territories using the newly launched app which you can download here.

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