Ahmed “The Wolverine” Mujtaba has clawed his way into ONE Championship, and now that he is there, he plans to keep his undefeated streak in tact.

The Pakistani featherweight will make his promotional debut on Friday Night, 11 November, when he squares off against Benedict Ang at ONE: DEFENDING HONOR, live from the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Ahmed is ready to win the fight standing or on the ground, and believes Ang will find himself in trouble no matter where the fight goes.

“He has not faced a guy who he is not able to takedown and someone who is the better grappler,” the 23-year-old says. “Do not discount my striking either.”

Nicknamed “The Wolverine” due to his resemblance to the Marvel movie character, Ahmed has spent years honing in his craft, a craft that almost did not happen. Admittedly, he never thought about becoming a mixed martial artist. But sometimes, a chance encounter can change the course of someone’s life forever.

In 2010, Ahmed began training MMA at the suggestion of a friend. It didn’t take long for him to find himself knee-deep in the blossoming world that was Pakistan’s MMA scene, falling in love with the sport and training at Fight Fortress MMA. 

Though he loved the training, Ahmed also found MMA to be somewhat of a necessity.

“I grew up as the son of a teacher,” he says. “I was an average kid. Not too wealthy, but not too poor. I always had a lot of extra energy in myself and was skinny. I lived in Islamabad, then moved into Quetta, which was a rough place and I had to toughen myself up.”

The featherweight proved a quick study, immediately making a statement when he laced up his gloves for an actual fight. He choked out Nadeem Sharif in his professional MMA debut at Pak Fight Club in April 2013, and followed that up with a first-round stoppage of Ahmed Abbas just eight months later in December. 

Along the way, he also won one gold, one silver, and two bronze medals in the Pakistan Grappling Championship.

Ahmed rode those early cage victories all the way to a title shot this past January, where he found himself face-to-face with Rodian Menchavez for the vacant UGB MMA featherweight strap. 

Like his other opponents, Menchavez wound up on the wrong end of a finish, as the Fight Fortress pugilist stopped the fight in just 1:56 of the opening stanza. He would defend the belt against Neil Larano in July, where he tapped him out via triangle choke.

With a belt around his waist, Ahmed suddenly found himself at the center of a young sport with a lot of attention. 

“It is growing very, very fast,” he says, before giving a nod to a fellow ONE combatant and PAK MMA pioneer. “Bashir Ahmad came with a vision. He succeeded and he represented us. We all followed his footsteps.”

The UGB MMA title win, combined with Ahmad’s achievements, were the catalyst for “The Wolverine” to pursue fighting as a full-time occupation.

“When I started fighting for UGB MMA, my first purse was $650,” he offers. “That would last me two full months and I was very happy. Also, seeing Bashir Ahmad’s success motivated me.”

Looking at Ahmed today, it is hard to see the young man who once took up MMA as a means to toughen up. He credits a strong faith in God for his lack of fear during fights. 

On the verge of becoming Pakistan’s next MMA sensation, Ahmed brings his skills to ONE Championship on 11 November, where he meets fellow unbeaten combatant Benedict Ang. “The Wolverine” brings five consecutive finishes into the bout and may be looking to catch Ang in a triangle choke, his favorite submission. 

While Ahmed is not looking past Ang, he has no doubt he will walk out of the cage with his hand raised. When asked to break down the fight, he offers a point by point breakdown of his advantages over Ang.

“He is good,” Mujtaba says of his opponent. “I am confident I will be victorious. I am the stronger man, the faster man, I have the better cardio, and I have heart. 

“[I’m] not doubting him or anything, but I will win this with the backing of God.”

With the days until the fight falling off the calendar, Mujtaba is laser-focused on both his training and his opponent. While he is ready to take the fight as it comes, he has played it out in his mind from bell-to-bell.

“There’s this famous saying in the Quran,” he begins. “Never turn your back when in battle for your nation or comrades. 

“I am not going to turn back and I will use this to motivate myself to put on a blistering performance for the crowd. 

“They can expect me to land bombs, take him down, and make him submit.”

After dropping a unanimous decision to the newly-appointed number one lightweight contender Eduard “Landslide” Folayang three months ago, Adrian “The Hunter” Pang is back on the road to redemption, and looks to return to winning ways.

The Australian lightweight, by way of Papua New Guinea, will step into the cage on Friday Night, 11 November, when he takes on Roger “El Matador” Huerta at ONE: DEFENDING HONOR, which broadcasts live from the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Pang, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt who has been splitting his time training with Phuket Top Team in Thailand and his own Integrated MMA gym in Brisbane, respects his opponent’s talent and non-stop frantic pace. Still, he is only concerned about his own strategy and skill set.

“Roger is a great martial artist and definitely well-rounded,” the 39-year-old admits. “I do not like to look at much tape of my opponents and choose to focus on what I bring to the table. The game is MMA and it is MMA that we shall do.”

A former collegiate wrestler armed with a dynamic kickboxing game that he has further developed at Tiger Muay Thai in Phuket, Huerta is one of the most energetic mixed martial artists to have ever compete in the sport.

Unfortunately, he has fallen on hard times in recent years. “El Matador,” a former poster boy of North America’s MMA scene and an ex-Sports Illustrated cover atlete, has lost eight of his last ten fights and is currently on a two-fight skid.

But to be fair, all of the 33-year-old’s opponents have been top-notch mixed martial artists.

“He is a very exciting fighter and, despite what people say, he has only lost to high level competition,” Pang acknowledges. “Most people avoid it, whereas he seems to embrace it. Full respect to him and what he has done for the sport.”

However, “The Hunter” has been facing high level competition, too. Pang rode a three-fight win streak into his battle with Eduard “The Landslide” Folayang at ONE: HEROES OF THE WORLD this past August.

Folayang looked impressive in the early going as he hip tossed the Brisbane resident, worked heavy ground strikes and even dropped him to the mat with a devastating spinning back fist. But Pang, proving he has an iron chin, got right back up and shook it off like a champion.

The second round followed a similar path and, though a right cross dropped him early into the third stanza, “The Hunter” was able to sweep the Filipino lightweight and utilize his ground game.

It was too late, however. Once the bell rang, all three judges scored the contest in Folayang’s favor.

“My last fight with Eduard obviously did not go as planned. I had a less than favorable fight camp and my mobility suffered as a consequence. Eduard is a tough decision fighter and he rose to the occasion, so full credit to him and his team for the victory,” the Aussie says.

“I was disappointed to not get the win over Folayang, and it really hit home more so when I collected my purse,” he adds with a chuckle. “What I took away from the fight was to not be a stationary target and impose my will earlier in the fight, of which you saw in round three.”

As a result, Folayang became the number one contender and was awarded a title shot at Shinya Aoki’s ONE Lightweight World Championship at ONE: DEFENDING HONOR. Had Pang won, he could very well have been headlining this card.

Nonetheless, he does not hold any bitter feelings.

“The fight game is a win-lose game, so it does not bother me at all that he gets the title shot,” the Aussie admits. “I truly hope he does well in his upcoming fight against the champion Aoki. Should Eduard win, it will truly be a fairytale story for him and I wish him all the best.”

Pang, on the other hand, goes back to square one and has to build himself back up. Although the former Cage FC and Legend FC Asia Pacific Lightweight Champ has done that before, his biggest rebuild happened just a few years ago.

In May 2012, the top-ranked Aussie lightweight was senselessly attacked by a few bouncers and a former football player at SinCity Nightclub in the Gold Coast suburb of Surfers Paradise. They damaged Pang’s face so badly, he needed a few rounds of facial reconstruction surgery to fix both his eyes and his cheeks.

Not only was his MMA career in serious jeopardy, but more importantly, his vision.

“The most difficult thing I have overcome in my career is when I was cowardly gang-assaulted in a nightclub whilst security held me. All the assailants are known to [the] police and one of the security guards even fled the country,” Pang recalls.

“My face was smashed to pieces and one side had dropped into my throat. I was told by doctors and surgeons that I would never fight again, and coming back from that truly was tough, mentally and physically.”

Weeks into his recovery, he slowly regained his eyesight. Several months in, he was able to leave the hospital bed and train again. By June 2013, he returned to the cage against fellow countryman Jai Bradney and had a lot to prove.

“At the time, I was the number-one ranked lightweight from Australia and I was dropped from the rankings after no activity for 18 months,” Pang begins. “Then I was written off by some websites when I made my comeback against the current highly-ranked lightweight in the country.

“The first round KO I inflicted him with put me back at number one, where I belong.”

Now, he starts a new road to the top, and it begins with Huerta this Friday.

LAS VEGAS – Floyd Mayweather accepted an invite to watch Filipino icon Manny Pacquiao’s WBO title fight on Saturday, leaving many wondering if a request to step back in the ring would be next.

Mayweather had a front row seat at the Thomas & Mack Center to watch Pacquiao easily beat former champion Jessie Vargas with a unanimous decision victory.

Pacquiao said on Sunday that he is eager to avenge his 2015 loss to Mayweather and he doesn’t feel the contract negotiations would be nearly as acrimonious as they were for the first fight, which became the richest in boxing history.

“Not only for myself, but the fans of boxing want the rematch then why not?” Pacquiao told a group of reporters at his luxury suite at the Wynn hotel and casino. “We can easily talk about that it is not a problem.

“Because we now have direct contact to them it would be easier to talk about when there will be a rematch.” Pacquiao looked impressive Saturday and even showed his power with a second-round knockdown as he reclaimed the WBO welterweight title – the same belt he lost to Mayweather.

Pacquiao made sure the retired Mayweather was there to witness him win it back on Saturday night. Pacquiao said he found out on Friday that Mayweather would be attending the fight.

“I met with his manager I told him I would invite Floyd and they said OK,” Pacquiao said.

There are no talks scheduled between the two and Pacquiao has no idea whether he can entice Mayweather to come out of retirement in 2017.

“We don’t have any discussions as for now,” said Pacquiao who will fly back to the Philippines so he can be there when the Senate reopens on Tuesday. “It is not in my mind right now for the next fight.

“I want to go back to the Philippines and work at my next job,” the first-year Senator said.

Even when he has something to say, Pacquiao will never put all his cards on the table.

Saturday he fought like a boxer who didn’t want to spoil a good thing as his comeback from a brief retirement could have easily been derailed by a carelessly getting caught by a punch from the bigger and heavier Vargas.

But Mayweather’s appearance at ringside Saturday has stirred talk of a Pacquiao-Mayweather 2.

Mayweather did not speak to reporters after Saturday’s fight and has shown no signs of wanting to come out of retirement.

Pacquiao’s last two victories have been impressive, showing that he has recovered from the shoulder injury which hampered him in his fight against Mayweather in May 2015.

“I believe if there is a rematch, or if it happens, I want to make sure the fans will love it and I will give everything to get back their trust,” said Pacquiao.

Asked why he didn’t call off the Mayweather fight because of his shoulder injury, Pacquiao said he didn’t think before the fight that the shoulder would be a problem.

“I have no regrets because I felt good one week before the fight. In that kind of fight I hurt my shoulder,” he said.

Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum said Saturday he doesn’t know if he can entice Mayweather to fight again.

“Floyd Mayweather is retired. As far as we’re concerned he’s retired and we respect that,” Arum said.

But Vargas spoke for many when he expressed an interest in seeing Pacquiao and Mayweather go at it again.

“Of course,” Vargas said. “I wouldn’t mind seeing it again. We are still very interested in seeing what could happen again.” As with previous Pacquiao fights, the Vargas match was watched by millions in the Philippines and broadcast on large screens in public plazas and malls.

Pacquiao said Sunday that he exchanged texts with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.

“I messaged him thanking him for his support. In Philippines we don’t call people we message a lot,” Pacquiao said.

Pacquiao needed nine stitches on the top of his head because of a cut from a head butt in the final round against Vargas. “When I threw an uppercut he threw a right hand and we banged our heads.” 

Boxing showdown: Mayweather beats Pacquiao

Click on thumbnail to view photos. Source: 

AFP, Reuters

Vaughn “The Spawn” Donayre has stepped up to the plate. Replacing an injured Samir Mrabet, Donayre will meet Amir Khan in a lightweight showdown at ONE: DEFENDING HONOR, which takes place live at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Friday Night, 11 November.

Though he is taking this fight on less than two weeks’ notice, “The Spawn” has remained in top-top shape and believes he will demolish the hometown favorite.

“I knew I was going to get a fight or two before the year ends, so I was consistently training and working on my game,” the 37-year-old reveals. “Like what I always say on every fight, I will come in there hard to take him out. I will finish Amir Khan.”

At the tail end of October, Donayre was working out with his fellow teammates at FitRepublik Dubai when he received word that Mrabet suffered an injury and had to pull out of the bout.

When company officials called “The Spawn” and asked him to fill in, he committed without a second thought.

“To be honest, that morning I just finished a strength and conditioning session with my team, and immediately after I got a voice message from ONE Championship [asking] if I am good to fight Khan on such short notice,” he recalls. “And here we are.”

Khan is a fighter that should not be taken lightly. Training out of the world-class Evolve MMA camp, the 22-year-old lightweight is a Singaporean Muay Thai Champion who holds a 5-2 record, and has achieved every single one of his victories by either TKO or submission due to strikes.

While Khan has been making diligent fight preparations over the past eight weeks, Donayre is not stressed. He says, calmly: “There is nothing to worry about, besides his cowboy hat.”

Donayre, a Filipino-bred Pan Asian BJJ Champion, made his professional MMA debut in 2010 and became a mainstay in local promotion Universal Reality Combat Championship, more popularly known as the URCC.

“The Spawn” racked up six consecutive wins in the organization, and finished five of the victories by submission or TKO. He was building quite a name for himself back home in the Philippines, but he was also in the midst of building a new life for himself in the United Arab Emirates in 2012. 

The lightweight has a new family waiting for him in Dubai, as well as a job as a coach and trainer, at FitRepublik Dubai.

“I [have been] in Dubai for almost four years now,” he says. “It is not difficult to leave a place when you go look for your destiny. I found everything that I love here — my wife, my son, my job and more.”

Donayre’s life is going splendidly well, but his MMA career has recently yielded mixed results. Since making his promotional debut with ONE Championship in 2014, he has lost all three of his fights under the organization’s banner, including his last outing in April when he dropped a unanimous decision to Honorio Banario at ONE: GLOBAL RIVALS.

The Filipino-bred lightweight acknowledges he has faced some difficult opponents, but he vows to continue on and press forward. “Yes, it has been tough, no doubt,” he says. “Fighting for me is a privilege. Win or lose, as long as I am here, I will push through.”

He plans to do more than push through. On Friday Night, 11 November, he plans to finish Khan, bring the surging lightweight down to earth, and silence the Singaporean’s hometown crowd.

ONE Championship lead commentator and Fox Sports Presenter Steve Dawson gives his thoughts on the headlining world championship bout of ONE: DEFENDING HONOR.

This matchup has been a long time coming. I first encountered Eduard Folayang six years ago at the Resorts World Casino in Singapore’s Sentosa island. His strongman appearance, spotless persona, and Filipino heritage made him the perfect front man to launch a new mixed martial arts organization called Martial Combat.

The promotion survived only for that year. But from there, the seeds for ONE Championship were sown through the foresight of Chatri Sityodtong and Victor Cui, and Folayang has been a cornerstone of its development ever since.

After coming close so many times, the 32-year-old finally gets his chance at a title shot. But the good news ends there. The bad news is that his opportunity comes against the formidable Shinya Aoki, ONE’s longest reigning champion, and in iconic terms, the man who has been to ONE Championship what Folayang was to Martial Combat back in 2010.

Aoki (39-6) is among the world’s very best submission grapplers. For a lightweight, he is lean but deceptively strong. His long fingers enable relentless torque on an opponent’s struggling body. He has a fearsome, somewhat scary fighting persona, one that makes you question his reasonableness as a man — just what you do not need in an opponent: an unreasonable submission expert.

His record shows one weakness, the quite human susceptibility to heavy strikes. Two of his losses have come by decision, four by KO / TKO. This is what makes this match as exciting as any that Aoki has been involved in with ONE Championship.

Folayang can strike very well, and he keeps on coming. Spinning back fists, spinning kicks, overhand rights, crashing elbows and forearms, slamming leg kicks — they all land and are seemingly relentless. Two more diverse lightweight bodies you be hard put to find. If this comes down to a striking contest, Folayang seems like the only winner.

There are two conditions to satisfy, however. Firstly, the Filipino has scar tissue that opens up in wars; secondly although there will inevitably be some strikes, that won’t be the shape of this contest. Aoki will move to bring this fight to close quarters on the ground, and try as Folayang might, while he may have the strength, he does not have the technique to compete in those trenches with the Japanese warrior.

Folayang’s hope is either that he can crush Aoki with flying knees and kicks before the champion gets into his game, or that he can hang on through the later rounds to do the same, as fatigue becomes an added factor for both men.

Somewhere in-between that recipe for a Filipino victory, lies the threat that Aoki will pull off a submission or dominate the ground for such extended periods that the damage Folayang inflicts will be rendered secondary on the judges’ scorecards.

As long as this bout lasts, keep your eyes wide open, for a finish could come at any time.

Steve Dawson is ONE Championship’s lead commentator, a Fox Sports presenter and an author of sporting biographies. He can be found on Twitter & Instagram as @Gulasahi and on Facebook as Steve Dawson.