Thrilling all-American fight received huge fanfare at Martial Combat 7
It was a classic tie of youth versus experience as Ray, an up-and-coming fighter tipped to reach the very top, faced the toughest test of his career against the seasoned and experienced Reiner, who has won 24 out of the 34 professional MMA fights in his career.
Coming into this fight as an underdog, Ray started tentatively and began to establish his dominance in the second round. Both fighters appeared to tire in round three of this five-round fight and there was little to suggest that fireworks would follow. Reiner was actually starting to get the better of Ray in the stand up exchanges until Ray s legendary right hand brought a premature end to the contest.
Ray s third-round knock-out will certainly send shockwaves through the MMA world. It was the second consecutive Martial Combat fight in which Ray has left his opponent unconscious on the canvass after his stunning 14-second knock out of Zorobabel Moreira at Martial Combat 3. With this victory Ray claimed his first Martial Combat SuperFight Championship belt and established himself as one of the most promising young welterweights in the world.
I know I have that one punch knock-out power in me and it was just a matter of time before it came. Like they say, if you ve got it, use it . Reiner s a tough fighter, he isn t afraid to engage and he gave as good as he got tonight, said Ray.
Angelito Manguray is one of the sport s most colourful characters, as a 42-year-old doctor with a strong traditional karate background, the Filipino might patch people up for a living but he did some serious damage to his opponent Shane Wiggand.
It was the latest in a long line of impressive performances from Filipino fighters at Martial Combat. Manguray used his unorthodox style to good effect to land some early combinations. Wiggand attempted to clinch and pulled Manguray to the ground but the Filipino ended up in a dominant position and landed a barrage of unanswered punches forcing the referee to step in and call a halt to the contest.
Tonight s fights also featured South African Vusiyile Colossa, who subjected Chinese fighter Alex Niu to a stand up clinic. Niu was able to secure a couple of takedowns but Colossa s ground game is clearly evolving and he was able to escape easily. This was bad news for Niu because Colossa is a world-class Muay Thai fighter and kickboxer whose stand up skills are equally effective inside the cage.
At one point in the opening round the referee asked the doctor to take a look at Niu, who was quite simply being picked apart by Colossa. It was all one-way traffic at the start of the second round with Colossa looking extremely confident. Niu could only cover up as the South African started to turn on the style and Colossa eventually finished the fight with a brutal knee.
British Nick Mellor bounced back in style from his disappointing Martial Combat debut with a stoppage win over Victor Wang. The self-styled hooligan simply overpowered Wang escaping a deep triangle choke before unleashing some vicious ground and pound to win the fight late in the second round.
Singapore-based fighter Chavilit Sidyodtong was in action earlier in the night against Ben Nguyen from the USA. Nguyen went for the takedown early in the opening round and quickly mounted Sidyodtong, who hails from Thailand and is an experienced Muay Thai fighter. The Thai took some shots but was able to intelligently defend himself and even got to his feet late in the round.
Sidyodtong had a clear advantage on his feet and it showed at the start of round three, landing a devastating head kick and following it up with some brutal low kicks. Nguyen tried for the take down but Sidyodtong ended up in a dominant position and landed a series of hard elbows causing the referee to call a halt to the contest.
Martial Combat 7 might well have been the best yet with all five fights finishing in emphatic fashion tonight with Joe Ray reinforcing his reputation as a major MMA fighter and Vusiyile Colossa emerging as a real prospect. Tonight s fights highlights Resorts World Martial Combat commitment to build the event as the top MMA event in the region, constantly adding to its already impressive array of fighters, reinforcing its reputation one of the most exciting fighting championships in Asia.
Mixed martial arts fans can expect even more hard-hitting action in Martial Combat 8 tomorrow at the majestic Compass Ballroom, Resorts World Sentosa. Tomorrow s fight is headlined with the highly-anticipated Superfight Championship bout between Doo Jae Jung of South Korea and Filipino Sabah Fadai, as well as the fight between crowd favourite Ole Laursen of Danish and Filipino heritage and Nicolas Leconte of the USA. Kindly visit www.RWmartialcombat.com for more information.
About Mixed Martial Arts (MMA)
Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) combines the best fighting systems in the various fields of martial arts including muay thai, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, boxing and wrestling. As a spectator sport, it blends the mystique of martial arts, the adrenaline of prize fighting, and the excitement of sports.
MMA is already of the world s fasting growing sports and has dominated the North American pay-per-view scene. Its unique combination of a full-contact combat sport, which also allows a wide variety of fighting techniques, has led to a mass following amongst different types of martial arts enthusiasts.
About Resorts World Sentosa
Resorts World Sentosa, one of the world s most extensive and expensive integrated resorts at S$6.59 billion, was built in a record time of under three years. Resorts World Sentosa has soft opened its four hotels on 20 January 2010, its shopping and dining strip, FestiveWalk on 30 January 2010, Singapore s first casino on 14 February 2010, together with the Resorts World Convention Centre, which includes its Compass Ballroom, 26 function rooms and 1,600-seat Festive Grand theatre and Southeast Asia s first and only Universal Studios Singapore on 18 March 2010. Supporting the attractions are a 3,500-lot carpark facility, restaurants, retail stores, entertainment and public attractions that include Emmy-award winner Jeremy Railton s Lake of Dreams and Chamber of Treasures.
Resorts World Sentosa will open the world s largest Marine Life Park, its Maritime Xperiential Museum, a destination spa and two remaining hotels with a total of 500 rooms in phase two development.
About ESPN STAR Sports
ESPN STAR Sports is a 50:50 joint venture between two of the world s leading cable and satellite broadcasters. As Asia's biggest sports content provider, ESPN STAR Sports combines the strengths and resources of its parent companies Walt Disney (ESPN, Inc.) and News Corporation Limited (STAR) to deliver a diverse array of international and regional sports to fans across multiple platforms.
ESPN STAR Sports features a comprehensive portfolio of multimedia assets including its television networks (ESPN, STAR Sports, STAR Cricket, ESPNEWS, ESPN HD), broadband network (ESPN Player), digital content services (espnstar.com, mobileESPN), and its on-ground Event Management Group with the aim to engage and entertain sports fans anytime, anyplace.
ESPN STAR Sports showcases an unparalleled variety of premier sports from around the globe featuring some of the most iconic sports events to a cumulative reach of over 300 million viewers in Asia through its 21 television networks and 1 broadband network, each localized to deliver differentiated programming to meet diverse needs of Asian sports fans.
MEDIA CONTACT:
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Angeline Ng
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Cell: +65 9773 9598
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