This is why you should watch ONE FC: Pride of a Nation

Decisions, decision, decisions….. Sometimes it’s pretty hard to make the important decisions in life. It’s hard-work deciding on things that could change your life like marriage, the industry you choose to work in, where to live and what to have for breakfast (hey, eat something wrong and you’ll get gas all day long). While I haven’t faced those problems for awhile (except the breakfast bit), I feel your pain bro.

Thankfully some decisions are not hard to make. A perfect example of such a decision is whether or not you should watch ONE FC: Pride of a Nation next week. In fact for most Asian MMA fans, you probably have decided and bought your ticket or the PPV. Well if you haven’t done so yet and need a push to be part of Asian MMA history (seriously?), here are our reasons on why you should watch ONE FC: Pride of a Nation.

This will be the biggest ONE FC event thus far and the biggest MMA event in the Philippines ever

Pride of a Nation will be held at the Smart Araneta Coliseum which has a capacity of approximately 16,500. ONE FC has already said that ticket sales for the event are well on its way to being sold out. A year ago no one would have thought that an Asian MMA promotion outside of Japan would be able to pull off such a huge event but now ONE FC is making it happen. Much like how Ali and Frasier made history in that very same arena, ONE FC will make history on August 31^st.

The card is stacked

This, by far, is the most stacked Asian MMA fight card that any promotion has put together this year. The card is a perfect mix of Asian and international stars that includes DREAM World Champions, 3 former UFC Champions, 3 Gracies, former PRIDE veterans and 5 current URCC champions. On top of that, the card will feature some of the hottest up and coming names in Asian MMA such as Thailand’s Shannon Wiratchai, Evolve’s Rodrigo Ribeiro & Mitch Chilson and Korea’s Soo Chul Kim, just to name a few. To say that this fight card is stacked from top to bottom is an understatement.

Eric Kelly vs Jens Pulver will tear the house down

Eric Kelly is one of the hottest commodities in Asian MMA today. He’s undefeated with a 7-0 record and he’s coming hot off a win over one of South Korea’s best fighters, Bae Young Kwon. He’s a proud Filipino who wants nothing more than to win in front of his country man. Jens Pulver is a legend in the sport who’s competed in the UFC, PRIDE and the WEC. He’s done it all in MMA and now, at the age of 37, he wants to prove to the world that he’s still got it. Both men are at different points of their career but both have something to prove. This fight will definitely be a barn burner and it’s definitely a bout that has all the ingredients that could potentially make it a classic.

You need to introduce some Filipino MMA in your life

If you’ve never witnessed Filipino mixed martial artists fight, then you really don’t know what you’re missing. Filipino fighters are undoubtedly some of the best fighters in Asia. Not only do they have the skill, they also have the heart and determination to win. When they go into a fight, they go there to fight. The Pride of a Nation card will showcase the best in Filipino MMA in the form of Eduard Folayang, Eric Kelly, Kevin Belingon and an opening bout between Honorio Banario & Andrew Benibe.

Bibiano Fernandes makes his ONE FC Debut

Bibiano Fernandes has, to a certain extent, become the center of attention for the past few months. Fernandes, who is the DREAM Bantamweight champion and one of the best bantamweights in the world, was first thrown into the spotlight after news broke that he had signed with ONE FC and declined an offer by the UFC. It was later announced that Fernandes would be facing Gustavo Falciroli at Pride of a Nation. While no one is putting down the chances of Falciroli winning this fight (in fact he’s got a damn good chance at winning), no one can deny a mystique surrounding Fernandes. At Pride of a Nation, fans will finally get to see him in action and find out if he really is one of the best in the world.

The action is going to be bat-shit crazy

We’ve already told you that this card is stacked. Now add all those awesome match ups with ONE FC’s rule set, which is a mix of the Unified Rules and our beloved Pride rules, and there’s a super high chance that you’re going to get an action packed night. Don’t believe us? Then you have to check the past ONE FC events and then you’ll realize that these guys have a pretty damn good track record.

Tim Sylvia vs Andrei Arlovski 4

We’re sure the haters are moaning over this match up but seriously, haters are going to hate no matter what it is. While this fight might not be a stand up clinic or technical in any sense, you can count on this fight being a fight. Sylvia hates Arlovski and Arlovski hates Timmy too. Both guys are in the best shape they’ve been in years and both guys seem to have found a new desire to compete. It might not have “Fight of the Night” potential but it might just end up being one hell of an entertaining brawl.

The PPV won’t even cost you 10 bucks.

The PPV is only going to cost you USD9.99. You’ll probably spend more money eating Chicken McNuggets which usually serves up as much satisfaction as a Justin Bieber album.

Manila will electrify ONE FC

Yes the card is stacked and the arena is going to be huge but one major factor that will make this show like no other will be the thousands of Filipino fans. Manila has been buzzing with ONE FC ever since the event was first announced and it’s reaching a fever pitch right now. Judging from the reaction of the press conference which ONE FC had, it’s pretty safe to say that Manila adores ONE FC. We’re expecting the fans at Pride of the Nation to be like no other. They will electrify the atmosphere, they will charge up the fighters and they will definitely help make this the best MMA event Asia has seen in years.