Two Pinoy MMA fighters face tough foes at ONE: Ascent to Power

SINGAPORE – A tough test awaits two homegrown talents from the Philippines as Jimmy Yabo and Cary Bullos are entering enemy territory to lock horns against two highly-touted Singaporean prospects on the undercard of ONE Championship’s “Ascent to Power” event on Friday, May 6.

Yabo faces Benedict Ang in a 3-round featherweight contest, while Bullos squares off with much hyped Singaporean-Hawaiian fighter Christian Lee.

A product of Universal Reality Combat Championship’s Cebu chapter, Yabo (5-2, 1 NC) picked up his first win under the ONE Championship umbrella last February by knocking out Pakistan’s Bashir Ahmad in just 21 seconds.

The 35-year-old Cebuano aims to build his first winning streak inside the ONE Championship cage after tasting painful setbacks to compatriot Edward Kelly and Singapore’s Amir Khan in 2015.

The man standing in the way of Yabo’s objective is Ang, a 20-year-old Singaporean who is undefeated in two professional bouts.

In his recent outing this past November, Ang easily handled 12-fight veteran Yohan Mulia Legowo, battering the Indonesian journeyman in the second round to compel his corner to throw in the towel.

Meanwhile, Bullos (7-3) seeks to replicate what Yabo had achieved 3 months ago as he is still winless since joining the organization in 2014.

Bullos, 32, is suffering from a two-fight losing skid, bowing down to Major Overall by a 29-second submission in November 2014 before being forced to tap again by Malaysian-Kiwi sensation Ev Ting with a second-round guillotine choke in March 2015.

Prior to his ONE Championship stint, Bullos won 7 matches by either knockout or submission, which included a 39-second stoppage of former URCC flyweight titleholder Hideo Morikawa in January 2013.

Odds are stacked against Bullos once more as he is slated to battle Lee, who finished his last 3 fights in an emphatic fashion.

After pulverizing David Meak in only 29 seconds in his prizefighting debut last December, the 17-year-old Lee followed it up by submitting Mahmoud Mohamed with a first-round Kimura lock in January of this year before thwarting Anthony Engelen two months later.

ONE: Ascent to Power, which takes place at the 12,000-seater Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore, is headlined by two championship clashes.

Angela Lee takes on Japanese veteran Mei Yamaguchi for the inaugural ONE atomweight championship in the main event, while Brazil’s Roger Gracie faces unbeaten Russian combatant Michal Pasternak for the promotion’s maiden light heavyweight title. – Rappler.com