Brandon Vera To Defend One Heavyweight World Championship In Main Event Against Hideki Sekine

20 October 2016 – Manila, Philippines: The largest sports media property in Asian history, ONE Championship™ (ONE), has just announced its return to the state-of-the-art Mall of Asia Arena in Manila for another evening of world-class mixed martial arts action. ONE: AGE OF DOMINATION is set for 2 December, and will feature the absolute best in local and international MMA talent. In the main event, ONE Heavyweight World Champion Brandon Vera will defend his title against undefeated heavyweight contender from Japan, Hideki Sekine.

Tickets for ONE: AGE OF DOMINATION are available at https://smtickets.com/events/view/5040

Victor Cui, CEO of ONE Championship, stated: “ONE Championship is ready for another tremendous event for fight fans in Manila. Filipinos are some of the most passionate people in the world, and they really love their sports. So we have prepared a stacked card featuring a solid group of local fighters mixed in with some of the best international talents on our roster. ONE Heavyweight World Champion Brandon Vera is set to return to the ONE cage, and you all know that means be ready for an amazing night of action!”

Filipino-American Brandon “The Truth” Vera is a 39-year-old mixed martial arts veteran with a 14-7-0, 1 NC professional record. He joined ONE Championship in 2014 after competing for over a decade as one of the world’s best fighters. A devastating striker with well-rounded submission grappling skills, he captured the ONE Heavyweight World Championship with a stunning knockout victory over Paul Cheng last December. He now returns to the ONE cage to defend his title against undefeated Japanese fighter Hideki Sekine.

Japanese heavyweight contender Hideki Sekine is unbeaten as a mixed martial artist with seven wins and no losses. He is set to make his ONE Championship debut after making a name for himself in Japanese MMA promotion DEEP. Known for his brute strength and technical grappling ability, Sekine owns three victories by submission and another three by knockout. He now figures in the toughest battle of his career against ONE Heavyweight World Champion Brandon Vera.

28-year-old Filipino mixed martial arts sensation Mark “Mugen” Striegl is one of the top fighters at bantamweight and featherweight. He began his professional career on a 12-fight win streak and made a successful ONE Championship debut in 2014 against American Casey Suire. Striegl then joined the prestigious Evolve Fight Team in 2015 and now trains with Asia’s best world champions in Singapore. He is set to make his highly-anticipated return to the ONE cage against Rafael Nunes.

Rafael Nunes is a professional mixed martial artist with a 10-1 record and is one of the top lightweights to emerge from Brazil. He has steamrolled through the competition in his home country with a knack for winning by exciting finish. A Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt, Nunes is equally comfortable finishing his opponents by submission or strikes. He looks to showcase his multi-faceted skillset in his next bout, and will face a tough challenge when he takes on Mark Striegl.

Geje “Gravity” Eustaquio is one of the most proficient wushu practitioners in the Philippines. His solid striking and grappling skills have led him to big wins over the course of his career in ONE Championship. Training in the high altitudes of Baguio City, Eustaquio hones his craft with his world-class teammates at the famed Team Lakay. Known for his ability to keep his composure while facing adversity, Eustaquio is set to do battle against Toni Tauru.

31-year-old Toni “Dynamite” Tauru of Utti, Finland, is a professional mixed martial artist competing in ONE Championship’s flyweight division. He owns a record of 10-4-1, with seven of his wins coming impressively by submission. A feared grappling specialist, Tauru is looking for his first victory inside the ONE Championship cage, but he will have to contend against Geje Eustaquio in order to get it.

Team Lakay’s Honorio “The Rock” Banario has long been one of the Philippines’ most respected mixed martial arts veterans. His vast cage experience has brought him all over Asia, with many memorable battles against top divisional talent. Among his many skills, Banario possesses high-level striking and steadily improved grappling. The former ONE Featherweight World Champion, Banario is an expert in wushu, and is ready to showcase his lightning-quick strikes against Rajinder Singh Meena.

Rajinder Singh “Knockout” Meena of India is a professional mixed martial artist competing in the ONE Championship lightweight division. He owns a record of eight wins and two losses, with all eight of his victories coming by finish. Possessing a robust grappling skill set, Meena owns five impressive wins by submission. In his next bout however, he will have to find a way to deal with world-class striker Honorio Banario.

Edward “The Ferocious” Kelly is a 32-year-old Filipino MMA talent and one of the brightest featherweight prospects to emerge from the Philippines. A mixed martial artist with a complete striking and grappling skill set, Kelly brings Team Lakay’s world-renowned wushu to centerstage as he looks to showcase his expertise inside the ONE Championship cage. In his last bout, Kelly scored a one-punch knockout of veteran fighter Vincent Latoel. He seeks to replicate the feat this time against Sunoto.

31-year-old Sunoto “The Terminator” of Jakarta, Indonesia, is a professional mixed martial artist competing in the ONE Championship featherweight division. He owns an MMA record of five wins and two losses, including three highly-impressive submission victories. In his last two bouts, Sunoto finished two high-caliber opponents in Burn Soriano and countryman Yohan Mulia Legowo. In his next bout, Sunoto takes on Filipino rising star Edward Kelly.

Atomweight standout April Osenio of the Philippines is known as Team Lakay’s fierce female warrior. The 22-year-old prospect trains out of the high-altitudes of Baguio City along with her more experienced Lakay brothers. In her last bout, Osenio upset Malaysian fighting belle Ann “Athena” Osman impressively by guillotine choke submission, highlighting her growing skills beyond the striking art of wushu. She now aims to advance her standing in ONE by taking on a new challenge in Jenny Huang.

25-year-old Jenny Huang is female mixed martial artist who hails from Taiwan. Unbeaten with a professional MMA record of four wins and no losses, Huang also owns two impressive submission victories. In her most recent bout, Huang needed less than one round to finish off Indian fighter Jeet Toshi, winning by arm-triangle choke. Now, Huang steps up in competition to face the Philippines’ April Osenio.

An unbeaten flyweight contender from Team Lakay, Danny Kingad is a professional mixed martial artist with a perfect three win, no loss record. One of the top prospects to come out of the high altitudes of Baguio City, Philippines, Kingad is a tremendous striker, operating out of his world-class wushu base. In his most recent bout, Kingad needed just one round to impressively stop Malaysia’s Muhammad Haidar. He will take on Eugene Toquero next.

Flyweight standout Eugene Toquero is a former celebrity mixed martial arts and fitness coach in his native Manila, Philippines. The Filipino stalwart has a knack for highlight-reel striking techniques and operates at a pace which opponents find hard to keep up with. In his last bout, Toquero nearly defeated former ONE Flyweight World Champion Adriano Moraes, losing by submission in a tough contest. Now he faces fellow Filipino Danny Kingad next.

Kicking off ONE: AGE OF DOMINATION are flyweight fighters Liu Peng Shuai and Sim Bunsrun, who are set to do battle in a three-round bout. Liu is the Hefei Flyweight Tournament Champion, while the Cambodian Bunsrun is a winner of his last two fights including an impressive first-round submission in his promotional debut.

In the first bout of the evening, 18-year-old Chinese fighter Xie Bin takes on Indonesia’s Mario Satya Wirawan. Xie last appeared in a tremendous contest against Casey Suire, while Wirawan went to battle with Burn Soriano. Both fighters are looking to get back on track with a victory.