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Philippines, 17 Aug 2025 |
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Asia?s Biggest MMA Organization on the Lookout for Cebuano Fighters PhilBoxing.com Sun, 20 Jan 2013  Cebu is famous for producing boxers like Flash Elorde but businessman and entrepreneur Victor Cui is on the lookout for fighters of a different kind. He is CEO / Owner of Asia?s biggest MMA organization, ONE FC, and believes that there is plenty of undiscovered talent here, ?My father is from Cebu and I have a home here but because he was Consul General in Canada I spent much of my childhood growing up overseas. This region has always produced the best boxers in the Philippines and ONE FC is definitely on the lookout for mixed martial artists here,? he said. Filipinos have already made a big impression at ONE FC, which has put on sold out events in stadiums all over Asia since being founded by Cui in 2011. Last August 16,500 fans packed into the Smart Araneta Coliseum to see local fighters Eric Kelly, Eduard Folayang and Kevin Belingon and the promotion plans to return to Manila in mid 2013. In boxing promotion rivalries, as well as the litany of sanctioning bodies and belts, often prevents fans from getting to see the fights they really want. Cui has attempted to ensure that these issues don?t arise in Asian MMA by uniting all the biggest gyms and promotions in the region through something called the ONE FC Network, ?The ONE FC Network has unified all the key players in Asian MMA because all the the top MMA organizations and gyms here have joined hands. 90 per cent of the best fighters in Asia are signed exclusively to ONE FC but because of the ONE FC Network they are still allowed to fight for other promotions like Road FC in Korea, URCC in the Philippines and DREAM in Japan.? ONE FC signed an unprecedented ten year partnership with ESPN Star Sports last year, this is the largest broadcast deal of any Asian MMA organization and means events can currently be seen in 28 countries, including the Philippines. There are currently 12 ONE FC shows scheduled this year with twice as many events planned for 2014. Cui says a return to Manila is definitely on the agenda and that Cebu might also be a possible future destination, ?We sold over 16,000 tickets for our last show in Manila and ONE FC already has a huge fanbase in the Philippines so we will definitely be coming back here. I?d love to do a show in Cebu because people here are huge fight fans but it?s really a question of logistics and finding a suitable venue and the right local partners to work with.? Although his search for a potential MMA champion from this region continues Cui has already started recruiting staff from Cebu and says they are an essential part of the ONE FC team, ?At ONE FC the safety of the fighters is paramount and we have very strict rules and regulations. For every event I fly in a team of officials from Cebu led by international boxing judge Salven Lagumbay to take care of ensuring all the fighters hands are wrapped safely, and his team are the best and most professional at what they do.? In 2012 Cui was voted the ?Most Powerful Man in Asian MMA? by a number of leading websites and he has also been shortlisted for the prestigious World MMA Awards. The ceremony is set for Las Vegas on Friday night and Cui has been nominated alongside UFC President Dana White as ?Leading Man of the Year? while ONE FC and the UFC are also both on the shortlist for ?MMA Promotion of the Year?. ONE FC?s next event is booked for February 2nd at the 16,000 capacity Stadium Putra in Kuala Lumpur and will feature three fighters from Baguio but Cui feels it is only a matter of time before Cebuano fighters feature for his promotion, ?There are so many great boxers from Cebu, fighting is in the blood here and with more and more people watching ONE FC on ESPN Star Sports and taking up MMA I?m sure that one day there will be a Cebuano ONE FC champion.? Photo: One FC's Victor Cui.  |
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