'ONE FC 18: War of Dragons' set for July 11 debut in Taiwan

ONE FC will take its show to Taiwan for the first time next month for “ONE FC 18: War of Dragons.”

The promotion announced its next event on Monday, including the addition of the first four fights to the bill. ONE FC 18 will take place July 11 at National Taiwan University Sports Center in Taipei City, Taiwan. The card will air in North America via an online pay-per-view. Tickets for the event now are on sale.

Already set for the card, Taiwanese heavyweight Paul Cheng (4-1) meets Mahmoud Hassan (1-3); Koji Ando (8-3-2) takes on Rafael Nunes (10-0) in a lightweight bout; American Jake Butler (3-1) meets Mohamed Ali (9-6) at light heavyweight; and bantamweights Koetsu Okazaki (9-3-1) and Yusup Saadulaev (12-3-1) are matched up.

“Fans in Taiwan have been clamoring for a live MMA event in their country, and ONE FC will now bring world-class mixed martial arts action to Taipei City for the first time,” ONE FC CEO Victor Cui stated.

Cheng, a former Canadian Football League player, is of Taiwanese descent, but based in Canada. He made his promotional debut this past December, forcing Alain Ngalani to tap from strikes in the first round, giving him three straight first-round finishes. Hassan, a boxer based in Egypt, made his ONE FC debut this past September. But he was knocked out by Ngalani 31 seconds into the fight with a spinning heel kick – his third straight loss.

Ando, from Japan, is an experienced judoka who has three straight wins and six victories in his past seven fights. He hasn’t lost in nearly three years. The undefeated Nunes, from Brazil, will have been out of action for more than a year when he steps in against Ando. He’ll fight outside his home country for the first time and try to extend his perfect run to 11 fights. Nine of his 10 wins so far have been finishes, with a nice balance of five submissions and four knockouts.

Butler, a former captain of the Princeton University wrestling team, saw the highly touted start to his MMA career suffer its first loss in October during a busy 2013, his first year as a pro fighter. The New Jersey native, who trains at Evolve MMA in Singapore, started 3-0 with first-round wins at ONE FC 7, 8 and 10. But he was stopped in the second round by Sylvain Potard at ONE FC 11 in October. Ali, a veteran fighter who is 4-3 under the Cage Warriors banner, will look to get back on track after a March loss to Malik Merad for that promotion. He has won seven of his past 10 fights, with six coming by stoppage.

Okazaki, a Shooto veteran, tapped out Josh Alvarez in the second round this past December for his first ONE FC victory. That got him back on track following back-to-back losses, including a decision setback against Bibiano Fernandes in his promotional debut at ONE FC 9. Saadulaev, a combat Sambo champion who trains with Bellator and Strikeforce veteran grappling ace Christian Uflacker near Chicago, has won three straight fights, two of which got him to 2-2 for ONE FC. In 2013, he finished Ryan Diaz at ONE FC 9 and took a split decision from Adriano Moraes at ONE FC 12.

The latest ONE FC 18 card includes:

• Paul Cheng vs. Mahmoud Hassan
• Koji Ando vs. Rafael Nunes
• Mohamed Ali vs. Jake Butler
• Koetsu Okazaki vs. Yusup Saadulaev

For the latest on ONE FC 18, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Jake Butler)