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| Face-off for the ONE: Warriors of the World MMA event in Bangkok |
Held at the Vertigo Restaurant, which is located at the 61st floor of the Banyan Tree Bangkok Hotel, it featured current ONE Strawweight World Champion Yoshitaka Naito and challenger Alex Silva, as well as the fighters in the co-main event: Shannon Wiratchai and Rasul Yakhyaev. Face-offs were also conducted for the other fighters in the MMA event.
Also in attendance is ONE Championship's President of Thailand, Kamol "Sukie" Sukosol Clapp, who had this to say about the upcoming MMA event: "ONE Championship is back in Bangkok for another evening of world-class martial arts. This is an exciting one for fans, as ONE: Warriors of the World is set to feature some of the best and most talented Thai martial arts superstars on the biggest stage of global competition. Fans will not want to miss all the action that goes down at the Impact Arena on Saturday night. Get ready as we have an amazing card prepared for you all!"
Thoughts from the main event and co-main event participants:
ONE Strawweight World Champion Yoshitaka Naito: "Hayato [Suzuki] is known as one of the best wrestlers in Japan, so I was shocked to see him lose against a jiu-jitsu champion. Alex Silva’s grappling is extremely good. Silva’s strength is of course his ground techniques, but his striking is probably not a big threat. Silva has never gone five rounds, so if it goes the distance, it will be my time. I am confident in my abilities and that I will successfully defend my belt."
Title Challenger Alex Silva: "It is most important that before you are even a champion, that you have a good personality, and a good character. You need to be humble. That is how I want to inspire people. That is very important to me. I think that is what has brought me to where I am today — being humble and having a good character, whether you are a champion or not. I am grateful for the opportunity to challenge for the title, and will do my best to take home the win on Saturday night."
Shannon Wiratchai: "Competing in front of my hometown fans is always a great pleasure, and huge pressure at the same time. Life is all about changing. In every change there is always an opportunity. Rasul is dangerous everywhere. But I think I can handle him on the feet. Chechen wrestlers are always some of the best in the world, but I have wrestled with many high-level wrestlers. 2017 is a year that I have been working very hard. I hope I win this match, and 2018 will be another year that I keep working hard. Not just for myself, but for Thai martial arts."
Rasul Yakhyaev: "My defeats taught me to take more care of myself — of my health, my diet, and my training schedule. Shannon is a decent athlete with a lot of experience in the cage. I have not watched all of his matches, but I am sure I can win. I have the complete skill set to achieve victory. Shannon is going to be a tough challenge, but I wish him to have a good training camp with no injuries. When the big day comes, one of us must win and one will lose. I will be the one who wins."
The main event of ONE: Warriors of the World features Strawweight Champion Yoshitaka Naito against Alex Silva. Naito will be staking his undefeated 12-0 record in his second defense of the title he wrested from Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke last year. Silva earned his title shot by issuing Hayato Suzuki his first defeat.
The co-main event features Shannon Wiratchai against Rasul Yakhyaev. Wiratchai has crafted his own unique fighting style, called OneShin Striking System, incorporating elements from Muay Thai, boxing, wrestling, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, on his way to being Thailand's biggest and most exciting martial arts star. He will be tested by Yakhyaev as he seeks to raise his profile to another level.
ONE: Warriors of the World is set to take place on December 9 at the Impact Arena. For further details, check out www.onefc.com.
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