It was a night of drama on 13 November 2015 when one of the title fights at the ONE Championship at Singapore Indoor Stadium was cancelled because the challenger, Brazilian Luis Santos, could not make weight, and had to forfeit to reigning ONE Welterweight World Champion, American Ben Askren. However, the disappointment was short-lived as the remaining fights brought much action and entertainment to the crowd at the stadium. I had the luxury of catching the fights cage-side, thanks to CASIO Singapore, who is also one of the main event sponsors.

One Championship – Pride of Lions, at Singapore Indoor Stadium. Evening of drama, action and glitz. Photo © Justin Teo.

Pride of Lions

The One Championship brought together the world’s toughest and strongest mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters in Pride of Lions, and Singapore got to witness some epic battles that night.

One of the many benefits of cage-side seats. Photo © Justin Teo.

The locals were already stoked by wins from Singaporeans Amir Khan and Benedict Ang, but it was the bout between Angela Lee and Natalie Gonzales Hills that got the loudest cheers. Lee, a rising star in the Woman’s Strawweight Division, did Singapore proud when she won the fight with a spectacular submission from Australian Hills using a floor move dubbed the “Twister” in the second round. The victories by the Singaporean fighters that evening made it a pride of lions in more than way than one.

Rising star in the Woman’s Strawweight division, Singaporean Angela Lee celebrates her win against Australian Natalie Gonzales Hills. Photo © Justin Teo.

Main Event

The event climaxed with the final fight for the night – Brazilian Yago Bryan challenged the ONE Strawweight Champion of the world, Thai Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke, who is affectionately known as ‘Kru Rong’.

ONE Strawweight World Champion Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke, ‘Kru Rong’, makes his entrance to defend his world title. Photo courtesy of CASIO Singapore/ONE Championship.

‘Kru Rong’ drew loud support from his fans as he out-boxed the younger challenger, going the full five rounds. He came back stronger with each round and won the fight with a unanimous decision from the judges to defend his championship. ‘Kru Rong’ also walked away with the grand prize, G-SHOCK GPW-1000TBS timepiece worth S$1,899 sponsored by CASIO Singapore.

‘Kru Rong’ delivers a roundhouse kick to challenger Yago Bryan. Photo courtesy of CASIO Singapore/ONE Championship.

In retrospect, I felt the winner of the title fight truly embodies the ‘Absolute Toughness’ that CASIO G-SHOCK range of indestructible timepieces are renowned for. The Limited Edition G-SHOCK GPW-1000TBS represents a combination of toughness and precision timekeeping that reflect the characteristic a world champion fighter needs to be, especially a muay thai and boxer-style fighter like ‘Kru Rong’.

The ONE Strawweight World Champion ‘Kru Rong’ with his prize. Photo courtesy of CASIO Singapore/ONE Championship.

Just like concerts, the electric live atmosphere and being able to be up-close and personal with the fighter made going to the ONE Championship an experience incomparable to watching the fights on the screen. The best part of being was being able to tell myself that I was there when history was made.