Resorts World Sentosa hosts Asia's biggest MMA championship

Resort partners with ESPN STAR Sports to bring world's top fighters battle for international glory.

Singapore's first integrated resort, Resorts World® Sentosa (RWS) has partnered with ESPN STAR Sports (ESS), Asia's top sports content provider, to present Asia's biggest Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) Championship, according to a RWS release.

An event that is set to boost Singapore's credentials as the ultimate sporting city, Resorts World® Sentosa Martial Combat™ will gather some of the world's top professional contenders in an adrenaline-pumping series of twelve events comprising 60 action-packed fights from May to October 2010.

Taking centre stage at the resort's Compass Ballroom is the Martial Combat Cage™, a custom-designed cage where fighters will battle for international glory. Measuring 9.8 meters in diameter, the Martial Combat Cage™ - the first of its kind in Singapore – is specially reinforced to manage the sheer force and power of the fights.

Kicking off with the first fights on 12-13 May 2010, fighters trained in the various fields of martial arts including muay thai, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, boxing and wrestling will battle for the coveted right to be named Asia's champion.

Headlining the May 12 fight card will be former World Kickboxing Champion, Muay Thai Kings World Cup Champion, and one of the most respected fighters in Asia - Ole “Iron Fist” Laursen. “Iron Fist” will wage battle against the Brazilian sensation Eduardo “The EduCator” Pachu.

Also confirmed is 11-year fight veteran and Brazillian Ju Jitsu Mundial World Champion Leandro Issa. Issa currently calls Singapore home and is training out of the prestigious Evolve Mixed Martial Arts under the legendary instructor and Mundials BJJ Black Belt World Champion Rafael “Gordinho” Lima. Issa will face China's top-ranked MMA fighter Yun Jiang Long. The May 13 main event and SuperFight Championship will showcase Singapore's very own MMA sensation – Mitch “The Dragon” Chilson. “The Dragon” brings a string of 16 international wins and has earned a reputation at a talented fight tactician. He will be facing Taiwanese undisputed and reigning three-year Sanda Champion (since 2008) Zhang Jing Xong.

The only MMA event officially recognised and sanctioned by two of the worldss leading governing bodies in the martial arts scene, the Asian Mixed Martial Arts Federation (AMMAF) and the World Martial Arts Federation of Singapore, the series will receive an unprecedented amount of television coverage with over 200 hours broadcast to over 300 million viewers in 24 countries across Asia.

Created by ESPN STAR Sports in conjunction with Resorts World™ Sentosa, ESPN STAR Sports' Events Management Group has experience in managing and promoting more than 1,000 high-profile sporting events around Asia, such as the KIA X Games Asia, KL World 5s, 9 Ball Tour, the FEI Endurance Race, the Standard Chartered FIH Men’s Junior World Cup & Aviva Ironman 2009.