Kicking off the weekend in MMA will be another offering from ONE FC. The Friday morning card will determine the organization’s first ever middleweight champion, and features a few other notable Asian fighters. The card begins at 9am ET, and is available via internet PPV if you’re not in one of the many regions where ONE FC has a TV deal. The main event features a 185lb title bout between Leandro Ataides and Igor Svirid. These two fighters are both undefeated at middleweight, and Svirid’s lone loss came in his first pro MMA bout, which was at heavyweight. Both men have been well-rounded in their methods of victory thus far in their careers, meaning this bout could head anywhere and end in any manner. The co-main event is slightly higher profile. Zoro Moreira was one of the original stars of ONE FC, headlining two of the promotion’s first three events. He has not competed in over two years, since he was knocked out by Kotetsu Boku in his big for the ONE FC lightweight title. He faces Koji Ando, who is on a four-fight winning streak and holds a win over current promotional featherweight champion Jadamba Narantungalag. Luis ‘Sapo’ Santos brings his extensive record to ONE FC to take on Bahktiyar Abbasov. Abbasov is most well-known for being Ben Askren’s first victim in ONE FC, while Santos was most prominent during his four-fight run with Bellator. Also on the main card is an appearance by former DREAM tournament finalist Tatsuya Mizuno, as he attempts to rebound from a loss to Ataides against Brayan Rafiq — also a recent victim of Ataides’. MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas opened the betting odds for these four fights today at Several Bookmakers. Take a look: ——————– MAIN CARD (Internet PPV, 9am ET) ONE FC Middleweight Title Leandro Ataides -385 Igor Svirid +265 Koji Ando -185 Zorobabel Moreira +145 Luis Santos -215 Bahktiyar Abbasov +165 Tatsuya Mizuno -165 Brayan Rafiq +125 ——————– Brad’s Analysis: With all the other MMA going on this weekend, I really haven’t done much research on this card, as I won’t be watching live, and likely won’t watch the fights at all until I catch a replay a few weeks down the road on Fight Network. In terms of what I already know about these fighters, I definitely favor Ataides to take the belt and Ando to continue his current hot streak. I’m less confident in Luis Santos, and my least confident pick on the card would be Tatsuya Mizuno. I’ll be staying away from this card for betting, but could see either Ando or Ataides being used as a parlay leg with a UFC fight or two this weekend.
