One FC star gives purse to PH victims

KUALA LUMPUR—In a cage 2,721 kilometers away, Malaysian AJ Lias Mansor had been thinking about the Philippines throughout the fight.

The stocky pencak silat warrior was crowned Malaysian national featherweight titlist after defeating muay champion and countryman Melvin Yeoh via unanimous decision Friday night in the One Fighting Championship: Warrior Spirit at Stadium Putra here.

But Mansor, a 38-year-old striker from  Kota Kinabalu, fought not only for the title at stake but for a noble mission.

“I was thinking about the victims of the supertyphoon that hit the Philippines all the time,’’ said Mansor before thousands of  Malaysian MMA fans. “I’m donating all the money and the bonus that I will get for winning this fight to the victims.’’

Mansor was in Manila training with Filipino-American submission specialist Mark Streigl a day before “Yolanda” made landfall in Eastern Visayas and killed thousands on its path last week.

“The Philippines is like a second home to me. I have lot of friends there who I treat as family,’’ said Mansor, best known for his ability to exert incredible strength to control the fight in the cage.

Mansor utilized wrestling in his arsenal and scored a forceful takedown in the third round. He landed several knees from side control while pinning down Yeoh to earn the approval of the judges.

In the main event of the night, Russian Yusup Saadulaev showed why he’s one of the most exciting fighters in the world after winning a razor-thin split decision victory in the catchweight division (61 kg) over three-time Brazilian national champion and jiu-jitsu brown belter Adriano Moraes.