Julaton to face Mazepa in MMA duel in Dubai

By: 10 years ago

Photo from Ana Julaton.com

SINGAPORE — Former WBO and IBA boxing world champion Ana Julaton will take on decorated wushu and kickboxing champion, Irina Mazepa in Dubai on Aug. 29.

Filipino American Julaton will be among the mixed martial arts bouts slated for ONE FC: Reign of Champions at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

The event is touted as the largest in mixed martial arts history and will feature multiple ONE FC World Championship bouts.

ONE Fighting Championship™ (ONE FC) is Asia’s largest mixed martial arts organization.

ONE FC Lightweight World Champion Shinya Aoki will make the first defense of his title since winning it last April 2013 against Kotetsu Boku. This time he will take on veteran Kamal Shalorus of Iran.

Julaton vs. Mazepa has been added to the stacked card, which features a main event title fight between Ben Askren and Nobutatsu Suzuki for the ONE FC Welterweight World Championship, which has been previously announced.

Ana “The Hurricane” Julaton is the first Filipina boxer to win the women’s WBO Super Bantamweight and IBA Super Bantamweight World Championships.

Julaton’s signing with ONE FC marks her first step to becoming a two-sport athlete. Her overpowering attacks in the ring earned her the nickname “The Hurricane” and made her a fan favorite in the Philippines.

It took her only seven professional bouts to win a championship in boxing and she hopes her mixed martial arts career will be equally successful.

She made a successful ONE FC debut by defeating Aya Saber and will return to the ONE FC cage looking for the second win in her mixed martial arts career.

Russia’s Mazepa is a decorated kickboxer and wushu practitioner. She is a six-time world champion in wushu and a K-1 world champion. Mazepa started practicing wushu when she was seven years old.

After winning all the possible titles and medals offered in the sport, both nationally and internationally, Mazepa decided to transition into other combat sports at the age of 25.

Her thirst for competition took her into other striking arts such as Muay Thai and boxing. Mazepa has prided herself on sourcing the best possible competition in order to truly test herself.

The flyweight combatant will now try her hand at MMA inside the ONE FC cage with hopes of becoming a world champion.

Fans in Asia can catch all the action live on STAR Sports. Check local listings. Also, fans from around the world can witness the action online via live streaming at www.onefc.livesport.tv. The event will be available for purchase at just US$9.99.

For more updates on ONE Fighting Championship visit www.onefc.com and follow on Instagram and Twitter @ONEFCMMA, Facebook at www.facebook.com/ONEFCMMA and Weibo at https://www.weibo.com/onefc.