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By Dana Becker
ONE: Valor of Champions will kick off with an exciting featherweight contest, as Wang Ya Wei tackles Sunoto to open the card.
Not many fighters make their professional debuts in a tournament-format, but that is exactly what Wei did last December. Wei, a 21-year-old fighting out of Shanghai, China, will make his third appearance inside the ONE cage on April 24 from the Mall of Asia Arena in the Philippines.
Wei had an impressive semifinal round finish, earning a TKO via strikes over Li Gen to open the Beijing Featherweight Tournament at ONE: Dynasty of Champions. However, in the finale, he lost a decision to Li Kai Wen. A defeat is nothing to be happy about, but just a fight into your MMA career, it's hard to beat gaining invaluable experience against stiff competition like Wei did vs. Wen. He displayed tremendous power, rallying back from a flurry to drop Wen for a moment in the second.
However, the loss also showed exactly where Wei needed to continue to work: his striking. Being able to close the distance and keep things from going to the ground, Wen flexed his muscle in the latter stages. Thanks to his background in wrestling, Wei is a former Hubei freestyle champion. He was a fifth place finisher for the Hubei provincial team at the national freestyle wrestling tournament after securing a regional title.
Due in large part to his resume on the mat, Wei was given the chance to train at the Legacy Gym under ONE Championship star Ole Laursen, improving on his MMA and Muay Thai skills. Wei currently is associated with Dragon Samurai Team and Taibao Fight Club. He spent two years in the army before entering into mixed martial arts.
Much like his opponent, Sunoto is just two fights into his professional career. Both of his bouts, though, have been victories. Trained in Wushu and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, the Indonesian fighter scored a submission victory with a head-and-arm choke over ONE welterweight veteran Reant Febrizar Rainir. His second contest was a decision win over Mustadi Anetta at the Lindu Aji Championship.
If his skill-set wasn't difficult enough to compete with, Sunoto is a southpaw who has experience in Muay Thai. He's won tournaments in both jiu-jitsu and Sanda at the regional level. Eight years the elder of Wei, Sunoto competes out of the Arena MMA camp. He is also a kickboxing champion, so once again, Wei will need to be mindful of the striking disadvantage he will be at against Sunoto. The featherweight division is currently controlled by Jadamba Narantungalag, who won the belt last August with a five-round decision victory over Koji Oishi.
AJ Lias Mansor is the Malaysia National featherweight champion, while Amir Khan, Bashir Ahmad, Bruno Pucci, Chan Heng, Edward Kelly and Ev Ting all are looking to cash in on a future title shot. That leaves Wei and Sunoto each needing to take full-advantage of the opportunity presented to them in this curtain opening act from Pasay. An incredible finish or thrilling decision could catapult the winner right to the front of the line.
