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Fitial to face Japanese wrestler in China
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Posted on May 14 2009
Kelvin “The Big Hit” Fitial will be gunning for a clean record in China when he competes in the Art Of War 12 “Invincible Fight” at the Beijing Olympic Sports Center Auditorium on May 23.
Fitial knocked out China’s Li Zhi Feng during the Art of War 10 in 2007 and is hoping to do the same against Japan’s Koji Kanechika in the over 96-kg. bout next Saturday.
“I will go out there in the cage with a big fighting heart, giving all my best to beat him. It will be a no let-up bout,” said Fitial, who will leave for China with Trench Tech’s jiu-jitsu instructor Jeff Cloud this Sunday.
Fitial’s Japanese foe is a wrestler and also a trained judo fighter. Kanechika holds a 2-2 record, while Fitial has an 18-7-1 (win-loss-draw) slate.
“I will be aggressive at the start of the fight, then look how my opponent reacts, and pick up from there,” said the Docomo Pacific-sponsored Fitial.
The Fitial-Kanechika duel is one of the 12 bouts set for “Invincible Fight.” The main event bout will feature Japan’s Yutaka Kobayashi and China’s fast-rising MMA star Wu Hao Tian. Others in the fight card are Uzbekistan’s Nemat Bobomukhamedov vs. China’s Yao Qiang; Justin Holdaas (USA) vs. Francisco Ayon (Mexico); Kim Whi Gyu (Korea) vs. Wang Sai (China); Kim Ho Jin (Korea) vs. Chris Bostick (USA); Marko Huusansaari (Finland) vs. Xue Guo Bin (China); Shawn David (USA) vs. Ole Baguio Larson (Denmark); Sirojiddin Uzakbaev (Uzbekistan) vs. Ning Guang You (China); Fransino Tirta (Indonesia) vs. Malik Arash Mawlayi (Sweden); Atsuhiro Tsuboi (Japan) vs. Dai Shuang Hai (China); and Baga Agaev (Russia) vs. Rolles Gracie (Brazil).
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, will be in town to watch the bouts.
China’s Art of War is one of the most watched mixed martial arts events in the world. It is established in 2004, promoted by Adoria Entertainment Group, and is mainland China’s premier mixed martial arts promotion. The Art of War Fighting Championship is broadcasted via satellite nationwide to a network coverage of 300 million viewers.
