A Guide to the Fighters in ESPN Star Sport's Martial Combat

Martial Combat is only a few months old but it has already emerged as the most significant Asian MMA show outside of Japan.

The show is being broadcast by ESPN Star Sports to 24 Asian countries and a potential viewing audience of millions, as well as the thousands in attendance at Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore.

While it has already captured the imagination of viewers in Asia, awareness of Martial Combat outside of this continent is still limited.

This is a guide, in chronological order, to some of the top fighters to have emerged from the six Martial Combat shows to date.

For more information about upcoming Martial Combat shows visit: www.rwmartialcombat.com.

To view Martial Combat fights online visit the videos section of: www.espnstar.com.

Leandro Issa

One of a number of top fighters to be based at Evolve MMA in Singapore, Issa, also known as Brodinho, emerged victorious from the very first Martial Combat fight.

He now holds two first-round submission victories for Martial Combat and an overall record of 7-2, with all seven of his wins coming by way of submission.

He is a BJJ black belt and a BJJ Mundials World Champion who normally fights at 67 kg and will be a force to be reckoned with in Martial Combat.

Ole Laursen

Ole Laursen is a world class stand up fighter who has held world titles in both Muay Thai and kickboxing.

He is also surprisingly well rounded and made his MMA debut back in 2006 although his subsequent appearances have been sporadic as he has focused on his Muay Thai career and his Legacy Muay Thai gym in Thailand.

His very first MMA fight was against Japanese veteran Genki Sudo. Laursen had been handpicked as an opponent for Sudo to showcase his submission skills, but the fight went the full three rounds with Sudo only winning by way of decision.

Things did not get any easier for Laursen who was submitted by another Japanese legend, Caol Uno, in his second MMA outing.

Laursen went on to win his next three MMA fights, including an impressive submission win over Eduardo Pachu at Martial Combat 1.

With world class stand up and solid submission skills Laursen, who fights at 72 kg, is looking to make a name for himself as an MMA fighter.

He has put his Muay Thai career on hold to focus on MMA and definitely has the potential to succeed in the sport.

Kevin Belingon

Kevin Belingon is one of a number of exciting prospects to emerge from the Philippines.

He has a Wushu background but is unbeaten in MMA with a perfect record of 7-0.

Belingon easily won his first Martial Combat fight and has gone on to record another impressive win in Hong Kong since then.

He fights at around 62 kg and is the reigning flyweight champion for URCC, the major MMA promotion in the Philippines.

Mitch Chilson

In the absence of any real local talent Mitch Chilson has become an honorary Singaporean.

The American is based at Evolve MMA and delighted the home crowd by winning a close contest at Martial Combat 2 when he knocked out Chinese fighter Zang Jing Xiong in the third round.

Chilson, who fights at around 67kg, is an experienced Muay Thai fighter who is working studiously on his ground game.

Although he has started his MMA career late in life, at 32, he is in fantastic shape and will be looking to make a big impression at Martial Combat.

Joe Ray

Joe Ray has the MMA world at his feet. He made his MMA debut at Strikeforce: Miami earlier this year and has a perfect record of 3-0.

His fight against unbeaten Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt Zorobabel Moreira at Martial Combat 3 was supposed to be the toughest of his career.

Ray knocked the BJJ black belt out cold after just 14 seconds in a highlight-reel KO which has already been witnessed by hundreds of thousands of viewers on the internet.

The Martial Combat matchmakers were so impressed by Ray, who fights at around 77 kg, that they are flying in UFC veteran Chad Reiner specifically to fight him.

Regardless of the outcome of that particular fight heavy handed Ray looks to have a very bright future in the sport.

Eduard Folayang

Eduard Folayang is probably the highest rated fighter in the Philippines at present.

He is a highly decorated Wushu champion who made his name fighting for URCC and has an extremely respectable MMA record of 8-1.

He submitted Egon Racz in his Martial Combat debut and then fought again the following month against Chinese fighter Bao She Ri Gu Leng, better known as Warlord.

Warlord provided Folayang with a tough test in the five-round super belt fight and dominated the fight for the opening two and a half rounds.

Folayang appeared to be in trouble, but he showed great heart to come back and impose his wrestling skills to grind out a decision.

Folayang normally fights at 72 kg, although he has been known to venture higher and is the reigning URCC welterweight champion.

Expect to see him facing some high calibre international opponents on Martial Combat in the future.

Arthur Cesar

Arthur Cesar has three wins under his belt already this year and won four out of five fights in 2009 with his only loss coming by way of split decision.

His fights have a tendency to go the distance, meaning that he has spent more time than most inside the cage.

He has a black belt in BJJ and demonstrated his submission skills at Martial Combat 5 when he wasted little time in taking down Yun Seob Kwak and submitting him.

He has an overall record of 11-4 but his record since 2008 is 8-1 and he is riding a four-fight win streak. Cesar normally fights at 93 kg.

Robert Washington

Robert Washington is a full-time member of the US Navy and a single father of three, but he has somehow found time to amass an unbeaten MMA record of 8-0.

He comes from a wrestling background but has been working on his striking and grappling skills at Spike 22 in Guam.

He made his Martial Combat debut against Josh Payne and was extremely elusive, showing good striking skills and lateral movement.

The only disappointment was that despite getting the better of the exchanges, Washington was unable to finish the fight.

He did demonstrate that he has all the tools required to be a successful mixed martial artist and he will be a force to be reckoned with at 72 kg.

Seung Ho Yang

Seung Ho Yang, better known as Tommy, is a real life MMA prodigy. He is only 20 but already has an MMA record of 4-0.

Even more impressively, he actually made his MMA debut at the age of 17 and his appearance at Martial Combat 6 was his first in over two years.

In that time, he has been working extensively on his BJJ in Brazil where he made a name for himself by winning a number of grappling tournaments.

Hailing from South Korea, he is based at Evolve MMA in Singapore and fights at 77 kg.

The Martial Combat matchmakers firmly believe that this young fighter wiill find his way into the UFC before too long.

Ray Elbe

Ray Elbe makes the list based more on reputation than his performance in his sole Martial Combat appearance to date, when he was denied the opportunity to showcase his skills by a premature tap.

A BJJ black belt he has been fighting for almost a decade and has faced the likes of Diego Sanchez and DeMarques Johnson. His fight with the latter was actually for a spot on The Ultimate Fighter 9.

He fought Alan Fenandes at Martial Combat 6 but the fight was stopped when Fenandes tapped with Elbe in his half guard, citing a pre-exisiting rib injury.

With a record of 22-11 Elbe has tremendous experience. He normally fights at 77 kg and will be hoping that if he can put together a series of impressive wins at Martial Combat, he might get another shot at the UFC.

Others

Sabah Fadai: A Canadian fighter who is based in the Philippines and holds an MMA record of 5-1. Fights at 66 kg.

Wiktor Svensson: From Sweden but based in Thailand. Submitted his opponent in just 28 seconds on his Martial Combat debut and holds a record of 2-0. Fights at 77 kg.

Jun Soo Lim:This Korean heavyweight has two Martial Combat wins out of two. He dislocated the elbow of his first opponent and knocked the second one out.

Muhsin Corbbrey: He is still contracted to the WEC and us unlikely to be fighting for Martial Combat for too much longer but will be more than a match for any fighter in the region at 72 kg.

Claire Haigh: She has an MMA record of 2-0 and tends to get involved in some very entertaining fights. Be interesting to see how many opponents there are for her at 62 kg.

Bao She Ri Gu Leng: Although he lost his only Martial Combat fight to date, 'Warlord' gave Eduard Folayang a torrid time. This 72-kg Chinese fighter has excellent stand up and reasonable wrestling and will not be an easy opponent for anyone.