Singapore-based fighters dominate Mixed Martial Arts Championship

Hallinan, who trains with MMA legend and wrestling stand out Dan Henderson, took a leaf from her compatriot and once the fight hit the floor she was firmly in control. She moved into the mount and began to systematically slam her Chinese opponent into the canvass. In a desperate attempt to escape Yang gave up her back and Hallinan sank in a rear naked choke for a fantastic come from behind submission win.

The American admitted that she was taken aback by the sheer power of her opponent.

“It was a really hard victory and I didn’t expect to win it after such a poor start to the fight. I knew that she was a good striker and but we didn’t know how powerful her punches are. I really thought that I wasn’t going to make it through the fight after she came out so aggressively, but I managed to fight through the flurry of her punches and pin her to the wall, and that gave me a chance to regroup and rethink my strategy. Once I managed to mount, I got my confidence back and found my chance and took it,” said Hallinan.

The evening’s other contest saw Isamu Himura and Xavier Macay in a three-round war of attrition which ended in a draw, the first in Martial Combat history. Himura landed takedown after takedown in the opening two rounds but began to tire towards the end of the fight allowing Macay to battle his way to a hard-fought decision draw.

Mixed martial arts fans can expect even more hard-hitting action in the final two Martial Combat shows next month on 15-16 October, when 10 world-class mixed martial arts fighters battle over five explosive fights. Returning to the cage at Resort World Sentosa will be Filipino wrecking machine Eduard Folayang, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu wizard Ray Elbe and MMA legend Ole Laursen.