Trading Gold for Glory: Asian MMA Star Joins Combate

Fighter profile of Ma Bong Sik by Chris Karter

One of the biggest signings this year happened this week when the 14-2-0 fighter, Ma Bong Sik, signed the dotted line with the Combate organization. Ma Bong Sik, training out of Primal Concrete Gym, carved out a legacy as a five-time middleweight champion in Dynasty Contenders. His initial reign began at DC 102 with a head kick knockout that earned him a healthy bonus, and his last defense was at DC 132. However, the unexpected unfolded recently when Ma Bong Sik made a shock decision to relinquish the belt, his loyalty to the Dynasty company brand, and sign with Combate.

Ma Bong Sik's crowd-pleasing style has made him a huge PPV draw in the East and he easily makes for one of the biggest-named signings in recent Combate history. Now the question remains for Combate brass, who should Ma Bong Sik fight in his Combate debut?

Combate upper management hasn't commented on Ma Bong Sik's signing yet, but he is expected to face one of their top middleweights. Ma Bong Sik has a history with one ranked Combate fighter, Fotos Hasapis (17-9-0 MMA, 2-2 Combate), who is trying to bounce back into the win column after a weird fight with Wanderson Machado in which observers have accused Machado of greasing. Fotos camp appealed the loss but in a predictable result the Brazilian commission ruled in favor of Machado, the hometown fighter.

The top five middleweights in Combate are the champion Mustafa Erdogan, Barack Obaminator, Shinnosuke Nakagawa, Wanderson Machado, and Julius "The Juice" Lew. The only fighters without bookings here are Nakagawa and Machado. Machado would undoubtedly be the better stylistic matchup for Ma Bong Sik's Muay Thai style, and Nakagawa could be a nightmare matchup for him if he can't stuff the Japanese fighter's takedown. However, both fighters are signed with Convicted Inc management, so it is unlikely that either fight comes to fruition as the elite management company often likes to keep its fighters away from each other unless the championship belt is on the line.

Who will ultimately get the call? Nobody knows except maybe Combate matchmaker Blaze King, who is undoubtedly frothing at the mouth to get Ma Bong Sik booked against one of the top contenders in the division, almost certainly in the Tokyo bowl to capitalize on the South Korean's Asian fanbase.

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