Igor Subora is a man on a mission. His brows furrowed and a steely glare from his eyes, anyone can tell Subora means business.
Signed to Asia’s largest mixed martial arts organization ONE Championship, Subora knows the murderers’ row of opponents he faces in the heavyweight division. Next on the list is Canadian-Taiwanese Paul Cheng, who Subora will clash with at ONE: VALOR OF CHAMPIONS on April 24. Cheng is one of the top heavyweights in the division, and his name has been mentioned as a potential contender when ONE Championship introduces a heavyweight division. A former American football player, Cheng has finished both of his opponents inside the ONE Championship cage. However, Subora believes he has nothing to fear. He said, “Paul is a big guy with some power in his hands but he has a predictable style.” So confident in fact, that Subora predicted he will finish his opponent. He stated, “I will finish him. This fight will not reach the final bell”.
Subora is eager to have his hands raised in his adopted hometown of the Philippines. In his ONE Championship debut, his opponent, Fil-Am superstar Brandon Vera, received the lion share of the fan support in the country. It was the homecoming for Vera, who competed in the Philippines for the first time. Subora had to play second fiddle, and ultimately lost the bout via knockout. This time though, he will be the hometown favorite, and is eager to represent the Philippines. The Ukrainian moved to the Philippines seven years ago and never looked back since. He decimated the heavyweights in the region with his myriad of boxing and combat sambo skills, leaving his previous promoter with difficulty finding him an opponent. With ONE Championship regularly holding packed shows at the 20,000 seater MOA Arena in Manila, Subora signed with the organization.
Although the ONE Championship debut did not go his way, Subora remains confident. When asked what he will change from his previous bout, he simply replied, “The outcome”.