Singapore's 1st MMA fighter makes victorious One FC return

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"I've been unlucky, but now I'm back."

With these words, Radeem Rahman didn't just win his second mixed martial arts (MMA) fight after a long layoff.

The Singaporean also won over a voracious home crowd that backed him every step of the way in a tough battle against Raymond Tan of Malaysia at One Fighting Championship (One FC) Friday evening at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Radeem, who was out for nearly three years due to a host of injuries, clinched the victory via referee stoppage due to strikes with 2min 20s left in the second round.

Yet for most of the fight, Singapore's first ONE FC fighter had the audience holding its breath as he repeatedly crumbled under a flurry of powerful uppercuts and kicks from the taller Tan.

Radeem barely survived a frustrating first round where he failed to do any sort of damage. But the Evolve MMA member emerged rejuvenated in the second period, flooring Tan with an elbow to the head and taking control on top as the cheers grew in intensity.

The 26-year-old then meted out the ground-and-pound and with Tan unable to defend himself, the referee rushed in to halt the fight and improve Radeem's record to 2-0.

"It took me a while to get used to it," said Radeem, who last fought in September 2011. "But I wasn't concerned, I listened to my corner, regrouped and played my game."

He later acknowledged to Yahoo Singapore that the crowd played a huge part in energising him. "This feeling, it cannot be described," said a beaming Radeem. "It's a nice, nice Friday for me."

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However his compatriot, young Singaporean prospect Stephen Langdown, lost by submission on his second outing in the One FC cage.

Out to prove his first and only victory late last year was no fluke, the 21-year-old was instead taught a lesson in the ground game by the older, more experienced Casey Suire of USA.

Langdown tapped out to a rear-naked choke with 1min 41s left in the first round, after spending much of the fight looking distinctively uncomfortable on his back with his 37-year-old opponent on top.

The local crowd were stunned into silence, especially after a promising start by Langdown, who came out swinging with wild punches and kicks. But a hook from Suire dropped the Singaporean to the floor and he never recovered.

"I feel like s**t," Langdown said to Yahoo later. "He didn't like my kicks, but I got dropped by a huge right hand."

The bantamweight (<61.2kg) added: "I lost, but I've just got to go back to the drawing board now. And I'm still going to ask for a fight. I want to get back in there."

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Elsewhere, in the co-main event of the night, Singapore-based local fan favourite Eddie Ng suffered a massive upset at the hands of Vincent Latoel, bringing his undefeated streak in One FC to an end.

And headlining act Ben Askren clinched an expected victory on his debut, submitting Bakhtiyar Abbasov by arm-triangle choke with 39s left in the first round.

See more GIFs and read our blow-by-blow account of the fights here.