SINGAPORE—A stoic Richard Corminal sat stone-faced at the Simpor Junior Ballroom, Marina Bay Sands before members of the international media yesterday during the ONE: Immortal Pursuit press conference.
The Filipino veteran is only too aware of the importance of his next bout when he faces French veteran Arnaud Lepont on the undercard of the promotion at the iconic Singapore Indoor Stadium on Friday.
Corminal—who sports a four-win, two-loss MMA record—has won all his fights by knockout and aims to do the same to Lepont who makes his ONE Championship return after a long two-year layoff.
ONE Championship Welterweight World Champion Ben Askren stakes his crown against grappling legend Shinya Aoki in the main event. Singapore’s Amir Khan battles bruiser Adrian Pang in fight between Lightweights in the co-main event.
Filipina Gina Iniong —who tallied a spectacular victory against Indonesian Priscilla Hertati Lumbangaol less than two weeks ago—returns to the cage to battle top Atomweight contender Mei Yamaguchi.
Corminal wants to get back on the winning track by spoiling the return to ONE Championship of the celebrated Lepont. The 35-year-old Filipino lost his ONE Championship promotional debut against Thai martial arts superstar Shannon Wiratchai last March and hopes to bounce back against Lepont.
“I have watched his (Lepont) fights. He is good. He is tough. I am just going to do my thing. I want to finish my fights standing. Sometimes when I have an opponent on the ground, I can beat them up. But I prefer to finish a fight standing,” said Corminal.
Lepont took a long break from competition to manage one of Vietnam’s biggest martial arts gyms in the nation’s capital of Ho Chi Minh City. After two years away from the cage, Lepont makes his long-awaited return to ONE Championship.
Despite Lepont’s long layoff Corminal expressed caution especially because of the experience of the wily Lepont.
“He is a more experienced fighter than I am. I know what he is capable of doing inside the cage. I will do my best. I’ve worked hard just to make it here in ONE Championship. I won’t waste this opportunity,” said Corminal.
Corminal is an aggressive fighter who likes to finish fights. He is confident that he would notch a decisive victory over his experienced opponent.
“I take pride on being an exciting competitor inside the cage. I am willing to please the crowd by always seeking the highlight-reel finish. In my next ONE Championship match, fans are in for a real treat,” said Corminal.