"The Hurricane" Now to Take on "Athena"

A couple of days ago, it was announced that Filipina World champion boxer Ana "The Hurricane" Julaton would have her second professional MMA fight at ONE Fighting Championship's first ever event in Dubai thic coming August. Her opponent was supposed to be against the debuting Irina Mazepa, a decorated Russian kickboxer and wushu parctioner making her MMA debut.

It seems however, that that match will no longer push through, as due to yet to be disclosed reasons, Mazepa is no longer part of the ONE FC: Reign of Champions card. In her place however, is the popular Ann "Athena" Osman.

"The Hurricane" vs. "Athena"

Osman was last seen in the ONE FC cage making her own MMA debut against Sherilyn Lim at ONE FC: Total Domination in Singapore. While Athena came up on the losing end of the bout, losing by split decision, the Malaysian mixed martial artist displayed great strength and wrestling skill. As the fight was close, it warranted a rematch, which unfortunately did push through however, due to Lim missing weight.

While the two fighters are basically new to the pro-MMA game, with Julaton winning her own ONE FC and MMA debut here in the Philippines last May, both have extensive experience in other combat sports. Julaton has won titles as a professional boxer, while Osman has competed at the amateur level in both MMA and Muay Thai.

Another intriguing factor in the fight will be weight, as Julaton competes at flyweight, which is a class higher than Osman's straw weight. While most may immediately cite Julaton as having the slight size advantage, a less strenuous weight cut may also play in the favor of Osman.

ONE FC: Reign of Champions

To see how it all goes down between two of the organization's most popular fighters, catch ONE FC: Reign of Champions this August 29th. The Dubai fight card will be headline by a bout between Shinya Aoki and Kamal Shalorus for the ONE FC World Lightweight Championship. The co-main event will also be a title bout, with Nobutatsu Suzuki defending his Welterweight Championship against American MMa star Ben Askren.