Preview: One Championship 'Conquest of Heroes'

Strawweights

Stefer Rahardian (9-1-0) vs. Xuewen Peng (5-4-0)

Stefer Rahardian of Indonesia will have a chance to shine in front of his hometown fans when he takes on Xuewen in their strawweight clash. Rahardian lost his undefeated record at July’s ONE: Reign of Kings event, losing via unanimous decision to a surging Rene Catalan, who is currently on a five-fight winning streak.

31 year-old Rahardian, who comes from a wrestling and BJJ background, was unable to keep the fight on the ground where his superior grappling abilities would have given him the advantage. Catalan’s takedown defense ensured the 37-year-old Wushu national champion was able to keep the fight standing, which suited his style of MMA. Rahardian may have lost, but he never looked in any real danger of being stopped, which is what happened to Peng Xue Wen when he faced off against Catalan in January. Catalan easily overpowered Xue Wen, dominating the contest from the start to the TKO finish at the tail-end of the second round.

It was Xuewen’s first ONE Championship loss, and despite going on to defeat Malaysia’s Eddey Kalai in July, he has yet to show signs that he can trouble the top-tier strawweights. Xue Wen is primarily a grappler with his MMA base built on his Greco-Roman wrestling background. What would have made his loss to Catalan demoralizing was that Catalan was happy to fight with him on the ground, the area in which Xuewen would have felt strongest. At one stage in the second round Catalan voluntarily went into Xuewen’s guard, confident there was little the Chinese fighter could do to threaten him.

Xuewen looks uncomfortable fighting off his back, and if he found Catalan a handful, is likely to struggle against Rahardian if he is caught in a similar position. Xuewen does contain knockout power in his punches but can overextend when he strikes, leading him open to the counter or a takedown. Rahardian should prove to be a level above his younger opponent, who still looks to be a couple of years away from fulfilling his potential.

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