Rey Docyogen is the best flyweight mixed martial artist this country has ever produced and is unbeaten in ten professional fights. He has the chance to show he can be equally effective on the international stage when fights outside of the Philippines for the first time at ONE FC: ‘Return of Warriors’ in Malaysia next month.
A member of Team Lakay in Baguio, Docyogen has beaten all comers so far in his career and his record currently stands at 10-0. The next step is for him to prove he can hold his own against the best fighters in the world and he will have his first opportunity to do that when he takes on Shinichi Kojima at the Stadium Putra in Kuala Lumpur on Feb. 2.
Kojima is a Japanese veteran and former Shooto Champion who was ranked as the No. 1 fighter in the world at his weight before suffering a series of injuries which prevented him from competing regularly enough to keep his ranking.
Although his record compares favorably with that of his more experienced opponent, who is 12-5-5, Docyogen is adamant that he will be the underdog in this fight.
“He has been fighting for a long time and he has fought some very famous fighters, some of the best flyweights in the world. This will be a very hard fight but I want to challenge myself against the best to prove that I am the best and I need to beat fighters like Kojima if I want to do that.”
Since his first fight in 2006 Docyogen has dominated the pinweight division fighting for the URCC where he is the 119 lbs champion. His outstanding record brought him to the attention of Asia’s biggest MMA organization, ONE FC, who rate him highly enough to have his match with Kojima a title eliminator.
The winner will get an automatic shot at the ONE FC World Flyweight title and Docyogen is already dreaming about winning the belt,
“ONE FC is the biggest promotion in Asia and all fighters here want to be champion so they can say ‘I am the best’. Now people in the Philippines know my name but if I can win the belt then everyone in the world will know Rey Docyogen.”
Docyogen will not be the first Filipino to win an MMA world title. That honour will go to the winner of the fight between Eric Kelly and Honorio Banario which is the main event of ONE FC: ‘Return of Warriors’ and has the featherweight belt on the line.