ANOTHER mixed martial artist with Filipino blood tries to make the country proud in the first staging of ONE FC this year.
Harris Sarmiento, the Ilocos Norte-born, Hawaii-raised fighter who recently transferred from Pacific X-Treme Combat to Asia’s largest MMA organization, is set to tangle with Brazilian Herbert Burns in ONE FC: War of Nations on March 14 in Malaysia.
A veteran of over 60 professional fights, the 30-year-old former PXC lightweight champion failed to come to terms with PXC on a contract extension last month, forcing him to take his act to ONE FC.
Nicknamed 'The Hitman,' Sarmiento faces Burns in the featherweight division in one of the undercard bouts of a card that will also see top Filipino bantamweight Kevin Belingon squaring off against Korean Dae Hwan Kim in the co-main event.
Sarmiento is seeking to recover from a unanimous-decision loss to Ryan Mulvihill in Destiny MMA – Proving Grounds last August in Hawaii and improve his 36-25 win-loss slate.
The 5-foot-6 Sarmiento, who defended his PXC lightweight title belt against Isaiah Ordiz last February, last fought at featherweight in November 2012 when he lost to Ultimate Fighting Championship aspirant Mark Striegl via submission right in the first round.
And he will have to be wary of Burns, a submission specialist who is undefeated in two fights, the last in December against another Filipino in Edward Kelly
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