“Rock Man” Chen Lei Opens ONE: DYNASTY OF HEROES With Exciting Finish
“Rock Man” Chen Lei survived an early leg lock onslaught to keep his undefeated record intact.
The 28-year-old Changsha, China, native defeated Indonesia’s Jeremy “Predator” Meciaz in the opening bout of ONE: DYNASTY OF HEROES via strikes. It was a fast-paced affair that kept the crowd riveted from the very second the two athletes entered the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
“I am really happy and really excited,” Chen states, back in the locker room after his win. “I will fight every fight in ONE Championship like that.”
From the moment the Foo Fighters’ Best Of You hit the speakers, Chen was ready. But so was Meciaz, an Indonesian grappling champion making his professional mixed martial arts debut.
Almost immediately, the 25-year-old Jakarta native showed his inexperience. After the bell rang to begin the catchweight bout, Meciaz sprinted across the cage and furiously exchanged strikes with Chen. He seemed to overwhelm his Chinese counterpart, and pulled a scissor guard before attempting to lock up a heel hook.
The 28-year-old Chen, also an accomplished jiu-jitsu practitioner who happens to be the Shanghai Open BJJ Champion, tried everything he could to escape the hold. He battered the Indonesian’s with hammerfists, kicked to the body, and kept rolling to get his leg free.
A solid minute later, he broke out of the hold, unleashed several ground strikes, and then stood up and kicked Meciaz’s legs.
Opting to restart the action on the feet, the referee stood the pair up. Meciaz, who seemed to have expended all his energy, tiredly moved forward with strikes, but Chen kept cracking him with crisper strikes.
Eventually, “Predator” attempted to pulled guard in order to escape further punishment, but the Chinese warrior escaped and rained punches on his opponent. He kept up the assault until referee Yuji Shimada called the contest at the 2:56 mark and awarded the TKO to “Rock Man.”
Chen remains undefeated, and moves his record to a perfect 5-0, with all of his wins coming via finish. Meciaz, however, begins his ONE Championship journey on a loss.
