The Phnom Penh Post - ENGLISH: “Pucci wants to emulate his Brazilian MMA idols” plus 9 more

Brazil may be the birthplace of BJJ, but even fighters from the South American MMA stronghold are well aware of the vital role that Asia has played in the sport's history and development.

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Bruno Pucci grew up watching his Brazilian heroes do battle in Japan during the days of the now defunct Pride FC and, as he prepares to fight in Asia for the very first time, says the continent has always had its allure.

"I have been following some of the Asian MMA fights since I was a teenager watching Pride FC," Pucci told the Post.

"There are a lot of shows in Brazil and most of the fight cards mainly consist of Brazilian fighters, but in Asia the shows are more varied as the fighters are from different countries. You can see the different styles here, and it is good for the growth of the sport,"

The 23-year-old No-Gi grappling world champion, who holds a black belt in BJJ, is effectively embarking on a crash course in Asian MMA as he is slated to face unbeaten Pakistani featherweight Bashir Ahamd at ONE FC: Champions & Warriors on September 13.

The two fighters, who both boast perfect professional records of 2-0, will do battle at the 15,000-seater Istora Senayan Stadium in Jakarta, with Pucci expecting a completely different challenge from the type he has typically been facing in his native Brazil.

"Both of the previous opponents I fought were from BJJ backgrounds, so I could use my ground game. In this fight we've got different fighting styles because Bashir has more striking skills, so probably the fight will be quite different from my previous fights," he said.

Pucci's presence in Asia is entirely due to Evolve MMA owner Chatri Sityodtong, who was sufficiently impressed by the young Brazilian's exploits in becoming a multiple time world grappling champion, as well as the promising start he had made to his professional MMA career, to invite him to join the fight team he founded in Singapore.

Evolve MMA has a reputation as being the best facility of its type in the region and Pucci feels fortunate to have been given the opportunity to continue his development as a mixed martial artist in such a prestigious environment, "I feel lucky to get the offer from Evolve MMA last year after my graduation from university and it was not a difficult decision to move to Singapore and join Evolve considering the world class facility, famous world champions in different disciplines of martial arts, as well as the opportunity to fight in big shows like ONE FC," said Pucci.

The ONE FC featherweight division is highly competitive and is home to top fighters such as Eric Kelly, Bae Young Kwon and Honorio Banario, as well as reigning champion Koji Oishi, who won the title belt in front of 20,000 fans in Manila in May.

Pucci is taking on another up-and-coming star in Ahmad, and hopes he can get himself into contention for a shot at one of the established 145lbs (65.8kg) stars by making a big impression on his ONE FC debut,

"I have watched these guys fight in previous ONE FC events. There are some tough fighters from Japan, Philippines and Korea and I respect their skills, hard work and big hearts, but I am not intimidated by them.

"They inspire me to train harder and improve more because I know my skill, dedication and heart are not less than theirs. When I face one of them, I will be very confident," he added.

Oishi, the reigning featherweight champion, is over a decade older than the Brazilian and has more than 20 times as many fights but, despite this enormous gulf in terms of experience, Pucci is already sizing him up as a potential future opponent,

"I always believe in myself and if I get the opportunity to contend for the title shot with Oishi, I'd do my specific training camp to be the new champion. Since Oishi's known to be a wrestler, I'd probably pay more attention to refine my takedowns," he said.

Pucci's first fight for ONE FC is on a completely different scale to anything he has ever experienced in Brazil. It will be screened live all over Asia by Star Sports and shown by numerous other broadcasters worldwide, including in South America.

He will also be taking on an accomplished opponent who has already registered a hard fought decision win under the ONE FC banner and Pucci is well aware of what will be at stake in Jakarta.

"Without doubt it is the most important fight for me since I started MMA because it's my first time fighting in Asia in such a big show and I hope to make a good impression and make all my family, friends and students proud," he said.

In the first instalment in an ongoing series, The Phnom Penh Post talks with Ou Virak, president of the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights, about the 2013 vote and the post-election process.

What I could do at that site was just watch that they were confirming aloud the correctness of the addition.

After two years of assembling Hyundai vehicles in Cambodia for the domestic market, South Korea-based Hyundai Motor Company is increasing its production to meet rising demand, aiming to reach 800 units in 2013, a company's representative said.

"We hope to achieve it," Lim Visal, director of Hyundai's Cambodian assembler, Camko Motor Company, said in an interview on Tuesday.

Visal is confident that despite a shortage of parts from South Korea due to high global demand for Hyundai vehicles, the company can continue to gain market share in Cambodia.

"We perceive the outlook for the near future to be very positive," he said.

Located in the Koh Kong Special Economic Zone, about 370 kilometres southwest of Phnom Penh, Camko Motor Company is a joint venture between Hyundai distributor KH Motors and Cambodia's Ly Yong Phat Group. The operation currently employs about 30 people.

Camko Motor plans to build a new warehouse to accommodate more stock as well as expand its showroom, but details on the scheduling have been scant.

In the domestic market, the company produces SUVs and 12-seater vans.

Visal said Camko is also contemplating exporting the cars it assembles in Cambodia.

As production costs rise in countries such as China, Thailand and Vietnam, more companies could relocate to Cambodia where manufacturing is cheaper, industry observers have said.

The Cambodian automotive industry will expand after the Kingdom's integration into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Economic Community in 2015, thanks to the free flow of goods within the bloc and Cambodia's competitive advantage as a low-cost manufacturer, according to Cambodian Commerce Minister Cham Prasidh.

Speaking to reporters at the First Phnom Penh International Motor Show in March, Prasidh said that many Japanese-based companies in Thailand and Vietnam are considering coming to Cambodia to operate assembling factories.

"Companies can import tires from Malaysia, the mirrors from Indonesia, or other spare parts from other countries and then assemble them in Cambodia where the production cost is cheaper," Prasidh said, highlighting Cambodia's low-cost labour advantage.

The Supreme Court issued a mixed-bag verdict in the appeal case of former Chea Sim bodyguard Chhoeun Chanthan yesterday, upholding his 10-year sentence in a civilian court of forgery and illegal weapons possession, but ordering his 26-year sentence from a military court to be re-examined at the appellate level.

"He was accused of damaging military equipment by selling four military cars, dereliction of duty, selling weapons and issuing illegal weapons without authorisation from the Ministry of Defence. The accused used all kinds of tricks by selling materials and real estate without the approval from the ministry," presiding judge Khim Bun said.

Chanthan's initial 2012 conviction on charges relating to possessing a cache of illegal weapons and of forging and distributing weapons licences for those considered unqualified to hold them would stand, Bun said. In addition to his 10-year prison sentence on those charges, Chanthan had been fined $1,250.

However, Bun said, the facts in the military court case – in which Chanthan was sentenced to 26 years and fined more than $3 million for breach of trust, embezzlement of state property and illegally distributing weapons – were unclear, and the case would be returned to the Appeal Court for a new investigation and a retrial.

Puth Theavy, Chanthan's lawyer, applauded the court's decision to reinvestigate his client's military charges, but said that its upholding of the civilian court's sentence was unacceptable.

"For the verdict that the Supreme Court upheld, I will appeal to review the documents," he said. "As for the verdict that was transferred to the Appeal Court, I will take legal action for my client to be acquitted. I understand that the military court action to sentence my client to 26 years was a serious decision."

Chanthan was first arrested in 2011 at his home in Phnom Penh's Chamkarmon district. During the arrest, police seized a dozen guns, including an AK-47 and two machine guns, as well as more than 1,400 rounds of ammunition.

Villagers in Kandal province have instigated a turf war over a private company they accuse of illegally pumping sand out of Koh Prak River.

Fearing riverbank erosion could damage the surrounding community, about 100 residents of Koh Prak village in Kien Svay district's Phoum Thom commune began protesting Saturday against the unidentifed company's placement of three pipes in the river.

Kandal provincial governor Phay Bunthoeun said yesterday that after sending provincial officials to examine the situation, responsibility lay with officials in bordering Meanchey district, Phnom Penh.

"I will continue tracking this case, but this is not the problem of Kandal province," Bunthoeun said.

After the protest, pumping stopped, according to villager Phok Dara, 51, who said two tubes had been removed while one remained in the river.

"We will have to wait and see which authorities take responsibility for this dispute," he said.

Meanchey district governor Kouch Chamroeun denied the presence of private companies pumping sand in his district.

"If the Kandal governor said there was pumping in my territory, you should tell him to get more information."

More than 4,000 workers returned to work at a Kampong Cham-based footwear company after the company agreed to eventually negotiate with workers on demands the company had refused.

The employees at Chinese-owned Juhui Footwear Co, Ltd, walked out on Friday, with 18 demands of their employers.

Juhui officials agreed to 15 of them, but wouldn't budge on a $3 raise to their monthly transportation payments, a $5 monthly healthcare allowance or paying attendance bonuses in proportion to how much work employees miss (rather than losing the entire bonus by missing a day).

"There are three more points that the factory did not agree, but we will get back to work because a factory representative promised the workers that in three months, they will discuss the workers' remaining issues," said Soung Liza, a worker representative.

Workers, most of whom unionised with the Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers' Democratic Union (C.CAWDU) in June, were also asked not to protest on company premises, Liza added.

On Saturday, Juhui agreed to pay sick leave and overtime transportation costs, and to introduce onsite doctors, Kong Athit, C.CAWDU's vice-president, said this week.

Government officials began inspecting markets across the country yesterday in search of baby formula containing an ingredient from New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra that could cause botulism, quality control representatives at the Ministry of Commerce said.

"We informed all our officials directly to collect nationwide some batch numbers of products which [local distributor of] the company informed us of," said Khoun Savuth, an official with the ministry's Camcontrol department.

"I don't think we will have any difficulties because we have staff nationwide, and we have had especially good cooperation with the company," he said, referring not to Fonterra but to the Cambodian purveyor of the potentially tainted baby formula, Danone Dumex.

On Saturday, Fonterra alerted eight companies, including French food giant Danone, that they had bought the contaminated ingredient to use in their products. Through local distributor Danone Dumex Cambodia, the ingredient was traced to baby formula here and a recall of up to 8,000 cartons of the product began on Monday.

The tainted whey protein in question contains a bacterium that can cause botulism, a rare but potentially fatal disease.

Danone Dumex Cambodia received nearly 600 phone calls to its hotline from concerned mothers on Tuesday after the announcement.

Kong Bo, Danone Dumex's acting country manager, was anticipating an even greater number of calls yesterday, as concerned parents phoned to check their products against batch codes that contain the whey protein.

"The affected code is not the majority of our products," Bo said, adding that he was unaware of any reports of illness.

The recalled formulas were listed as Dumex Dupro Green, Dumex Dupro Gold and Dumex Dulac Gold, powders used for making infant milk. By the end of the day on Tuesday, Danone Dumex Cambodia representatives had met with 210 retailers and took back hundreds of cartons.

With the ingredient present in products from China to Saudi Arabia, New Zealand's Fonterra was struggling to meet its self-imposed deadline of late last night to have it removed from circulation.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY AFP

At least 20,000 tourists and travellers will participate in the so-called "sea festival" at the end of this year, officials at the Kep province tourism department said.

The two-day event, which started in 2011 as a tourism booster for the country's coasts and beaches, was cancelled last year due to the death of the late King Father Norodom Sihanouk in October.

Som Chenda, director of the Kep province tourism department, said the government decided to hold the festival on December 7 and 8 in Kep, and it will include sporting activities, a trade fair, fashion shows and concerts.

The first sea festival, held in Preah Sihanouk province in 2011, attracted thousands of tourists. This year, however, accommodation might pose a problem.

"We have experience from Sihanoukville province, which has a lot of hotels and guesthouses but still faced a shortage of accommodations during this event," he said. "Kep province has less than Sihanoukville and will definitely feel the shortages a lot."

Chenda said one way officials might deal with the tight squeeze is to market the use of hotels in nearby Kampot or Preah Sihanouk, a little more than an hour's drive away from Kep.

Uy Vunly, owner of the 13-room Champey Sar guesthouse in Kep, is betting on an increase in visitors over the festival weekend.

Chenda said that at the same time of the sea festival, Cambodia will also host the meeting of the general assembly of the Most Beautiful Bay, a club headquartered in Paris that promotes beach destinations in 30 countries.

The whole Cambodian coastline was recognised as a member of the club on May 26, 2011.

Minister of Tourism Thong Khon said in May that ministers from all over the world will attend the meeting of the general assembly.

"It's a new opportunity to promote our beaches on an international stage."

The number of tourist arrivals increased by about 19 per cent in the first half of this year, reaching over two million tourists at the end of June, data from the Ministry of Tourism show.

A six-member Cambodian national team accompanied by Happy Football Cambodia Australia head coach Jimmy Campbell will leave Phnom Penh today for the Polish city of Poznan to take part in the 11th edition of the annual Homeless Football World Cup from August 10-18.

This unique, socially pioneering enterprise, which aims to beat homelessness in the world through football, has attracted 64 teams – 48 in the men's section and several new teams among the 16 in the women's event. Northern Ireland will be fielding a mixed team for the first time.

Poznan, one of the host cities of UEFA Euro 2012, will stage the event at Lake Malta, a popular tourist attraction offering a combination of scenic beauty and professional sports facilities.

"HFCA is proud to be taking a Cambodian Team for the sixth consecutive year starting from Melbourne in 2008," coach Campbell told the Post yesterday.

"This year's team is once again relatively inexperienced and will, once again, be one of the youngest teams competing. We are looking forward to being involved in this prestigious worldwide event."

Local sponsors for this Poznan expedition are mobile phone operators Smart, while two foreign supporters are Flight Centre (Australia) and GFSS Constructions (Canada).

"Our sponsors throughout the year have shown tremendous support and we have to thank Smart for their backing once again," Camp-bell added.

The six players aged 17 to 20 representing Cambodia are goalkeeper Chhun Bunlao, defenders Lek Chhunmalivy and Nuth Daneth, midfielders Huon Neasa and Chey Makara and striker Prum Chhunly.

While HFCA has been managing and supporting Cambodian national teams for the past six years, it has also provided employment opportunities to work as coaches for nine former players.

Homeless World Cup matches are played on a small 22 metre by 16 metre pitch with walls on each side. The games, involving four players per team including the goalkeeper, are played over two halves of seven minutes each. Substitutions are allowed as often as the manager wants.

Previous host cities of the Homeless World Cup include Graz, Austria (2003), Gothenburg, Sweden (2004), Edinburgh, Scotland (2005), Copenhagen, Denmark (2006), Cape Town, South Africa (2007), Melbourne, Australia (2008), Milan, Italy (2009), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2010), Paris, France (2011), and Mexico City, Mexico (2012).