Undefeated Gold Coast based Judoka Michael Tobin has had his next bout confirmed with the 22 year-old set to meet Brazilian Jiu Jitsu specialist Kleber Koike Erbst on Rebel Fighting Championships. Erbst steps into the tournament to replace the injured Yojiro Uchimura.
The two will meet in the semi-final stages of the featherweight tournament which will continue on the promotions next event titled ‘The Promised Ones’. The event takes place at the Qingdao Sports Centre in China on June 27.
It will be a battle of two submission specialists with Erbst and Tobin having a combined total of 21 submission wins between them in MMA.
An Australian Judo representative now training out of Potential Unlimited MMA, Tobin (MMA 9-0) last competed at Eternal 7 where he kept his undefeated record intact, submitting Johnny Mendez Walker via submission in first-round. It was Tobin’s eighth submission win from nine bouts.
Tobin progressed to the semi-final stage of the tournament by default after his first-round opponent Pat Promrangka forfeited just over 24 hours from their scheduled bout on Rebel FC 2 back in August.
It’s easy to see why Erbst (MMA 16-3-1) could be Tobin’s toughest test to date with the Japanese based fighter having a impressive list of grappling accomplishments that includes a runner-up position at the 2013 World Pro Abu Dhabi championships and multiple competition wins in his native Japan. The 25 year-old has won 13 straight fights with his most recent outing being in February, where he submitted Anzor Azhiev in European promotion KSW.
Facing off on the other side of the bracket, former top ranked bantamweight Miguel Torres will look to rebound from a recent loss when he squares off against Will Chope. The winners will face off against each other in the tournament final.
Local Chinese favourite Wenbo Liu will headline the card with the Boxing specialist coming up against Adil Boranbayev from Kazakhstan.
Fight Card:
- Wenbo Liu vs Adil Boranbayev
- Kenan Song vs Rustam Yamashev
- Gele Qing vs Sungwon Son
- Will Chope vs Miguel Torres – featherweight tournament
- Michael Tobin vs Klebe Koike Erbst – featherweight tournament
