XFC 28 Preview: Kieran Joblin meets Sung Hwa Han in ‘Road to Pancrase’ final

Pictured: New Zealand fighter Kieran Joblin will battle for XFC lightweight title (Source: Raw Photography)

Brisbane based South Korean fighter Sung Hwa Han will battle New Zealand fighter Kieran Joblin in the final of the ‘Road to Pancrase’ lightweight tournament this Saturday night at Xtreme Fighting Championships (XFC) 28.

The pro-am event takes place at the Mansfield Tavern in Brisbane’s south.

After starting off his career fighting in South Korea, ‘Dynamic Monkey’ Sung Hwa Han has based himself for the last 12-months in Brisbane where he trains out of Integrated MMA. The lightweight made his Australian debut back in August at XFC 27 and overcame tough Kiwi Pumau Campbell via decision in the semi-finals.

He will look took make it two from two when he comes up against 28-year-old Kieran Joblin who overcame Ethan Duniam in his semi-final bout. Since then the Kiwi has gone on to successfully defend his Carnage in the Cage lightweight title against Brentin Mumford. The win was his eighth in his last nine fights.

The winner will be crowned the XFC lightweight champion and also earns the right to showcase their skills with Japanese promotion Pancrase in 2017.

In a welterweight title bout, undefeated Sinosic-Perosh MMA trained Andrew Mills will looks to keep his unblemished pro MMA record going when he faces current champion, New Zealand’s Matt Vaile.

Mills brings an 7-0 record into the contest and is coming off a unanimous decision against Rick Alchin back in March. Vaile captured the XFC welterweight crown back in February when he submitted James Klingner impressively in the opening round. Since then, outside the promotion, he has gone on to defeat Jo Van Duin before losing to former UFC fighter Benny Alloway in his last outing.

Also on the card, Bevan O’Malley will meet Jeshua McPhail in a QLD vs NSW featherweight battle. After spending time training at Jacksons MMA in New Mexico, O’Malley looked impressive in his last outing, submitting Beau Luxford while McPhail returns for the first time this year after losing his last outing back in March 2015.

In other professional bouts, Glen Pettigrew faces Damien Fraser, James Vake meets Michael McDaniel and Josh Robson clashes with Craig Callaghan in a welterweight bout.

The promotion also announced today that their bantamweight title holder Gustavo Falciroli will defend his title in February at XFC 29, with an opponent yet to be named.

Fight Card (Pro):

• Kieran Joblin vs. Sung Hwa Han – XFC lightweight title
• Matt Vaile (c) vs. Andrew Mills – XFC welterweight title
• Jeshua McPhail vs. Bevan O’Malley
• Glen Pettigrew vs. Damien Fraser
• James Vake vs. Michael McDaniel
• Josh Robson vs. Craig Callaghan

Fight Card (Amateur):

• Elton Pure vs. Connor Birch
• Darren Habben vs. Logan Price
• Fau Vake vs. David Farrel
• Ryan McCracken vs. Sam Lawson
• Hiki West vs. Mathew Moore
• Ben Salm vs. John Armstrong
• Jacob Harwood vs. Matthew Jones

Falciroli submits “Julz Jackal” in XFC 27 main event

XFC 26 recap: Damien Brown stops Pumau Campbell to retain XFC title