Wu HaoTian and Arthit “A Ting” Hanchana, fighters from markedly contrasting disciplines, will face one another in a co-main event, which promises to be astounding, at RUFF 7 to vie for a position in the 2013 RMB 1,000,000 Super Fight on Saturday, December 22.

Wu, fighting out of Beijing’s China Top Team, comes from a background in wrestling and Jiu Jitsu. Hanchana, fighting out of Guangzhou KO Club, brings a superbly refined and stunning proficiency in Muay Thai.

Wu and Hanchana both have a vested interest in securing a victory to move on to the open slot for the RMB 1,000,000 Super Fight. That common factor is their shared opponent, lightweight division leader, Rodrigo Caporal. Caporal delivered overwhelming defeats for Wu via KO at RUFF 5 and Hanchana via submission by brabo choke at RUFF 6.

“It was a very careless loss,” comments Wu. “[Next time] it will be a war on the ground.”

Wu might be looking forward to the rematch against Caporal with determination and hope, but he must still defeat Hanchana to reach that dream. He has yet to win a match in the RUFF cage and must not miscalculate Hanchana’s Jiu Jitsu skill set. Both of Hanchana’s RUFF wins have been by means of submission.

However, Hanchana does have a passable submission defense. Wu will have to take the fight to the mat to force Hanchana to face his weak defense, but Hanchana can force Wu to face his own weakness in the standup game by maintaining distance and delivering a myriad of his patented head kicks.

My advantage is my courage and strength,” explains Hanchana. “In the second round I will [hit him] with strong Muay Thai knees.”

The Wu versus Hanchana match is unlike any of the other elimination matchups on the ROFF 7 main card. Wu faces the disadvantage of not automatically qualifying for the open slot to face Caporal in the 2013 Super Fight because he has yet to win a fight in the RUFF cage. He will not likely be given the slot if the win is by split decision.

Wu will have to own the fight by showing the judges he can decisively maintain dominance against Hanchana. Others believe he may even have to finish Hanchana in order to qualify. However, all Hanchana has to do to qualify is beat Wu.

“A Ting has the better record and lasted longer with Rodrigo [Caporal], but if HaoTian dominates it’s a hard case to put the loser through,” adds RUFF matchmaker Brandon Resnick. “Like we’ve been saying from the [beginning], it isn’t just your record, it is also the fights you put on and what you do outside of the cage.”

Wu and Hanchana, both veterans in the world of Chinese MMA, both have their eyes set on competing for China’s first MMA national championship belt in February, 2013. Wu defeated Hanchana in 2009 at AOW 15 by submission via Kimura, but these two stars have grown and developed in the time since then. There lingers no doubt that this rematch will be an explosive meeting of two warriors keen to dominate the other for a chance to potentially become China’s first lightweight champion.

Wu and Hanchana are both scheduled to star in a 10-part reality series, RUFF Journey, which made its debut on November 27, 2012, and is broadcast across China weekly, leading up to the Super Fight. The co-main event between Wu HaoTian and Arthit Hanchana, along with all other RUFF 7 matches, will be aired live on Saturday, December 22.

For more on RUFF, RUFF 7, and the 2013 RMB 1,000,000 Super Fight, visit www.RUFFChina.com, or continue to check back here at your home for the latest breaking and current MMA news, ProMMANow.com

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