On Saturday morning, November 4, Asian time, or Friday evening, November 3, US time, fans were once again able to witness why ONE Championship is the ultimate destination for martial arts fans in all disciplines.
Eight MMA, kickboxing and Muay Thai fights took place before two big names at ONE Fight Night 16: Haggerty vs. Andrade has indeed exceeded many people’s expectations.
Some fighters outsiders managed to win, a challenger to the world championship title emerged and the legends continued to triumph in the iconic arena of Lumpinee Boxing Stadium, in Bangkok, Thailand.
Here’s a recap of what’s happening in prime time in the United States, live from the Thai capital.
Seks Delivers Classic Action in US Primetime Debut
With his signature style of always dashing forward, his relentless elbow attacks and his extraordinary courage to never refuse a challenge, it’s clear why Seksan Or Kwanmuang is nicknamed “the man who doesn’t give in to anyone.”
He was also the one who welcomed Karim “The Surgeon” Bennoui to the ONE Championship – which was not lucky for the Franco-Algerian debutant.
Seksan came into the Muay Thai fight at 140 pounds and slowly increased his attack with his hard elbows and knees. After nine minutes of Bennoui bombarding with various attacks, the four-time Muay Thai world champion earned a unanimous decision victory.
With this result, the 34-year-old Thai legend earned his first victory in his US primetime debut, improving to 7-0 in the ONE Championship and taking his overall career record to 200-74 .
Amir confirms Challenger status via TKO over Mujtaba
Halil “No Mercy” Amir continued to prove why he deserves a world title shot after stopping Ahmed “Wolverine” Mujtaba between the first and second rounds of their lightweight MMA clash.
Challenger #4 survived some scary moments early in the fight and escaped the attempts Kimura which is quite deep compared to the printing machine submission Pakistan were in the middle of the round.
The Turkish striker then got to Mujtaba’s body and escaped a submission attempt. Triangles weaker than “Wolverine”. He then changed positions and landed several hard strikes from that position until the bell rang.
Between rounds, Mujtaba did not respond to calls as he rested in his corner, forcing referee Herb Dean to stop the fight and give Mujtaba a TKO victory – and taking his toll overall at 10-0 with nine finishes.
Sinsamut outplays Chafi in non-stop hot action
Two-time ONE Lightweight Muay Thai World Champion Sinsamut Klinmee and underdog Mouhcine Chafi face off in their 174.5-pound Muay Thai catchweight clash.
The promotion newcomer was able to give it his all against the Thai superstar for a full nine minutes and found targets for his long-range weapons and punches. right hard.
However, Sinsamut’s counterattacks and careful kicking game finally put an end to the Spanish-Moroccan striker’s relentless aggression, and he eventually secured a unanimous victory.
The result takes the 28-year-old’s career record to 82-18-3 and puts him in position to once again challenge for the lightweight Muay Thai gold belt.
Botelho surprises Zhang after three tough rounds
Rui Botelho weathered the first storm of “Fighting Rooster” Zhang Peimian and held on until the end to secure a split decision, or shared decisionswhich came as a surprise during their strawweight kickboxing match.
Zhang opened the fight on fire, attacking with left hands and low kicks to force Botelho on the defensive. However, the Portuguese striker responded, attacking effectively every time his opponent advanced.
The Chinese phenom came forward aggressively again in the second stanza, but Botelho seemed better prepared to deal with him and placed his right punch well.
The veteran’s combinations also seemed to be on target as he repeatedly hit Zhang with combinations. One. Two while maintaining patience so as not to attack too far.
Knowing it would be a close fight, Botelho opted for more combinations in the final stanza – and this time it was Zhang who reacted and countered. At the end of the fight, “Fighting Rooster” threw several hard kicks to the body, but Botelho managed to dodge them well.
After a close fight, two of the three judges gave the victory to Botelho, who ended his losing streak and earned a big upset over former ONE Strawweight Kickboxing world title challenger.
Miura conquers Meng Via Scarf-style Americana Pillar
“Keep moving forward” – that is the motto written on the Tribe Tokyo MMA jersey worn by Ayaka “Zombie” Miura when she entered the arena ahead of her strawweight MMA match against Meng Bo.
Coincidentally, that was also his fighting philosophy that Saturday morning.
When the bell rang, Miura had to hold back Meng who rushed forward. The Chinese star dragged “Zombie” to the canvas and tried to soften him up with punches.
However, Miura kept himself in check during the exchange blur and take the position side controlwhere he was finally able to obtain Scarf Americana pillar to reach Withdraw at 2:09 of the first round.
With this result, the 33-year-old secured her 12th career victory – and incredibly, Scarf Americana sixth.
In the process, the Japanese sensation also took a big step towards a rematch against ONE Women’s Strawweight MMA World Champion, Xiong Jing Nan.
Tynan locks up Kang in his Big ONE debut
Ben “Vanilla Thunder” Tynan arrived at ONE Championship in style, dominating “Mighty Warrior” Kang Ji Won before capturing submission via arm triangle in the third round of their heavyweight MMA fight.
Kang had no answers for Tynan’s NCAA Division I wrestling ability, as the Canadian quickly took hold. disassemble and controlled the South Korean from the top position. He spent the first round in position to go up targeting submission.
The second round was quite similar, with “Vanilla Thunder” controlling the action on the mat, although Kang showed great strength in the face of domination. ground from Tynan.
“Mighty Warrior” couldn’t go any further, as Tynan once again earned a takedown in the final stanza.
This time he snuggled arm triangle with a meeting, which forced Kang to Withdraw at 1:22 minutes.
With the victory, Tynan improved his MMA record to 5-0, maintained a 100 percent finishing rate and took home a US$50,000 performance bonus.
Morales surprises Supergirl via the end of the first round
In atomweight kickboxing action, top Spanish fighter Cristina Morales stepped into the box to take on talented Thai star Anna “Supergirl” Jaroonsak in a stunning performance.
The 30-year-old veteran wasted no time in pressing, attacking his teenage rival early on with vicious boxing combinations.
The attacks quickly escalated, forcing “Supergirl” to go on the defensive, and in the final seconds of the opening stanza, Morales was victorious when her opponent turned away from the fight and she received a TKO at 2:54.
With this result, the three-time world kickboxing champion earned a well-deserved US$50,000 performance bonus and took his career record to 49-8 overall.
Adiwang draws level with Miado in heated rematch
Lito “Thunder Kid” Adiwang can finally put his dark past behind him after defeating Jeremy “The Jaguar” Miado by unanimous decision in an action-packed strawweight MMA rematch that opened ONE Fight Night 16.
About 19 months after losing his first match and suffering a serious ACL injury, Adiwang looked much better in action between the two Filipino stars. A hook The left dropped Miado early in the first round and the punches continued to land throughout the round.
“The Jaguar” adjusted well in the second stanza, but the Soma Fight Club representative had an answer – this time he disrupted Miado’s rhythm with punches. overboard that’s right, engineering rotating elbow and hard low blows.
In the final stanza, Miado moved forward and threw various combinations. But while aiming for a final attack, Adiwang hit his opponent’s leg and punished him with hook good answers every time he goes too far.
After three hot, action-packed rounds, all three judges gave “Thunder Kid” the green light. The 30-year-old picked up his second straight victory after a knee injury and took his overall record to 15-5 in MMA.
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