ET Gets Second Win Over Mongkolkaew, Chokpreecha Scores Stunning KO At ONE Friday Fights 62
The hottest weekly combat sports series around returned to Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Boxing Stadium on Friday, May 10, and the watching world was treated to a thrilling display.
Eleven bouts across Muay Thai, MMA, and kickboxing made up the ONE Friday Fights 62 card, and each featured the best in new and established talent.
In case you missed any of the electric finishes or close-fought contests this week, here’s what went down live in Asia primetime.
ET Outworks Mongkolkaew To Go 2-0 In Heated Rematch
ET Wankhongohm MBK managed to assert his dominance over Mongkolkaew Sor Sommai again and make it two wins in a row in their 130-pound catchweight Muay Thai tilt.
Plenty was on the line in their rematch, and it was clear neither man wanted to take a risk too early. But ET soon chose to jump on the front foot, and his charge put him ahead at the end of the opening frame.
He picked up the pace in the second frame and mixed up combinations while utilizing his long limbs to impose his will on Mongkolkaew.
The third frame was where it all kicked off, though, as ET dropped Mongkolkaew with a huge left elbow and followed up with a sprinting strike to put him down again.
Bloodied and bruised, Mongkolkaew still managed to see out the fight. But the judges unanimously handed ET the win in the end, earning him his 83rd career victory overall.
Gonzalez’s Aggression Edges Out Win
It was all gas and no brakes for Xavier Gonzalez in his 128-pound catchweight Muay Thai bout against Win Sitjanim, and that aggression pushed him to a close-fought victory in the end.
The 22-year-old trimmed the distance with trademark forward pressure, landing flush with body shots, jabs, and hooks to leave his foe near the ropes for most of the duel.
Despite the onslaught, Win kept popping up with counter knees and punches that threw the Sor Dechapan man off his game. However, it didn’t prove enough to fully curtail Gonzalez’s attacks, which came at full speed until the final bell.
After three rounds of action, two of the three judges at ringside awarded the match to the Spaniard, and the split-decision win gave him his 22nd career win.
Chokpreecha Jumps Off Canvas To KO Pongsiri In Round One
Chokpreecha PK Saenchai and Pongsiri Sujeebameekiew crammed a lot into their 104-second strawweight Muay Thai clash.
After feeling one another out with jabs and kicks, Pongsiri whipped up a lightning-fast right high kick that dropped his Thai compatriot to the canvas.
However, rather than the shot depleting Chokpreecha’s energy bar, it seemingly powered him up.
The PK Saenchai man returned to his feet, walked his foe down, and hit him with a vicious left hook that sent him crumbling to the mat.
With Pongsiri unable to recover, Chokpreecha took the KO win at 1:44 of the opening frame, extending his record to 102-20-3.
Kongkula Kicks His Way To Victory In One-Round Showcase
Many argue that fighting is a young man’s game, and Kongkula Jitmuangnon gave that theory weight when he ran through Mardsing Khaolakmuaythai inside the opening round of their 138-pound catchweight Muay Thai contest.
The 17-year-old sensation knew his ferocious kicks would be the biggest key to victory for him, and he utilized them well by chopping the legs of Mardsing in the early going.
When his foe appeared to have gotten wise to his approach, Kongkula changed direction and unleashed a heavy left kick to his foe’s head before blitzing him with short strikes to end the night at 2:37 of round one.
The rising Thai star scored a debut win and moved to 56-15 with the victory.
Nongam Goes 5-0 In Tough Battle With Tsz Ching
Nongam Fairtex’s power made the difference in her 110-pound catchweight Muay Thai clash with Tsz Ching Phoebe Lo.
Both athletes threw heavy right hands at each other in the first frame, with Nongam smashing her foe’s lead leg with low kicks while Tsz Ching fired back with high kicks.
The Fairtex athlete mixed up her targets in round two – a tactic that led to the fight’s most decisive moment. After going to the body with a right cross, she dropped her foe with a thudding left hook to the chin.
Nongam’s punches and low kicks continued to land with force in a grueling final frame, which earned the 29-year-old her fifth straight victory in ONE via unanimous decision and moved her to 48-5-2 overall.
Looknam Outstrikes Chabakaew To Earn Impressive Debut Win
Looknam Kor Khomkleaw’s first fight in ONE Championship went off without a hitch as she dispatched Chabakaew Sor KanJanchai to score a unanimous decision win in atomweight Muay Thai action.
The 59-fight veteran got on the front foot early and force responses from her foe. And as Chabakaew countered, Looknam showed her fight IQ and chose her shots well.
She continued to control the fight in the second round, marching forward with heavy right hands that her Thai compatriot couldn’t avoid.
Chabakaew went hunting for a finish in the final frame, but Looknam was well aware of the change in pace. She stayed in the driver’s seat and kept her foe at bay with strong jabs and smart movement to secure the judges’ nod.
With the debut win, Looknam moved to 46-12-2 in her career.
Wei Cruises To Unanimous Decision Win Over Matsumoto
Wei “The Great Sage” Ziqin put on a clinical performance to gain a well-deserved unanimous decision against Riamu Matsumoto in their 127-pound catchweight Muay Thai joust.
The Chinese star alternated between straight rights, elbows, and kicks to crack open his 19-year-old opponent from bell to bell.
Though Matsumoto had his moments, “The Great Sage” enjoyed the lion’s share of possession, and he continued to plow forward with intent to secure the only eight-count of the contest via brilliant counter right in the second frame.
After three rounds of action, the judges at ringside handed Wei the win to move him to 2-0 in ONE Championship and 28-3 in his career.
Yasumoto Outpoints Bekmurzaev In Exciting Kickboxing Tilt
Haruto Yasumoto looked sharp en route to a debut victory over Temirlan Bekmurzaev in their flyweight kickboxing clash.
Bekmurzaev charged forward with heavy hooks and low kicks in round one, but the Japanese fighter stayed composed and countered with heavy right knees and accurate high kicks.
Despite eating a heavy illegal spinning elbow in round two – for which Bekmurzaev was given a yellow card – Yasumoto continued to pick his aggressive rival off with more accurate shots.
The man from Hashimoto Dojo landed more knees and left high kicks in the final frame to secure a unanimous decision win and extend his record to 31-3-2.
Morioka Mauls Zolfaghari To Score KO Win In ONE Debut
ONE Friday Fights 62 marked Yuki Morioka’s promotional introduction to ONE Championship, and the Japanese star made the most of it with a first-round knockout of Peyman Zolfaghari in 124-pound catchweight Muay Thai action.
Morioka pressured his Iranian foe from the opening bell but was forced to reign in his aggression when he was dropped by Zolfaghari’s counter left-hook.
The Japanese star quickly adjusted, and he gained control once again to push Zolfaghari against the ropes and land a laser-like right hand that sent him to the canvas for good at 1:57 of round one.
Morioka scored the 16th win of his career with the knockout, and he showed he’s a name to watch in ONE.
Pereira Goes 3-0 In ONE With Stoppage Win Over Morozov
In lightweight MMA action, Matheus “Guiado por Deus” Pereira picked up his third successive finish at ONE Friday Fights with another striking masterclass against Evgenii “The General” Morozov.
The 27-year-old closed the distance behind punishing leg kicks and upped the intensity with punches and rounds of elbows and knees when in range in the clinch.
That aggression carried into the second round, and by the end of the frame, Morozov appeared to have taken one too many hits from the cruising Brazilian.
With athletes’ safety a top priority, referee Mohamad Sulaiman waved off the tie before the start of the third stanza, handing the TKO win to Pereira, who stayed perfect in the promotion and improved his resume to 7-2.
Batsaikhan Earns First-Round Finish With Slick Striking Display
Batochir Batsaikhan put on a spectacular performance to claim a debut victory over Fabio Harada in their bantamweight MMA show-opener.
The Mongolian striker pierced his rival’s guard with accurate punches from the get-go and repeatedly tagged Harada with his punishing left hand.
Batsaikhan maintained this pressure and shrugged off any attempts the Brazilian-Japanese athlete made to close the distance.
After connecting with another left hand and left kick to the liver, the 23-year-old stayed on the offensive, sensing that the end wasn’t too far away.
He backed Harada into the corner and unloaded a ruthless knee to the body to drop him to the canvas. Once there, the debuting star earned the TKO via ground-and-pound at 4:58 of the opening frame to kick his ONE tenure off in style.
