Ferrari Continues Impressive Streak Against Tupiev As Finishes Rain Down At ONE Friday Fights 56
ONE Championship lit up Bangkok, Thailand, once again on Friday, March 22, when it brought ONE Friday Fights 56 to the fabled Lumpinee Boxing Stadium.
The event will undoubtedly be placed among the best of the thrilling series, as fans sat in disbelief while they watched nine of the 12 Muay Thai and MMA bouts end in a show-stopping finish.
It was a memorable night for the world’s largest martial arts organization, and here’s a recap of everything that went down live in Asia primetime.
Ferrari Outclasses Tupiev To Earn Fourth Straight Win
Ferrari Fairtex took care of business in the evening’s bantamweight Muay Thai main event, outstriking the aggressive Mavlud Tupiev across three rounds to extend his winning streak in ONE Championship to four.
It wasn’t all one-way traffic, though. Tupiev came out guns blazing, looking to keep Ferrari at bay with wild strikes inside the pocket. But the Fairtex Training Center product was ready for this, and he slowed his foe down with kicks to his legs.
Those strikes added up in the second round, and there were noticeable welts on the Uzbekistani fighter’s lower limbs. Ferrari then switched up his weaponry and found a home for his jabs and right hands.
The Thai star went into overdrive in the final frame and landed faster, heavier strikes on Tupiev. That aggression continued to the end, where Ferrari was handed the unanimous decision win to go four from four and push his overall slate to 136-32-4.
Puengluang Outpoints Dentungtong To Keep Winning Streak Alive
Flyweight Muay Thai athletes Puengluang Baanramba and Dentungtong Singha Mawynn showcased beautiful striking in their high-paced three-round battle.
Puengluang shined with pinpoint accurate punches and kicks through the opening round, but Dentungtong roared back with effective counter-punching and clinch work in the second frame.
It was anybody’s fight going into the final stanza, and the pair knew it as they traded blows. But the momentum shifted towards Puengluang when he wobbled his foe with a string of thunderous right hands late in the fight.
This proved enough to convince the judges, and they awarded the unanimous decision win to the Baanramba star, who improved his ONE Friday Fights record to 6-0 and his career slate to 64-5-7.
Blommaert Runs Through Kritpet For Second-Round TKO
Jelte Blommaert scored his second finish in ONE Championship in his 126-pound catchweight battle with Kritpet PK Saenchai.
The Belgian fighter jumped straight into the fray after the opening bell, out-boxing and out-kicking his Thai rival to show he meant business.
But it was round two where Blommaert really upped the pace. In fact, within a minute, he had dropped his man twice with stunning punch combinations. Kritpet answered both eight-counts and tried his best to match his opponent’s tenacity.
But Blommaert blew him apart with another right hand to score a third and final knockdown.
The referee waved off the bout at 1:26 of the second frame, and Blommaert waved in the 23rd win of his career.
Sanpet Outstrikes Yodkritsada In Memorable Three-Round Brawl
Chaos ensued when Sanpet Sor Salacheep met Yodkritsada Sor Sommai in 130-pound catchweight Muay Thai. And though Sanpet picked up the unanimous decision win, he had to work hard to attain it.
The Sor Salacheep athlete dropped his foe with a looping counter right hook in the early going, and that seemed to fire Yodkritsada up as the pair threw hell for leather for the remainder of the round.
Sanpet got the better of those exchanges, and his supreme striking allowed him to come out on top in the second frame too.
Yodkritsada had to eat plenty of shots, but he refused to fall to his compatriot’s firepower. Still in the fight, the Sor Sommai star almost pulled off the comeback of all comebacks in the final stanza.
But Sanpet’s body of work allowed him to take home the unanimous decision win in the end, and his record moved to 86-30-7.
Tonglampoon Wins Wild Brawl With Kongsurin
Tonglampoon FA Group went to war and came out on top in his 117-pound catchweight Muay Thai tilt with teen phenom Kongsurin Sor Jor Lekmuangnon.
The pair of Thais took their time feeling each other out in the opening round, but they increased the pace to a fever pitch in the second frame.
Kongsurin fearlessly waded in behind big combinations while Tonglampoon looked to counter with show-stopping punches of his own.
The FA Group representative poured on the aggression and traded strikes with his compatriot in the pocket before finding a home for a flush left hook that brought an end to the contest at 1:10 of round two.
The 20-year-old pushed his professional slate to 43-12 with the KO win.
Prakaypetlek Stuns With First-Round Finish Of Petniyom
Baseball has the seventh-inning stretch, but Muay Thai has Prakaypetlek EminentAir.
Midway through the evening, the 26-year-old Thai caused every fan at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium to rise to their feet and cheer when he put away Petniyom FA Group after just one minute and 52 seconds.
The two men looked equally pleased to exchange hard and fast punches in their 124-pound catchweight fight, but Prakaypetlek pulled the trigger a bit quicker.
The finish came when he threw a right kick at Petniyom, who caught his limb and attempted to fire off a punch. Before he could, however, Prakaypetlek cracked him on the chin with a straight right – from one leg no less – and Petniyom fell where he stood.
The first-round finish improved the EminentAir product’s record to 33-6-2.
Karabag Leg Kicks Prove Too Much For Ihara
Furkan Karabag’s motives were clear against Hiroyuki Ihara in 152-pound catchweight Muay Thai action, as he never stopped chopping his foe’s legs en route to a first-round finish.
Karabag quickly took to the center of the ring and stalked Ihara with his signature kickboxing style. The Turkish tussler refused to let up with his leg kicks, and the harder he threw, the more Ihara grimaced.
After sending the Japanese star to the canvas twice in quick succession, Karabag scored the third and final knockdown at 2:14 of the opening round to move his slate to 28-8.
Rak Crumbles Sato With Power Punches
Rak Erawan weathered an early storm from Shuto Sato to score a jaw-dropping stoppage in the second round of their 116-pound catchweight Muay Thai showdown.
The Japanese fighter offered an aggressive and wild kicking game early on, but Rak maintained a tight defensive guard and patiently pushed forward behind measured punches.
In the second round, the Thai star found his range, and he unleashed a flurry of big left hooks to the head and body that crumbled Sato to the canvas for the KO finish at 1:19 of the frame.
The 22-year-old sensation moved to 3-1 at ONE Friday Fights with the win and 74-11 in his career.
Kara-Ool Starches Sanlang In Second Round
No matter where his strawweight MMA fight with Sanlang Gexi went, Changy “Boyka” Kara-Ool was just too good.
The 26-year-old Russian boxed up his opponent and finished proceeding via TKO at the 4:25 mark of round two to nudge his record to a perfect 6-0.
Whenever the two men traded punches on the feet, “Boyka’s” hands softened Sanlang’s midsection. And when the Chinese slugger was on his back, Kara-Ool stood over him and drove right hands into his head and gut.
Every punch was purposeful – and it showed in the second frame when Kara-Ool dropped Sanlang with a punch combination. He then pounced on his rival and rained down hammerfists until the referee stepped in and waved off the bout.
The stoppage victory was the second finish in a row in ONE for the Red Eagles fighter.
Masdor Rips Through Pichai In One-Round Blitz
Rifdean Masdor made short work of Pichai Lookbanmai in their 112-pound catchweight Muay Thai battle, finishing his Thai opponent in less than 90 seconds.
Masdor had no desire to sit patiently. Instead, he immediately brought the fight to Pichai with rapid combinations and knees that put him down to the mat.
The Malaysian mauler didn’t let up from there. After Pichai returned to his feet, he pressed once again and landed brutal shots to the body to score another standing eight-count.
Masdor knew a finish was on, and he locked it in with a beautiful left hook to Pichai’s liver at 1:18 of the first round to score a debut win and move his slate to 41-7-1 overall.
Sonrak Demolishes Katsuno, Scores Second-Round KO
In flyweight Muay Thai action, Sonrak Fairtex dominated promotional newcomer Masaya Katsuno en route to a highlight-reel stoppage.
Fighting out of the southpaw stance, the Thai dynamo found a home for his thunderous left hand early and often and wobbled his foe in the bout’s opening seconds.
That same punch saw him score a knockdown late in the first frame. And Sonrak used it one more time 13 seconds into the second stanza to secure the fight-ending knockout.
That electrifying finish improved the 27-year-old striker’s career record to 62-22-3.
Kaenlek Brushes Off Oinuma With First-Round KO
Kaenlek Sor Chokmeechai finished the first fight of the night while the Lumpinee crowd was still shuffling into the stadium.
The 21-year-old knocked out Ryuto Oinuma at the 2:20 mark of round one in their 118-pound catchweight Muay Thai clash to move his record to 52-10.
When the bell sounded, Kaenlek galloped across the ring and welted his Japanese foe with hard right hooks and straight left punches, one of which sent him to the floor for an eight-count.
Oinuma answered the ref’s call, so Kaenlek jumped right back on the attack. And it was only a matter of time before he brought an end to the action for good with another blistering straight left.
