Kondratev, Wada, Otgonjargal Win On ONE: ONLY THE BRAVE Lead Card
An action-packed lead card kick-started the proceedings at ONE: ONLY THE BRAVE on Friday, 28 January.
There were hard-fought battles in the mixed martial arts and kickboxing ranks, with potential contenders emerging and a grizzled veteran proving he’s still dangerous inside the Circle.
Here’s how the first three bouts went down inside the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Kondratev Hands Rimkus First Defeat Via KO
Ivan Kondratev showed that fundamentals pay off as he blasted through Dovydas “Rimkenzo” Rimkus with a knockout in their 71.65-kilogram catchweight kickboxing contest. The Russian held the upper hand throughout the contest before securing the finish – and his first ONE win – in the final frame.
The 33-year-old was not fazed by “Rimkenzo’s” hands-down approach and stepped forward to punish his foe with hard lefts behind his jab. Rimkus tried to fire back, but he was outgunned.
Ultimately, Kondratev landed a clean left hook to the jaw that sent the 22-year-old Lithuanian crashing to his first career defeat. In the process, the Russian showed he’s a force to be reckoned with after a hard-fought loss to #1 featherweight kickboxing contender Marat Grigorian in his ONE debut.
Wada Dominates Wang With Grappling Clinic
Top Japanese flyweight Tatsumitsu “The Sweeper” Wada used his masterful grappling skills to snap “Little Whirlwind” Wang Shuo’s five-fight winning streak and defeat the Chinese athlete by unanimous decision.
Wada dominated the ground game throughout this 61.5-kilogram catchweight MMA battle, locking up Wang in a series of holds and submission attempts.
“Little Whirlwind” was able to tag Wada with hard rights that caused damage, but those did little to stifle the veteran fighter, who moved his record to 24-12-2 (1 NC) and bounced back from a loss in his last ONE outing.
Otgonjargal Pushes Winning Streak To 9
Purev “The People’s Kid” Otgonjargal improved his ONE Championship slate to 2-0 with a grinding win over fellow ONE Warrior Series graduate Micael De Jesus in their bantamweight mixed martial arts clash. The battle was waged in every range, but the Mongolian owned the edge in all of them.
Otgonjargal’s hands and pressure dictated the first half of the bout, and he came out on top in most of the grappling exchanges thereafter.
Though De Jesus tried to rally in round three, “The People’s Kid” cruised to a comfortable unanimous decision victory after 15 hard-fought minutes, extending his overall winning streak to nine.
Read more: ONE: ONLY THE BRAVE – Full Results For Every Fight
