Kongchai Regains Form Against Abdulmuslimov, Imangazaliev Scores KO To Stay Perfect At ONE Friday Fights 79
ONE Championship treated fans inside Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Stadium to another whirlwind night of combat sports action on Friday, September 13.
ONE Friday Fights 79 featured 12 high-octane bouts across Muay Thai and MMA, and each produced either a thrilling finish or a nailbiting three-round battle.
In case you missed anything from the Mecca of Muay Thai this week, here’s what went down live in Asia primetime.
Kongchai Overcomes Abdulmuslimov To Return To Winning Ways
Kongchai Chanaidonmueang had his back against the wall heading into his 126-pound catchweight Muay Thai tie with Amir Abdulmuslimov, but he returned to the winners’ column with a thrilling display.
Kongchai was weary of his Russian foe’s long limbs in the opening frame, and he knew he had to get inside the pocket to make an impact.
The Rajadamnern Stadium Muay Thai World Champion did just that by targetting Abdulmuslimov’s lead leg before setting up powerful punch combinations.
Kongchai continued his low attacks in the second round, which forced “The Tiger” to react with wild punches. The pair went back and forth as a result, and Abdulmuslimov dropped his fiery Thai foe just before the bell.
With the tension at a peak going into the final stanza, the duo went back to it. Kongchai remained reserved and chose to punish Abdulmuslimov’s legs throughout, and that pushed him to a unanimous decision win in the end, moving his overall slate to 73-13.
Singdomthong Outsmarts Petlampun In Back-And-Forth Brawl
Singdomthong Nokjeanladkrabang snapped Petlampun Muadablampang‘s unbeaten run in ONE Championship after a thrilling three-round chess match.
The opening frame of their 128-pound catchweight Muay Thai contest began at a methodical pace, with neither fighter giving an inch. Petlampun played the role of the aggressor but had trouble landing due to his compatriot’s nifty footwork.
Round two saw more of the same scintillating action. Singdomthong found a home for his lightning-fast body kicks and step-in knees to the body, but Petlampun charged forward with blistering intent.
The final round came to who wanted it more, and it was the Nokjeanladkrabang man who answered the call. His brilliant distance control and effective counterstriking earned him the win, but it came via a narrow split-decision call from the judges.
The victory was Singdomthong’s fourth win in ONE Championship, and it upped his career slate to 82-21-2.
Watcharaphon Blasts Through Vasilikhin In One Round
Watcharaphon PK Saenchai dispatched Danila Vasilikhin with his powerful punching in round one of their 123-pound catchweight Muay Thai battle.
The bout got off to a tentative start. But once the Thai star opened up the taps, it didn’t take long for him to make inroads.
Watcharaphon found a home for his right hand, and he wobbled Vasilikhin before swarming with a flurry of shots that put the Russian on the canvas.
The Team Mehdi Zatout man tried to fire back when he regained his footing, but Watcharaphon decked him with another overhand right to seal the deal at the 2:27 mark of round one.
The KO win moved the 31-year-old’s ONE Championship slate to 2-0, with back-to-back finishes, and 169-40 overall.
Maemmot Crushes Copter With Quick KO In ONE Debut
Maemmot Sor Salacheep didn’t need much time to impress the Lumpinee Stadium crowd in his ONE Championship debut, as he rocked Copter Sor Sommai’s world in less than a minute.
The 17-year-old quickly found his range with a stiff jab and low kick at the start of the 126-pound catchweight Muay Thai clash.
From there, he timed his charge perfectly to step in and land a sneaky switch left hook that sent Copter tumbling across the ring and unable to answer the count at the 0:31 mark of round one.
The bout was waved off, and Maemmot improved his record to 51-20 overall with the KO win.
Isannuea’s Violent Barrage Ends Changthong
The 130-pound catchweight Muay Thai firefight between ONE Championship debutants Changthong M U Den and Isannuea Tor Tanjaroen was a wild affair.
Changthong wisely used his length to drill his fellow Thai with punishing leg kicks from the outset. But Isannuea bravely entered the pocket and continuously cracked the 19-year-old with hard hooks to finish the first round strong.
Capitalizing on that momentum, he marched forward in round two and ripped Changthong’s head and body with ruthless strikes.
The M U Den and FA Group man was bloodied, but he survived a standing count from the referee. However, Isannuea wasn’t going to be denied from there.
After sending Changthong to the mat, the 20-year-old struck with a nasty right elbow-left body shot combination that finished his foe for good at 2:03 of the third frame and earned him his 47th career victory.
Nongfahsai Takes Second-Round TKO With Accurate Elbow
Nongfahsai TOP PK Saenchai trod the line between aggression and IQ perfectly to engineer a second-round stoppage over Kanchanasiri Sitnayokwailampam.
The 27-year-old marched forward to land heavy punches in round one of their atomweight Muay Thai clash.
To stop this assault, Kanchanasiri swarmed and initiated the clinch in round two. But Nongfahsai read the game plan well.
As her opponent tried to step in again, the PK Saenchai representative scored with a scything left elbow that opened up a cut under her right eye.
The ringside doctor deemed it too serious for the fight to continue, awarding Nongfahsai a debut TKO victory at the 1:27 mark of the second frame.
Sen Scores Stunning KO Victory Over Veteran Nonthakit
Soner Sen has built a reputation as a one-punch finisher in ONE Championship, and he continued to build on that with a huge knockout win against Nonthakit Tor Morsri in 143-pound catchweight Muay Thai.
Given the duo’s heavy hands, the opening frame saw a surprisingly tentative affair. When the strikes started to fly, Sen struck first with a spinning back fist. But he had to eat a solid counter in return.
Nonthakit let the reigns loose in round two with heavy singular strikes that attempted to egg his rival into a war. However, Sen held his nerve and carefully selected his shots.
Something had to give, though, and “Golden Boy’s” patience paid off in the third round. He shot in with a tremendous right hook that connected with Nonthakit’s chin and put him to sleep at 1:54 of the frame.
The fight was waved off, and Sen earned the 21st win of his career as a result.
Imangazaliev’s Lethal Precision Overwhelms Isroilov
Asadula Imangazaliev barely broke a sweat in his flyweight Muay Thai matchup against Bobirjon “Prince” Isroilov.
Imangazaliev opened the match with a barrage of leg kicks to gauge the distance, and he followed that up by throwing stinging front kicks to the body.
This forced Isroilov to briefly drop his guard to avoid the Russian’s assault, and he paid the ultimate price for doing so.
Imangazaliev capitalized on the split-second opening and uncorked a right hook-left uppercut combo to flatline “Prince” and end the bout at the 34-second mark of round one.
The win marked the Team Mehdi Zatout man’s second stoppage in ONE Championship and pushed his pristine record to 6-0.
Yunusov Gets Decision In Battle Of Rising Teen Stars
Rustam “Tomahawk” Yunusov’s cleaner work saw him earn a decision win over Blair “The Bomber” Geraghty in their fast-paced flyweight Muay Thai encounter.
Geraghty was the aggressor with his hands at the start of the match, but Yunusov absorbed the pressure and scored with hard combinations in reply.
The 16-year-old “Tomahawk” looked for spinning counters on several occasions, and he found the mark in round two when he dropped his opposite man down with a spinning back fist off a caught kick.
Although Geraghty never stopped coming forward, Yunusov’s accuracy and power were the difference in the end, and he picked up the unanimous decision to stay unbeaten at 11-0.
Seto Ends Da Silva’s Unbeaten Run With Huge KO
Muga Seto earned the biggest win of his career when he ended Alber Da Silva‘s 23-fight streak via knockout in their 138-pound catchweight Muay Thai meeting.
The Japanese star kicked off the action with his signature jabs and persistent low kicks. Da Silva managed to get close to him, but he shot back with clean counters to stay ahead.
Seto’s confidence grew in the second frame, and he led his Brazilian rival into traps. The Victory Gym man continually forced Da Silva to miss shots, and he cut him with a huge short left elbow before the end of the round.
With the fight firmly in his grasp, Seto brought an end to proceedings via a huge left hook at 1:20 of round three to move to 2-0 in ONE Championship and 19-4 overall.
Dzhabrailov Blitzes Freitas With 20-Second Mauling
Dzhabir Dzhabrailov didn’t waste time in his ONE Championship debut as he registered an emphatic knockout victory over Eduardo “Dudu” Freitas in their lightweight MMA clash.
The 19-year-old Turkish dynamo swarmed his Brazilian foe right out of the gate. He forced Freitas on the back foot with ferocious punch combinations and landed well-timed knees to the head.
Once he got “Dudu” cornered on the ring ropes, Dzhabrailov unleashed a brutal right hook that sent the 25-year-old to the canvas.
The Team Amir representative then went for the jugular and unloaded some brutal ground-and-pound on his floored foe.
Freitas was unable to intelligently defend himself, so the referee halted the bout at just 20 seconds of round one, earning Dzhabrailov his fourth career win.
Oh Stays Unbeaten In ONE With Decision Win Over Maezono
“Monster” Oh Su Hwan defeated Kei Maezono by unanimous decision in a tense show-opener.
Oh scored well with his straight right to open the first round of the featherweight MMA contest. But after a couple of breaks for low blows, Maezono came on strong, attacking the back after an impressive belly-to-belly suplex.
The second and third rounds saw longer periods of tussling on the ropes, with “Monster” doing more damage from his dominant spots to edge ahead.
With the nod from the judges, Oh moved on to 7-1 and bagged his second consecutive ONE win.
