Koyomi Matsushima Shocks The World With Knockout Of Marat Gafurov

A new featherweight contender has arrived in ONE Championship.

On Saturday, 22 September, promotional debutant Koyomi “Moushigo” Matsushima was faced with the monumental task of battling former ONE Featherweight World Champion Marat “Cobra” Gafurov at ONE: CONQUEST OF HEROES in Jakarta, Indonesia.

However, the Japanese sensation remained cool under pressure, and earned a stunning first-round TKO that ignited the crowd inside the Jakarta Convention Center.

Ahead of the contest, Gafurov was seemingly on a collision course for a trilogy bout against the division’s current king Martin “The Situ-Asian” Nguyen. However, he first had to get through the 25-year-old Yokohama, Japan resident.

It was a furious start to the bout, with “Moushigo” looking like a seasoned veteran as he fearlessly went after the Dagestani.

Matsushima fired off hard combinations at the 33-year-old former titleholder, who was stoic with his attacks.

Gafurov marched forward with little regard for the shots he was taking. In contrast, the Japanese competitor was surgical with every strike he threw, and used quick footwork to force his rival to chase him.

When “Cobra” pushed forward with an inside leg kick halfway through the round, he failed to keep his left hand up and he paid the price for his mistake.

He rushed into a crushing right hand from Matsushima, which landed flush on Gafurov’s chin and immediately dropped him to the canvas.

“Moushigo” quickly pounced with a barrage of ground strikes until referee Yuji Shimada stopped the contest at the 2:41 mark of round one.

It was an incredible debut for Matsushima, who pushes his record to 10-3.

He becomes only the second man to defeat the Dagestani, and that impeccable victory has instantly put him in contention for a shot at the ONE Featherweight World Title.