Kyokushin Champion Ramon Gonzales Makes Statement With Submission Win

It was a battle between two highly-skilled martial artists, when China’s “The Little Squirrel” Liu De Li Ge Ri Hu met the Philippines’ Ramon “The Bicolano” Gonzales at the center of the ONE Championship cage.

The two flyweight hopefuls locked horns on the main card of ONE: TOTAL VICTORY, which took place at Indonesia’s Jakarta Convention Center on 16 September.

In the end, it was the Filipino karate specialist who came away victorious, as referee Olivier Coste waved the bout off officially at the 1:52 minute mark of the second round.

In the opening stanza, “The Bicolano” dominated the striking department as expected, keeping Liu hesitant and cautious outside of his powerful high kicks and thunderous punching combinations. Liu was incredibly wary of Gonzales’ power, as he showed perhaps a little too much respect for the Filipino’s striking prowess.

At the start of the second round, Gonzales continued his stand-up dominance, putting the pressure on Liu to engage. After “The Little Squirrel” caught a high kick, the Chinese martial artist used the momentum to take Gonzales to the ground, but it was Gonzales who would end up in side mount.

Finding himself in advantageous position on the mat, the Filipino worked to finish, showcasing a new grappling dimension to his overall martial arts skill set.

As he caught Liu’s arm too close to his head, “The Bicolano” used the opening and defensive lapse to work an arm-triangle choke, securing the tap almost immediately as the submission was locked in.

It was an impressive win for Gonzales, who scored the first victory of his ONE Championship career. After falling in previous contests, he was aiming to make a statement, and that he did with a complete performance.

With the victory, Gonzales improves his record to 2-2, while Liu fails in his first appearance inside the ONE cage.