Mauro Cerilli Knocks Out Alain Ngalani With Massive Knee Strikes

Former ONE World Title challenger Mauro “The Hammer” Cerilli turned in a dominant performance at the Thuwunna Indoor Stadium in Yangon, Myanmar on Friday, 8 March.

The 35-year-old made quick work of fan favorite Alain “The Panther” Ngalani, finishing him via TKO in the first round of their heavyweight mixed martial arts battle.

Once the opening bell sounded, the two behemoths rushed at each other in an effort to end the night early.

Ngalani, a four-time Muay Thai and Kickboxing Heavyweight World Champion, looked to overpower his Italian rival with his thunderous strikes.

The Hong Kong-based hulk would encounter difficulty when the two monstrous athletes entered close quarters in the clinch, however.

After securing underhooks against the cage fence, Cerilli lifted “The Panther” high up in the air for an emphatic overhead slam, which brought cheers from the capacity crowd.

Ngalani popped back up to his feet quickly to resume action in the clinch. “The Hammer” was then able to grab a hold of his rival’s head and bring him down to the mat in a reverse headlock.

From this position, the Cage Warriors Heavyweight Champion unloaded a series of massive knees to the Hong Kong resident’s head.

While “The Panther” tried to block some of those powerful knee strikes, there were some he was forced to absorb, and once it was clear he was hurt, the referee stopped the match-up.

Cerilli earned the stoppage victory at the 1:41 mark of round one and officially claimed his first ONE Championship win.

“We were prepared for every situation out there, and we drilled the knees on the mat for this, too,” he admitted. “We are very happy that the game plan worked out as we expected. Ngalani fell into our trap, and we got the victory.”