ONE Fight Night 31 Results: Alipourandi Shocks Nolan With Head Kick KO, Gabriel Rips Through Zhang

It was another memorable evening of martial arts action this past Friday, May 2, as ONE Championship heated up the U.S. primetime audience with ONE Fight Night 31: Kongthoranee vs. Nong-O II on Prime Video.

The promotion ignited Bangkok’s iconic Lumpinee Stadium with an action-packed card, topped by a high-stakes rematch and a riveting ONE Welterweight Submission Grappling World Title clash.

But before that, there were five Muay Thai and MMA battles that excited the global fan base. Here’s everything that went down earlier at ONE Fight Night 31.

Alipourandi Stuns Nolan With 59-Second Knockout

Abolfazl “White Wolf” Alipourandi may have accepted a lightweight Muay Thai battle with “Lethal” Liam Nolan on five days’ notice, but he made the most out of his golden opportunity by spoiling the British superstar’s big comeback in 59 seconds.

After original opponent Nauzet Trujillo was forced to withdraw from the contest, Alipourandi courageously stepped up to the plate. The 29-year-old Iranian was fearless in his promotional debut, as he came out firing the moment the opening bell sounded.

“White Wolf” backed Nolan up against the ropes and, once the Englishman dropped his left hand, blasted him with a right roundhouse kick to the head that instantly crumpled his rival to the canvas.

The victory pushed Alipourandi’s record to 16-5, and that statement-making KO may have put him into the ONE Lightweight Muay Thai World Title conversation.

Gabriel Dominates Zhang In Three-Round Thriller

On Friday night, Lucas Gabriel won not once, but twice.

The man who John Lineker recently praised as “a tough guy” soaked up immense damage to take the unanimous decision win over “The Warrior” Zhang Lipeng in their lightweight MMA battle.

On the feet, Gabriel picked apart the Chinese veteran with punches and kicks. And once the action went to the canvas, the Brazilian pummeled Zhang with powerful ground-and-pound, which ultimately sealed the deal across all three of the judges’ scorecards.

With the victory, the Phuket Fight Club standout moved his career record to 10-1 and shined in his U.S. primetime debut following a stellar run at ONE Friday Fights.

But then, in a surprising turn of events, Gabriel got down to one knee in the middle of the ring and proposed to his longtime girlfriend, winning her over as well.

Dayakaev Weathers Knockdown To Finish Saemapetch

After experiencing a moment of serious danger, Russian sensation Abdulla “Smash Boy” Dayakaev roared back and lived up to his nickname by knocking out former World Title challenger Saemapetch Fairtex in the second round of their bantamweight Muay Thai clash.

Dayakaev leaned on his speed and explosive counter-striking to put a beating on the Thai for the vast majority of the first round. Saemapetch maintained his composure and, in the early going of the second frame, dropped “Smash Boy” with a stunning straight left.

The 23-year-old’s confidence remained unshaken, though, and he quickly retaliated with a clean knockdown of his own. From there, he poured on the aggression with a flurry of punches, knees, and elbows, forcing referee Olivier Coste to call an end to the contest at the 1:44 mark of round two.

This victory pushed his career record to 14-2 and erased any doubt that Dayakaev belongs among the best of the best on the global stage.

Guluzada Routs Climaco In U.S. Primetime Debut

Akif “King” Guluzada dazzled in his U.S. primetime debut, as he bullied Sean “The One” Climaco for most of their flyweight Muay Thai showdown to secure a unanimous decision victory.

The 19-year-old Azerbaijani striker, who scored three straight wins on ONE Friday Fights to earn a six-figure contract with the promotion, set the tone early in the opening stanza. In fact, an overhand right midway through the round put Climaco on the canvas for the first and only knockdown of the contest.

Guluzada continued his onslaught in the second, continuously walking down Climaco with punches. He added body kicks to his point of attack to keep the Filipino-American guessing.

While Climaco came alive in the final frame with solid boxing combinations and brilliant head movement, the gap in the fight was just too big for him to bridge. In the end, Guluzada swept the judges’ scorecards to get his fourth consecutive victory in ONE and improve his career record to 19-3.  

Estupinan Remains Flawless After Hard-Earned Win Over Saldoev

Colombian rising star Jordan “Panda Kick” Estupinan kept his perfect record intact with another unanimous decision victory, this time over Russian ace Ali Saldoev.

As the first pair of performers at ONE Fight Night 31, the flyweight Muay Thai practitioners had the duty of setting the bar as high as they could – and that’s exactly what they did.

Both men came out swinging hard and fast, mostly throwing tight boxing combinations that ended with high kicks. But it was the 22-year-old Colombian who struck first and struck last during the exchanges, keeping himself ahead on all three judges’ scorecards.

With the victory, Estupinan improved his blemish-free record to 9-0 as he continues to follow his twin brother, #5-ranked flyweight Muay Thai contender Johan, closer to the upper echelon of the world’s largest martial arts organization.