ONE Friday Fights 140 Results: Hamza Rachid Shatters Antar Kacem’s Five-Fight Win Streak With Emphatic TKO
Moroccan slugger Hamza “The Reaper” Rachid demolished Antar Kacem and broke his five-fight winning streak with a dominant TKO stoppage at 0:33 of round three in bantamweight Muay Thai action at ONE Friday Fights 140 on January 30 at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
The Elamghari Muaythai Team star scored two knockdowns on his way to a second successive highlight-reel triumph on the Asia primetime spectacle.
Both strikers traded jabs and low kicks to score points to kick things off. But the 26-year-old grew more confident, testing Kacem’s chin with left hooks and right high kicks.
Rachid then found his opening with a perfectly timed combination – jab, straight right, left hook – that floored his 27-year-old foe for an eight count. Though Kacem answered, his eye was visibly damaged.
The Moroccan continued his assault in round two, calling for a firefight as he switched between orthodox and southpaw stances, connecting with punches from the outside.
That, however, did not stop Kacem from surging forward with punches in bunches in the final frame.
The French-Belarusian backed his opposite number into the ropes, but “The Reaper” countered with a devastating right head kick that sent Kacem crashing down for another eight count.
When Kacem rose, Rachid pounced immediately and pummelled him with punches and a high kick until Kacem fell into the referee, prompting the stoppage.
Rachid improved to 19-2, delivering a statement performance that ended one of bantamweight Muay Thai’s hottest streaks and announced his arrival as a serious threat in the division.
ONE Friday Fights 140 Quick Results:
- Hamza Rachid defeats Antar Kacem via TKO at 0:33 of round three (Muay Thai – Bantamweight)
- Viet Anh Do defeats Jean Claude Saclag via TKO at 0:59 of round one (MMA – Flyweight)
- Waldimir Britez defeats Kazat Alymbek Uulu via TKO at 1:08 of round one (MMA – Bantamweight)
- Chen Jiayi defeats Hiroki Naruo via KO at 1:25 of round three (Kickboxing – Flyweight)
- Retsu Sashida defeats Danila Vasilikhin via KO at 2:25 of round two (Kickboxing – Flyweight)
- Ranma defeats Chalamkaw TeamMehdiZatout via KO at 0:58 of round three (Kickboxing – Bantamweight)
- Henrique de Almeida Cabral defeats Koki Ichikawa via submission at 6:52 of round one (Submission grappling – Middleweight)
