Ortikov Goes 18-0 Against Watcharaphon, Duisheev and Zakirov Also Stay Perfect At ONE Friday Fights 54
Another double-header arrived at Bangkok, Thailand’s iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium this weekend, and it kicked off in style with ONE Friday Fights 54 on Friday, March 8.
A baker’s dozen of Muay Thai and MMA bouts thrilled the crowd in attendance and fans watching around the world, ensuring that appetites are well and truly whetted ahead of the all-female card at ONE Fight Night 20: Todd vs. Phetjeeja that kicks off in a matter of hours.
In case you missed any of the action, here’s a recap of everything that went down in Asia primetime.
Ortikov Keeps Unbeaten Record Intact Against Watcharaphon
Aslamjon Ortikov stayed undefeated by overcoming Watcharaphon Singha Mawynn in their 129-pound catchweight Muay Thai battle.
The pair took a minute to feel each other out when the action kicked off, with both waiting patiently for their adversary to commit to a strike. But it wasn’t long before Ortikov began to recognize Watcharaphon’s habits, and he controlled the rest of the frame from there.
With the first round all but pocketed, Ortikov began to come alive. He landed better punches than Watcharaphon across the second three minutes of action and kept a frantic pace throughout the stanza.
The Uzbekistani continued to grow in the third round, and he cleverly utilized his counterstrikes and pivots to avoid any dangerous moments and cruise to a unanimous decision win.
The victory saw Ortikov move to 4-0 in ONE and 18-0 in his career.
Pompet Outscores Suriyanlek In Knockdown-Filled Slugfest
Pompet PK Saenchai and Suriyanlek Por Yenying delivered a fight for the ages inside the Mecca of Muay Thai, with five knockdowns coming in nine minutes of action.
Both men traded bombs in their 132-pound catchweight Muay Thai contest, and Pompet floored Suriyanlek twice with a pair of right hands inside the opening two rounds.
Not to be outdone, the latter answered back with vicious lefts to tie things up with two knockdowns a piece.
Everything was to play for when the third round kicked off. Suriyanlek answered much of Pompet’s shots, but his gas tank soon began to empty, allowing the PK Saenchai Muaythaigym standout to take advantage.
He found a brilliant opening to connect with a step-in jab and gain the fifth eight-count of the matchup, and this proved enough to earn him the unanimous decision win, pushing his slate to 106-44-5 overall.
Tubtimthong Defeats Khunsuk In Battle Of Heavy Hitters
Knockout artists Tubtimthong Sor Jor Lekmuangnon and Khunsuk Sor Dechapan didn’t disappoint in their 112-pound catchweight Muay Thai war.
With five knockouts from their combined seven ONE Friday Fights wins, fans knew both men would be coming for the finish, and they launched themselves forward with blistering salvos from the opening bell.
It looked like Khunsuk had the edge with his powerful punches in round one, but Tubtimthong turned the tables when he knocked his foe down with a left hook in the second stanza.
The Sor Jor Lekmuangnon athlete fended off Khunsuk’s attempts to claw it back in round three, and he took the win by unanimous decision to move to 59-11 and 3-0 in ONE.
Petbanrai Upends Petrit For Second Straight Win
After a tricky start in ONE, Petbanrai Singha Mawynn went two from two by defeating Petrit Nokkhao KorMor11 in 112-pound catchweight Muay Thai action.
Petrit was forced to feel the wrath of Petbanrai in the early going. He ate several right hands from his Thai compatriot to see his own blood spilled, but the Singha Mawynn product managed to answer back before the end of the opening round.
Petbanrai began to take control of the contest in the second frame, however. The 23-year-old’s acceleration was ruthless, and fans inside Lumpinee could see his confidence growing.
Sensing a second win in ONE was on, he continued his swarming pressure in the final stanza, sending Petrit to the ropes and landing precise combinations.
The judges awarded Petbanrai the unanimous decision victory at the end to move his professional slate to 63-20-2.
Maisangkum’s Never-Back-Down Approach Overcomes Jaoinsee
Maisangkum Sor Yingcharoenkarnchang made it five victories in a row at ONE Friday Fight with another aggressive performance against Jaoinsee PK Saenchai.
Both warriors exchanged fierce strikes in the opening frame of their 118-pound catchweight Muay Thai war, but the Boxing Army 3 standout took matters into his own hands in the second stanza and cracked open his foe’s tight defense with crisp boxing.
As the match progressed, Maisangkum’s confidence grew, and he used it to force Jaoinsee into retreat in the final round.
The 22-year-old added elbows and kicks to his ferocious blend of punches to earn a clear-cut unanimous decision win, improving his resume to 51-17.
Yoddoi KOs Nongchamp To Earn First ONE Victory
Yoddoi Kaewsamrit halted his rough run of form in ONE Friday Fights with a first-round knockout win against Nongchamp Luckybuntherng in their 117-pound catchweight Muay Thai contest.
Both men threw heavy leather in the opening frame and stung one another with ferocious punches. But Yoddoi kept pressing forward despite his rival’s heavy straight left, and he soon found success.
The Kaewsamrit Gym athlete walked through Nongchamp’s fire and hurt him with a left hook. He then stepped in and uncorked a stiff jab that landed square on his Thai compatriot’s chin, sending him down and out at 2:22 of the opening frame.
The KO win was Yoddoi’s first in ONE, and it pushed his record to 57-18.
Cicek Defeats Mouzakitis In Three-Round Clinic
Ferzan Cicek put back-to-back wins together for the first time in his ONE Championship tenure by besting George Mouzakitis in bantamweight Muay Thai action.
The opening round started as a close-knit affair, with both men working each other out. But as the minutes passed, Cicek stepped his foot on the gas, leaving Mouzakitis with no choice but to chase the fight as the pair went blow for blow.
The Turkish star didn’t let up in the second frame, and he cracked Mouzakitis with a short right hand inside the pocket to wobble the Brit. Cicek continued building momentum from there, and he controlled the rest of the round.
Mouzakitis tried to fight his way back in the final stanza, but it was too little too late, and Cicek picked up the unanimous decision win to move his professional slate to 23-7.
Vera Edges Hansen In Three-Round Scrap
It was all-out action between Celest Hansen and Francisca Vera in their atomweight Muay Thai fixture. But in the end, Vera’s forward pressure and variety of tools helped her score a split-decision win after three hard-fought rounds.
Vera threw every strike in the Muay Thai textbook at her foe and switched between elbows, knees, punches, and kicks to fend off the oncoming traffic of Hansen.
The Australian unloaded with volume every chance she got to keep the action heated and the scorecards close. But despite her best efforts, Vera was there to frustrate her every time.
As a result, the Chilean star her earned the nod from two of the three judges at ringside to notch up her second win in ONE and the 10th of her career overall.
Duisheev Stay Perfect With Win Against Khan
Ismail “The Volcano” Khan couldn’t escape the clutches of Yryskeldi “Kyrgyz Finisher” Duisheev in their battle of undefeated MMA flyweights.
Every time Khan looked to score on the feet, the man from Kyrgyzstan timed his takedown entries and put him on the canvas.
“The Volcano” had some success working back to his feet, but Duisheev quickly closed the distance again, and he found the finish in the final minute of the first frame.
After moving to Khan’s back, “Kyrgyz Finisher” dragged his man to the canvas and locked in a rear-naked choke to force the tap at 4:30, extend his perfect record to 10-0, and maintain his 100 percent finishing rate.
Petlampun Floors Sameshima In Two-Round Barnburner
Petlampun Muadablampang returned to ONE Championship and reminded fans how dangerous he is by stopping Hiroto Sameshima in the second round of their 128-pound catchweight Muay Thai thriller.
It wasn’t all plain sailing, though. The Thai star looked relaxed entering the fray, but his complacency saw him dropped with a stern left hand inside the first minute. That seemed to wake him up, however, as he returned the favor to floor Sameshima with a left hook of his own.
Petlampun then put his Japanese foe down again as the bell sounded to close the opening frame, firing him up for round two.
When it kicked off, the 27-year-old came out guns blazing. He controlled much of the action and then ended the contest with a stiff jab at 1:39 of the second round to go 4-0 in ONE and 86-20-2 overall.
Yunusov Outworks Araya In Victorious Debut
Russian teen phenom Rustam Yunusov outstriked Ramu Araya on his way to a well-earned victory in flyweight Muay Thai action.
The 17-year-old charged forward with teeps down the pipe and piston-like lefts that kept his Japanese counterpart at bay throughout the lion’s share of the contest.
Though Araya attempted to gain something back in the third stanza, Yunusov remained undeterred in his mission to close out his debut with a win.
In the end, the Russian striker, who was accompanied to the ring by ONE three-division MMA World Champion Anatoly Malykhin, walked away with a unanimous decision victory that improved his resume to a 10-0-1.
Nonthakit Takes Victory Over Saito In Three-Round Firefight
Nonthakit Tor Morsri picked up his first ONE Friday Fights victory in an epic 143-pound catchweight Muay Thai battle with “Bazooka Koki” Koki Saito.
Saito struck first with a spinning back fist knockdown in the first round, but Nonthakit returned the favor by dropping his Japanese rival with a thudding right hand on the ropes.
Both men came out firing in round two. Nonthakit drilled his foe with kicks while Saito unleashed his wider arsenal of strikes, leaving the action neck and neck until a powerful right hand from the Thai star put “Bazooka” down again.
That didn’t stop Saito from showboating in round three, but Nonthakit kept up his pressure and cruised to the unanimous decision win in the end, extending his record to 68-17.
Zakirov Storms Through Honda For 10th Straight Win
After finding success in his first two outings, Sanzhar Zakirov went 3-0 in ONE Championship with a second-round TKO of Ryosuke Honda in their strawweight MMA encounter.
Honda attempted to set the tone from the opening bell by throwing a big head kick at Zakirov. But the Uzbekistani wasn’t fazed, and he immediately shot in to put his foe onto his back, where he stayed for the remainder of the round.
Zakirov picked up right where he left off when the second frame started, sending Honda to the mat again. Then, as the Japanese star returned to his feet, he drove a huge right knee into his chin before following up with punches in bunches to find the TKO win at 3:35 of round two.
Zakirov scored his second finish in ONE to go 3-0 in the promotion and 10-0 overall in his career, and the win was enough to earn him a $100,000 contract to compete on the grandest stage of all.
