Song Min Jong Withstands Heavy Assault, Chokes Out Chen Rui
Bantamweight strikers “Double Hearts” Song Min Jong and “The Ghost” Chen Rui promised to slug it out in their MMA battle, but Song’s pivot to the grappling game secured him the victory at ONE 156: Eersel vs. Sadikovic.
The South Korean veteran absorbed some powerful shots, but he stayed the course and ultimately earned a second-round submission finish at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Friday, 22 April.
Chen began round one on the front foot, loading up with heavy left hooks and overhand rights.
In response, Song kept moving to avoid the firing line while popping out his jab to keep the aggressive Chinese athlete away.
“Double Hearts” managed to slow down his rival’s offense with a pair of takedowns and some ground-and-pound from top position, but every time Chen worked his way back up, he continued slinging his hard right hand in search of a knockout.
The combatants traded strikes to open the second frame, as the Chengdu Ashura Fight Club man unloaded punishing right uppercuts and overhands at Song.
On the other side, “Double Hearts” attempted to fend off those attacks with straight shots from the southpaw stance.
Then darting behind a straight left, the South Korean decked Chen with a takedown attempt and deftly tripped him down again when he tried to stand back up.
From there, the 30-year-old advanced from side control to back control and cinched up a tight rear-naked choke that rendered “The Ghost” unconscious at 4:26 of the second frame.
The hard-earned submission gave Song his second straight victory and his 13th overall. While he’s considering hanging up the gloves for good, the Monster House representative vowed to return for another contest.
“I was able to win so let me give it one more shot,” he told ONE commentator Mitch Chilson. “I’m thinking that my next bout will be my retirement bout, and we’ll see how it goes.”
