Takahashi Halts Yoon’s Charge With Second-Round KO Victory

Ryogo “Kaitai” Takahashi used his power and experience to halt the rapid rise of “The Big Heart” Yoon Chang Min in their featherweight mixed martial arts contest at ONE: INSIDE THE MATRIX IV.

The Japanese heavy-hitter dispatched his South Korean rival with a stunning knockout in the second round of their previously recorded battle inside the Singapore Indoor Stadium, which aired on Friday, 20 November.

Yoon got off to a confident start. He feinted and probed with jabs and push kicks before bursting into hard boxing combinations. However, the seasoned Krazy Bee representative was ready for the flurries and tried to load up on his heavy overhand right in reply.

Takahashi started to find a home for his low kick as the opening round wore on, while Yoon scored with push kicks to the legs and body. “The Big Heart” initiated a change of pace with a takedown attempt against the Circle Wall, but he could not shift his foe and broke off with a solid knee-elbow combination.

The unbeaten rising star then controlled the closing moments of the frame on the Circle Wall, where he chipped away with foot stomps and knees to the body and legs.

Takahashi came out of the blocks for round two with a hard low kick, but Yoon let him know that it wouldn’t be free as he fired back with a straight right. The Team Stungun athlete tried to control the distance with his kicks, but when he stepped in to punch, he got dropped by a thudding jab-cross from “Kaitai.”

“The Big Heart” managed to regain his senses despite Takahashi rushing him with punches and a takedown, but it didn’t last long. As soon as Yoon went on the front foot again, the Japanese star countered a loose jab with a crunching overhand right that put the South Korean down for a second time.

Yoon was on wobbly legs as he stood back up, and “Kaitai” knew this was his time to finish. He swarmed his foe with heavy punches and sealed the deal with a crunching right uppercut-left hook combination to end the match at 2:52 of round two.

As well as handing “The Big Heart” his first career defeat, Takahashi pushed his impressive resume to 14-4 with 10 knockouts and staked his claim to a top-five spot in ONE’s Athlete Rankings.

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