The Inner Circle 21 Co-Main Event Result: Shozo Isojima Stops Eduard Folayang With Wild First-Round Finish
Shozo “Great Teacher” Isojima bounced back from his recent setbacks in spectacular fashion, stopping Filipino MMA legend Eduard “Landslide” Folayang in the first round.
Their lightweight MMA battle served as the co-main event of The Inner Circle 21, which streamed live from Bangkok’s legendary Lumpinee Stadium at live.onefc.com on Friday, July 10.
The action exploded immediately. Folayang, a former three-time ONE Lightweight MMA World Champion, dropped his Japanese foe with a sharp left-right hook combination in the opening exchanges.
But Isojima quickly answered. The N-Trust representative connected with a left hook of his own that sent Folayang crashing to the canvas. Isojima followed with punches on the ground and briefly looked to isolate the Filipino icon’s limb for an armbar, but Folayang scrambled relentlessly and worked his way back to his feet.
From there, both men continued to trade heavy shots in a frantic opening round. Then, another left hook from Isojima badly rocked Folayang. As the 42-year-old stumbled toward the canvas, Isojima landed one more punch, forcing the referee to step in and stop the contest at the 4:29 mark of round one.
With the statement stoppage victory, the 28-year-old Isojima improved his overall record to 7-2.
Detchawalit, Kelat Score Big At The Inner Circle 21
Earlier in the night, Detchawalit Silkmuaythai kept his perfect promotional record intact with a hard-fought win over Tom Casse in their bantamweight Muay Thai showdown. The 18-year-old Thai sensation scored one knockdown in each round to secure a unanimous decision victory, improving his overall record to 51-5.
In the event’s curtain-raiser, Ali Kelat defeated Elies Abdelali by third-round TKO in their featherweight Muay Thai contest. After both men traded one knockdown apiece, the Team Mehdi Zatout and Team Chingiz Allazov star found the decisive finish at the 2:29 mark of round three, improving his professional record to 22-2.
