The Inner Circle 34 Main Event Result: Rustam Yunusov Stays Unbeaten With Career-Best Win Over Suriyanlek
Undefeated Russian star Rustam “Tomohawk” Yunusov delivered the performance of his young career, outpointing Suriyanlek Por Yenying by unanimous decision in the flyweight Muay Thai main event of The Inner Circle 34 on Friday, October 9, at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
Yunusov arrived riding an eight-fight winning streak on the global stage, but faced the sternest test of his career in the returning Suriyanlek – a battle-hardened veteran making his comeback to flyweight on this Asia primetime subscriber-exclusive card on live.onefc.com.
The Thai came out wild in the first, charging forward as expected, but the composed Russian refused to be swept up in the storm. Yunusov countered with left high kicks and stepped into left knees, one of which careened off the Thai’s chin. Still, the 30-year-old Tor Sangtiennoi product never stopped coming forward and clipped his tormentor with a right hand at the end of the round.
The second belonged to the 19-year-old Yunusov, who backed up his pre-fight talk with three minutes of brilliance. The undefeated phenom, representing One Chance and Tomahawk Kamilov Team, blasted left knees into Suriyanlek’s head and followed up with head kicks and punches, while the Thai answered with haymakers that kept missing their mark. Pinning Suriyanlek in the corner, the Russian belted him in the stomach with a left punch that dropped him for an eight-count.
Yunusov brought the same relentless energy in the third round, putting together blistering combinations that came at Suriyanlek in quick succession – jabs, rights, and hooks followed by knees that sent the Thai flying backward. At one point, Yunusov closed the distance, trapped his opponent at the turnbuckle, and crashed three elbows into his head before following up with punches to score a standing eight-count.
The unanimous decision was the biggest win of Yunusov’s career. As a result, the teenager improved his spotless record to 18-0 and moved a step closer to securing the life-changing US$100,000 main roster contract.
