Yamin Scores Early TKO Against Ouraghi, Siwakorn Wins War With Shakhriyor At ONE Friday Fights 59
After a week off to celebrate the Thai New Year, ONE Championship resumed its weekly martial arts spectacle inside the legendary Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday, April 19.
ONE Friday Fights 59 featured a card loaded with up-and-coming talent and proven warriors across Muay Thai and MMA, who delivered knockouts and nail-biting contests throughout the evening.
In case you missed any of the action, here’s a roundup of all the action that unfolded inside the Mecca of Muay Thai in Asia primetime this week.
Yamin Ends Night With 36-Second TKO Of Ouraghi
Yamin PK Saenchai spent more time lacing up the four-ounce gloves than he did fighting in his flyweight Muay Thai main event bout with Joachim Ouraghi.
The Thai star didn’t need his hands much in the end, as he uncorked a hellish left head kick that connected with Ouraghi’s leather just 36 seconds into the match.
Nothing seemed amiss at first glance, but referee Ricky Sewell sensed that some damage had occurred to the French-Algerian’s finger. Upon further examination, the ringside doctor deemed that Yamin’s kick had broken the digit, and Ouraghi was ruled unfit to continue.
As a result, the PK Saenchai Muaythaigym man gained a TKO win that pushed him to 2-0 in ONE Championship and 84-26-2 in his career.
Yodthongthai Overcomes Petnamngam For Second Straight Win
Yodthongthai Sor Sommai earned his second consecutive win in the evening’s co-main event, thwarting Petnamngam PK Saenchai across three rounds of 130-pound catchweight Muay Thai action.
Petnamngam landed the better shots in the opening minutes, but Yodthongthai figured his Thai compatriot’s game out and brought in his counters to finish the round strong.
The three-division Rajadamnern Stadium Muay Thai World Champion started aggressively in the second frame, and he quickly turned the tide from the previous round. The pair then traded kicks relentlessly, but Yodthongthai’s strikes proved more significant.
Much like he did in the second stanza, the 99-fight veteran controlled the third frame with front kicks and punching combinations to keep Petnamngam at bay, and he walked away with the unanimous decision in the end.
The win was Yodthongthai’s 58th of his career and his second in ONE Championship.
Rambong Edges Petphupa In Three-Round Thriller
Rambong Sor Therapat and Petphupa Aekpujean battled hard in their thrilling 128-pound catchweight Muay Thai encounter, but it was the former that came out on top after three thrilling rounds.
From the opening bell, 18-year-old Petphupa used his range and mixed up punches, kicks, knees, and elbows to score points, while Rambong was content to stand his ground with heavy boxing.
Petphupa shook his 26-year-old foe with a head kick in round two, but Rambong walked it off and fired back with more punches.
In the final frame, the pair traded fists and elbows toe-to-toe, with neither taking a backward step.
After 15 minutes of action, Rambong took the nod from two of three judges to bag the split-decision victory and earn his 77th career win.
Kaimookkhao’s Striking Clinic Outpoints Petparuehat
Kaimookkhao Tor Rangmart’s youthful energy and striking mastery played in his favor when he overcame Petparuehat Sitnayoktaweeptaphong in their 121-pound catchweight Muay Thai contest.
The 18-year-old phenom ripped through Petparuehat’s midsection with a flurry of punches and knees in the opening round, and he increased the tempo when round two kicked off.
Instead of peppering his foe with similar shots, however, Kaimookkhao relied heavily on sweeping kicks to lay the foundation for his snappy one-two combinations upstairs.
In the final three minutes, he continued to beat Petparuehat to the punch, mixing targets and staying away from his dance partner’s leather to see off the tie.
As a result, Kaimookkhao took home a unanimous decision that pushed his overall record to 32-10.
Pettasuea Folds Prom With Highlight-Reel Head Kick
In 118-pound catchweight Muay Thai, Pettasuea Seeopal stylishly delivered the second straight knockout of his career against Prom Yor Andaman.
The 19-year-old slugger stayed on the front foot from the start and teed off on Prom whenever he trapped him in the corner. This caused his Thai compatriot to hesitate when engaging, allowing Pettasuea to find further openings.
The Seeopal man went from strength to strength in the second frame. He read Prom’s tactics perfectly and blistered him every time he came forward. That fight IQ ultimately handed Pettasuea the match, as he countered an attack with a beautiful right high kick to send his man to the mat at 2:28 of round two.
The young star moved to 2-0 in ONE with the KO win and 54-9-2 overall.
Yodkitti Decimates Luapong In 25 Seconds
Yodkitti FiatPathum‘s ONE Friday Fights debut couldn’t have gone more perfectly.
The 19-year-old Thai met Luapong Kaewsamrit in the middle of the ring to kick off their strawweight Muay Thai bout and immediately stung his countryman with a left hand.
As Luapong backed off, Yodkitti chased him with punishing body shots and unleashed a heavy cross-hook-cross combination to the Kaewsamrit athlete’s midsection.
This punishing volley left Luapong unable to answer the count after just 25 seconds of the first round, and the TKO win extended Yodkitti’s record to 41-10-2.
Siwakorn Bests Jurayev Via Unanimous Decision
Siwakorn PK Saenchai saw off a game Shakhriyor Jurayev on the scorecards in their back-and-forth 140-pound catchweight Muay Thai duel.
The PK Saenchai Muaythaigym star had to fight off his back foot in the early goings of the tie as Jurayev brought the fight to him and looked to set up his trademark left hand via kicks and punches to the midsection.
However, Siwakorn found his rhythm in round two, and from then on, he played the role of the aggressor to push his Uzbek rival into reverse gear.
Jurayev tried time and again to gain the upper hand, but his output was no match for the Thai star’s accurate shots, which proved the difference when the bout went to the judges.
All three at ringside handed Siwakorn the win, and his overall slate was pushed to 132-25-5, as a result.
Ota Batters Copter For Second-Round KO
After his brother suffered defeat earlier in the night, Takuma Ota had extra motivation to come out on top in his 126-pound catchweight Muay Thai meeting with Copter Sor Sommai, and he did just that.
From the first bell, Ota controlled the center of the ring, countering the shots coming his way before wobbling Copter with a huge left hook.
The Thai was lucky to escape the first round alive, but Ota had no plans to back down. He came out guns blazing in the second frame, and though Copter fought hard to find an opening, the Japanese striker wasn’t going to be denied.
After finding himself on the mat, Ota rose to his feet, charged forward, and planted a surgical right elbow on his man to score the finish at 1:27 of round two.
With the win, the 24-year-old moved to 2-0 in ONE and 56-8-2 overall.
Kasahara Dispatches Petsimok With Power-Punching Display
Yuki Kasahara announced himself to the global fan base in style with a first-round blitz of Petsimok PK Saenchai.
The pair started fast in their 132-pound catchweight Muay Thai bout, but Petsimok appeared to be the more dangerous puncher thanks to his winging right hands.
However, after a brief pause for an eye poke, Kasahara flipped the script and dropped his foe with a straight left counter to the Thai’s right kick.
Petsimok regained his feet but the Japanese striker kept up the pressure, and a final cross-hook from the 22-year-old finished the battle at 1:55 of the opening frame, pushing his record to 29-3.
Petnamkhong Impresses In Three-Round War Against Ota
Petnamkhong Mongkolpet had to deal with Ikko Ota’s dangerous attacks in their 122-pound catchweight Muay Thai war, but he stood firm to secure his second win in ONE Friday Fights.
The Laotian found a home for his techniques throughout the bout, and he even dropped his Japanese foe with a left flying knee in the opening round.
Ota kept the action tight behind his fists as he sought to level things on the scorecard. But the Mongkolpet Gym affiliate looked the cleaner of the two in most attacks, and he replied with fire each time to cruise to a unanimous decision win.
With the victory, Petnamkhong’s resume now stands at 41-6-1 overall.
Kholmirzaev Relentless En Route To Third-Round TKO Of Suleimanov
After earning the submission finish in his debut at ONE Friday Fights 50, Avazbek Kholmirzaev added more momentum to his charge by stopping Zaiundin Suleimanov in the third round of their 125.8-pound catchweight MMA tilt.
The signature aggression of the Uzbekistani warrior was on show from the get-go, as he hunted Suleimanov from the opening bell and threw flying knees and big kicks at his foe.
Kholmirzaev’s cardio continued to show in the second frame, and he stung Suleimanov with more big body kicks before shooting for a rear-naked choke towards the end of the frame.
“Ninzya” knew the finish was on when round three kicked off, and a barrage of unanswered kicks and strikes forced the referee to step in and wave off the fight at the 0:16 mark.
Kholmirzaev moved to 8-1 with the win and 2-0 in ONE.
Oh Finishes Murai in Just 28 Seconds
Oh Su Hwan opened the show in style with a crunching knockout win over Kazumichi Murai in their featherweight MMA contest.
Both men probed and feinted to start the match, and the finish came in the first real exchange.
Murai looked for a right body kick on the South Korean star, but Oh caught it and fired back with a right hand to the chin that separated his Japanese rival from his senses.
A couple of ground strikes sealed the deal for Oh after just 28 seconds of the first round, extending his record to 6-1.
