Another edition of the hottest weekly series in combat sports kicked off a huge double-header for the world’s largest martial arts organization on Friday, June 6.
ONE Friday Fights 111 offered 12 more intriguing bouts across Muay Thai, kickboxing, and MMA inside the majestic Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
Before attention shifts to ONE Fight Night 32: Nakrob vs. Jaosuayai, here’s what went down live in Asia primetime.
Thai brawler Petsukumvit Boi Bangna looked better than ever as he crushed Silviu “Hitman” Vitez in the second round of their flyweight Muay Thai main event.
To start, Vitez pushed the pace with low kicks and rapid-fire punching combinations. The two-time Rajadamnern Stadium Muay Thai World Champion, however, answered back with missiles of his own to close the frame.
Petsukumvit brought the same fire into the second frame, and in under 20 seconds, the An Sukhumvit martial artist clipped his Romanian foe with a left for the first knockdown. A minute later, a missile-like right hook near the turnbuckle floored “Hitman” for the second eight-count.
Smelling blood, Petsukumvit swarmed in with a barrage of punches to force a stoppage at 1:40 of the frame, earning the 26-year-old the 65th victory of his resume.
Pompet Panthonggym weathered an early storm from Puengluang Baanramba to notch an incredible comeback finish in this flyweight Muay Thai gem.
Puengluang shot out of a cannon in round one with a jab-cross combo, while the 26-year-old stayed patient and kept hammering his foe’s lead leg.
After a rough opening salvo, Pompet’s brilliant counterstriking shone in the ensuing stanza as he wobbled Puengluang with a right hook and kept his foot on the gas. Soon, the finish arrived.
Pompet stopped his opposite number in his tracks and delivered a crushing right to the temple, followed by a left hand to the jaw for good measure to secure the win at the 1:47 mark of the frame.
That knockout, which marked his fifth triumph in the organization, moved Pompet’s career to 107-46.
Sonrak Fairtex secured his seventh win in ONE Championship by unanimous decision over Petwichit Singha Mawynn in their 137-pound Muay Thai tussle.
After gauging distance in the opening two minutes, Sonrak unloaded a barrage of hooks that rocked the Singha Mawynn representative near the end of the first.
The Fairtex Training Center affiliate continued his unrelenting pressure in the second stanza, but ran into stiff counters from the backpedalling Petwichit near the bell.
Petwichit nearly dropped Sonrak with a crisp counter elbow midway through the final canto, but it only ignited the 28-year-old’s reserves in the closing minutes.
Sonrak answered with a blinding flurry of punches upstairs and held on to his momentum to earn the nod from all three judges to improve his slate to a remarkable 69-23.
Watcharaphon Singha Mawynn spoiled Petpayathai Sangmorakot‘s promotional bow across this thrilling nine-minute 130-pound Muay Thai tiff.
The Singha Mawynn man pushed the pace in the early going. Petpayathai successfully managed to play the counter game to keep his foe at bay, but the pressure began to seep in as Watcharaphon found a home for his strikes.
The 22-year-old left the corner guns blazing in round two. Watcharaphon quickly connected with sharp punches before punishing his fellow countryman’s abdomen with relentless kicks and hooks.
Petpayathai attempted a rally in the final frame, but Watcharaphon’s body of work earned him the unanimous decision that moved him to 76-15 in his career.
Korpai Sor Yingcharoenkarnchang found his groove and took out Jaopuenyai Kiatkongkreangkrai in highlight-reel fashion in 136-pound Muay Thai action.
He gauged the distance with a well-timed body and leg kicks, along with a measured right hook when his fellow Thai got too close in the opening frame.
After finding his range, Korpai amped up the volume and started headhunting with high kicks in the second frame. His trademark tool soon led to one of his best finishes yet.
Seconds after he narrowly missed with a head kick, the 23-year-old followed up with a gorgeous spinning back elbow to send Jaopuenyai into the shadow realm at 1:43 of round two.
Korpai’s second straight knockout in ONE Friday Fights upped his resume to 39-15.
Andrii Mezentsev barged into the win column with a gutsy split decision win over Lanyakaew Tor Silapon in their 118-pound Muay Thai showdown.
Mezentsev pushed the pace early in the first with boxing combinations, but his recklessness came with a hefty price tag after Lanyakaew busted his forehead open with a counter elbow.
The Thai brawler tried to flip the tempo in the second, but Mezentsev kept at his blistering pace with boxing combinations to end the round on a high note.
Sensing he needed something big, the Ukrainian striker threw everything but the kitchen sink in the third.
He ended the battle with a cracking right hook and eventually earned two of the three judges’ scorecards for his first ONE Championship win as he improved to 22-5 overall.
Islay Erika Bomogao bagged her maiden knockout of her ONE Friday Fights campaign with a sublime first-round finish of Nerea Rubio in 103-pound Muay Thai.
Rubio wanted to show she wasn’t afraid of the hype behind the 24-year-old Filipina standout, so she took the fight to her with unorthodox kicks and punches.
However, Bomogao waited for her moment and sunk in an inch-perfect straight right into the Spaniard’s midsection that sent her crumbling to the canvas at 1:05 of round one.
As a result, the Filipina made it three successive triumphs on the organization’s weekly spectacle inside the Mecca of Muay Thai.
In featherweight Muay Thai action, ONE debutant Michael Baranov displayed his remarkable finishing instinct to annihilate Angel “Ironside” Bauza.
The Russian southpaw showed he meant business early by cracking Bauza with a one-two. “Ironside” stayed composed and tried to retaliate with elbows, but couldn’t find his mark.
Baranov’s confidence grew, and he connected with ballistic left and right straights with impunity. The Tiger Muay Thai athlete scored a knockdown near the ring ropes following another sharp left.
Bauza survived the onslaught, but his luck ran out in the second frame.
Baranov detonated a clean right hook to the button, which took away Bauza’s consciousness at 0:17 of round two, upping his professional run to 11-2.
Maksim Bakhtin kept his unbeaten record intact with an electrifying first-round knockout of Javier “Yiyo” Aparicio in his lightweight Muay Thai matchup.
It only took the Muay Thai Union affiliate 10 seconds to send a message to his opposite number, delivering jaw-cracking hooks that instantly unsettled Aparicio.
He relied on the same weapons to send the Silk Muay Thai and Dojo Serpiente warrior stumbling near the ropes for the first knockdown of the fight.
As soon as Aparicio regained his footing, the 22-year-old charged in with a textbook spinning heel kick and put him down and out for good via a cracking left elbow at 1:17 into the contest.
Bakhtin’s highlight-reel finish in his debut improved his record to 10-0.
“Bullet Princess” Misaki lived up to her moniker in her promotional debut as she blitzed past Ran Longshu in their 100-pound kickboxing showdown.
The ladies kicked off the battle in high gear, but Misaki’s power began to shine as she repeatedly tagged her Chinese foe with punishing punches and stabbing kicks to the body to dictate the flow.
In round two, “Bullet Princess” stepped it up a notch as she continued to put Ran on the back foot with heavy combinations. More one-way traffic unfolded in the final frame, courtesy of Misaki.
The judges’ decision was a mere formality after three rounds, as the Japanese newcomer left the Thai capital with a unanimous decision win that upgraded her slate to 25-10.
Imran Satiev and Dzhokhar Eskiev‘s flyweight MMA scrap went down to the wire, but the former’s well-rounded attacks earned him the narrow victory.
Eskiev started hot with front kicks and his signature overhand right. Satiev, however, countered with a spinning back kick and dumped Eskiev with a beautiful double-leg takedown to end the round.
The T-1 Fight Academy man took charge once more in the early goings of the second frame. Yet again, Satiev’s elite grappling got him out of trouble, and he damaged Eskiev from the clinch using crushing knees to the body.
In the third, Satiev fought off his Uzbekistani athlete’s early takedown attempt, unloading with a flurry of punches that persuaded two of the three judges at ringside to hand him the split decision win.
The debutant’s resume now stands at 5-0.
Seiya Matsuda picked his spots and handed Bilal “Lone Wolf” Hussain the first loss of his unblemished slate in the second round of their featherweight MMA clash in the night’s curtain raiser.
The Japanese warrior showed Hussain just how dangerous he was on the canvas from the start.
He dropped the Pakistani brawler with a straight right, then landed vicious knees on the ground that rocked Hussain’s cobwebs.
Matsuda continued his assault in the second stanza, and a nasty kimura from side control eventually got the job done against “Lone Wolf” at 1:10 into the round.
With the win, the Blue Dog Gym martial artist moved to 6-1 overall.