- Two dozen MMA artists deliver an electric night of entertainment at ONE Friday Fights 121
- Muay Thai – Lightweight: Maksim Bakhtin's spinning elbow crushes Tengnueng Fairtex, moves to 11-0
- Muay Thai – 130 lbs: Ubaid Hussain goes 13-0 with striking clinic in Petnakian Sor Nakian rematch
- Petchakrit, Shimon, Okuwaki also scored stoppage victories in ONE Friday Fights 121 undercard
It was business as usual inside Bangkok’s legendary Lumpinee Stadium this past Friday, August 22.
Two dozen martial artists across MMA and Muay Thai delivered an electric night of entertainment at ONE Friday Fights 121 in search of a life-changing US$100,000 contract and a spot on the main roster of the world’s largest martial arts organization.
In case you missed any of the action, here’s what went down on this high-octane card that delivered eight sensational finishes.
Undefeated Russian dynamo Maksim Bakhtin made it back-to-back finishes on ONE Friday Fights, this time taking out Tengnueng Fairtex in their lightweight Muay Thai main event showdown.
As he did in his promotional debut at ONE Friday Fights 111, the 22-year-old used his vicious elbow to get the job done and move 2-0 on the global stage.
The decisive moment came early in the second round. As Tengnueng caught Bakhtin’s kick and launched an overhand left, the Muay Thai Union standout spun and countered with a spinning back elbow that sent his Thai foe to the canvas.
Tengnueng tried to regain his footing, but he was in no state to continue. As a result, the unbeaten slugger was awarded a KO victory at 0:45 of the second frame that improved his resume to 11-0.
Another unbeaten talent, Ubaid “Bad” Hussain, left the Mecca of Muay Thai with his perfect slate intact.
The British-Pakistani warrior overcame Petnakian Sor Nakian by unanimous decision in their 130-pound Muay Thai featured bout – a rematch of their electrifying encounter at ONE Friday Fights 115.
The 19-year-old phenom used his left elbow to stagger his foe and followed that up with a barrage of punches and a stabbing knee in the first round. Petnakian absorbed all the damage and fired back with missiles of his own.
That didn’t stop Hussain from continuing his assault in the round that followed. He began chopping down his foe and connected with a three-piece combo, which visibly hurt the Thai.
“Bad” stayed relentless in the third frame in pursuit of a highlight-reel moment, even inviting Petnakian to trade leather with him in the middle of the ring.
Though he didn’t find the finish, Hussain’s dominance over three rounds of action was enough to convince all three judges at ringside to award him the win, which pushed his record to 4-0 in ONE Friday Fights and 13-0 overall.
In a night packed with knockouts, Petchakrit TN Diamond Home might have scored the sweetest victory of all.
He dropped Pamor-E-Daeng Chokamnuaychai twice en route to a second-round finish in their 122-pound Muay Thai bout – but his biggest moment came after the final bell when he propose to his girlfriend, who immediately accepted.
In flyweight Muay Thai, Shimon Yoshinari continued his fine form with a second-round TKO of Pettonglor Sitluangpeenumfon. The Japanese striker now owns three wins under the ONE banner, improving his overall record to 23-1.
Before that, three-time Muay Thai World Champion Ryuya Okuwaki came back from a knockdown to score a highlight-reel head kick KO over Nueaphet Kelasport in the second round of their atomweight Muay Thai clash, kicking off his promotional debut in style.