Troy Worthen Earns Stunning TKO With Powerhouse Performance
Troy “Pretty Boy” Worthen proved why he may come to be known as one of the most feared bantamweights in ONE Championship as he dominated “The Ghost” Chen Rui at ONE: MASTERS OF DESTINY on Friday, 12 July.
The American put on a show from start to finish in his promotional debut as he imposed his top-class wrestling to take command of the contest, and then overwhelmed his Chinese rival with strikes to secure a second-round TKO.
Worthen engaged with Chen on the feet in the first minute inside the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, but was put on the back foot by the ONE Jakarta Bantamweight Tournament Champion courtesy of a heavy overhand left.
Worthen soon changed tack as he caught a kick and drove his opponent down onto the mat. It was all one-way traffic from then on, as the Evolve representative showed the grappling skills that made him an NCWA All-American and NCWA Southeastern Conference Champion.
His spell of dominance on the canvas started in half guard as he unloaded with punches, then advanced to “The Ghost’s” back, where he locked up a body triangle.
The Chinese athlete managed to squirm out of it, but he could not escape entirely as he ended up in mount, where the American had 90 seconds to unleash some more of his destructive strikes.
Chen somehow managed to show brilliant head movement to slip some of Worthen’s heavy punches, but he still absorbed a ton of damage, and barely made it to the bell to see the second round.
Both athletes were out of their corners quickly for the second round, but it was not long before “Pretty Boy” scored with another takedown. This time, he took double underhooks to throw Chen onto the floor in spectacular style.
Once again, Chen was trapped, and he had no answer for the 26-year-old’s top pressure and punches.
He continued to unleash his fists before he added left and right elbows into the equation to force referee Olivier Coste to call a halt to the contest with 3:29 gone in the second round.
Worthen’s successful debut on the global stage improved his professional slate to 5-0. By handing Chen the first defeat of his career, he marked himself as a contender to watch in the bantamweight class.
