Kacem Outworks Bohic, Kongthoranee Makes Statement Against Naito At ONE Friday Fights 37
ONE Friday Fights 37 proved to be another majestic night of martial arts inside the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, when it went down on Friday, October 20.
A trio of explosive mixed martial arts duels got things off to a cracking start before Muay Thai took center stage with knockouts and nail-biting affairs to prove that ONE Championship is truly home to the best in the business.
In case you missed any of the action, here’s everything that unfolded in Asia primetime inside the “Madison Square Garden of the East.”
Kacem Bests Bohic By Decision Thanks To Late Knockdown
A late surge from Antar Kacem was enough to convince all three judges scoring his bantamweight Muay Thai showdown with Rafi Bohic to hand him a crucial win.
Bohic kept the victory away from the Belarusian brawler for as long as he could, hopping into the pocket behind step-in elbows, punches, and kicks to prevent Kacem from stringing anything together in the early stages of the main event matchup.
But midway through the second round, Kacem found a path around the Frenchman’s onslaught and caught him with some pinpoint counters – and he took that strategy with him into the final stanza.
In turn, he worked his way further through his foe’s defenses and delivered a massive left hook that sent the Singpatong affiliate to the canvas in the latter half of the round.
That was enough to earn Kacem the nod from the judges, and he moved his record to 49-9 as a result.
Rittidet Dominates Theptaksin En Route To Second-Round KO
After scoring a finish at ONE Friday Fights 19, Rittidet Sor Sommai fulfilled his promise to do the same against Theptaksin Sor Sornsing in their 132-pound catchweight Muay Thai battle.
Rittidet controlled the early going of the contest, picking his moments to let loose with precision. And his vow to claim a second win in ONE began to come to fruition when he dropped Theptaksin with a stunning left hook just before the end of the opening frame.
His Thai compatriot answered the referee’s count, but Rittidet wasn’t in a forgiving mood. He swarmed Theptaksin in the second round and scored another knockdown thanks to a left elbow.
The 26-year-old slugger knew the end was near from there, and he followed up moments later with a short right elbow to finish proceedings at the 1:59 mark and push his slate to 85-8 overall.
Lamnamkhong Earns Historic Debut Knockout Over Samoynoi
Lamnamkhong BS Muaythai had plenty of weight on his shoulders going into his flyweight Muay Thai contest with Samoynoi Tor Phusuwan, being the first athlete from Laos to compete on ONE Championship’s global stage.
That only served as motivation for the BS Muay Thai affiliate, however, as he picked up a sensational highlight-reel KO win in the opening round of the matchup.
Lamnamkhong rocked his foe with a left hook to score a knockdown just past the two-minute mark. And barely seconds later, he stepped forward to seal the deal with another stiffening left at 2:30 of the frame.
The 22-year-old improved his resume to 46-11 with the win and announced Laos with a bang in the world’s largest martial arts organization.
Petsirichai Impresses With Split-Decision Win In ONE Debut
Petsirichai Detpetchsrithong arrived at Lumpinee Stadium with something to prove, and he made his name known with a hard-fought debut win over Songfangkhong FA Group.
The 23-year-old star came out the gate with fire in their 133-pound catchweight Muay Thai matchup. He refused to move backward against his Thai compatriot and landed clean elbows and short shots to assert his dominance.
Songfangkhong bit back in the second frame, though, and prevented Petsirichai from gaining even an inch. He connected with lethal strikes and offered more in the clinch to ensure it all came down to the final stanza.
Petsirichai went full speed toward Songfangkong in round three, dazzling his foe with repeated flying knees.
That proved to be the difference in the end, and he earned the split-decision win to improve his slate to 66-13.
Kaoklai Storms Back To Finish Punmongkol In Round Two
Kaoklai Chor Hapayak’s iron chin took all of Punmongkol Sor Mongkolkarnchang’s thunderous onslaught in the opening frame of their 124-pound catchweight Muay Thai duel, but it only inspired him to step his game up and find another win in ONE.
Both men punished each other with hooks, uppercuts, and elbows in the first three minutes of the contest, with Punmongkol’s forward pressure and movement helping him land the cleaner and more powerful combinations.
However, the story of the fight changed abruptly in the second round. Kaoklai tightened his attacks with expert timing, and a pair of overhand rights sent his Thai compatriot face-first to the canvas at 1:29 of the stanza, where he stayed.
The LookEsan Fighting athlete scored his second victory at ONE Friday Fights as a result and bumped his record to 39-14.
Tahaneak Ends Mahahin’s Winning Streak In ONE Debut
Tahaneak Nayokatasala’s career as a soldier undoubtedly helped him prepare for his war with Mahahin Nakbinalaiyon on Friday night – and he eked out the win in the end.
The 21-year-old debutant maintained high pressure from the opening bell of their 118-pound catchweight Muay Thai matchup, and he put his Thai compatriot on the backfoot in close quarters.
Mahahin clearly wanted to add to his 2-0 winning streak in ONE, and he threw his fair share of dangerous elbows in the exchanges, but Tahaneak’s will refused to be broken.
The second frame saw both men pick up the pace, but Tahaneak’s strikes to Mahahin’s body appeared more significant.
They then threw everything at each other in the final stanza, so it was either Thai’s fight at the end of the action. Ultimately, though, two of three judges gave Tahaneak the nod for his aggression, and he was awarded the split-decision win to move his slate to 41-10.
Kongthoranee Bests Naito In Three-Round Thriller
Kongthoranee Sor Sommai may have earned himself a spot in ONE’s flyweight Muay Thai rankings with his win over #4-ranked contender Taiki “Silent Sniper” Naito.
The two-time Rajadamnern Stadium Muay Thai World Champion star met Naito in flyweight Muay Thai action and scored a well-deserved unanimous decision victory after three jaw-dropping rounds.
Kongthoranee pulverized “Silent Sniper,” working his left leg up and down the Japanese man’s torso and bicep while incrementally increasing the intensity of his kicks.
And as if that wasn’t enough, the Thai powerhouse used his sneaky lead straight left to crack through Naito’s defense, unhinging the veteran striker and forcing him to swing sloppily. When he did, the openings were Kongthoranee’s for the taking – and so was the fight.
In the end, all three judges gave the Sor Sommai standout the nod, earning him his fifth win in ONE and moving his stellar striking record to 65-15 overall.
Ortikov Stays Unbeaten With Stunning Third-Round KO Against Pethuahin
Aslamjon Ortikov put on a stunning show to get the stoppage win he’d been yearning for in ONE against Pethuahin Jitmuangnon.
The 20-year-old dominated his rival from the start of the 128-pound Muay Thai clash and dropped him with a spinning back fist at the close of a one-sided first frame.
Pethuahin stood his ground and fired back in round two, but he couldn’t fend off the hungry Uzbek striker.
Ortikov kept up his assault in the final frame to put his man on the ropes. From there, he punctuated a heavy hook-cross-hook combination with a left head kick that sent the Jitmuangnon Gym star down and out for good after just 50 seconds, extending his perfect slate to 16-0.
Kacem Finishes Chai With Lightning-Quick Head Kick
Elyes Kacem may have entered his 130-pound catchweight Muay Thai battle with Chai Sor Sor ToiPadriew as the less experienced fighter, but his striking proved to be levels beyond his years.
The 17-year-old debutant traded wildly precise punches with his Thai foe – the kind that can drop a man on impact – but both took them on the chin and continued to march into the maddening fray.
By round two, Kacem and Chai had thrown all caution out the window, and dangerous kicks followed.
Then it happened. At 2:43 of the second frame, Kacem threw a left kick from the orthodox stance without warning and surprised the vastly more experienced Chai. His instep careened into the veteran’s jawline and dropped him where he stood.
The referee immediately jumped in to wave off the bout, and Kacem celebrated in victory. With that, the Algerian from Team Nasser K moved his all-striking record to 24-3.
Boleyan Moves To 8-0 With Quick Submission Of Baatarchuluun
Moris Boleyan kept his epic streak of submission wins alive with a first-round finish over Gantogtokh Baatarchuluun in their flyweight MMA clash.
The Armenian grappler took Baatarchuluun down early and worked patiently to advance his position from half-guard.
As Boleyan started to pass, the Mongolian debutant saw his chance to work up with an underhook. Unfortunately, it led him straight into his foe’s waiting guillotine choke.
Boleyan applied a squeeze to draw the tap at 2:23 of the opening frame, extending his perfect record to 8-0, with all wins coming by way of submission.
Bumina-ang Bags Hard-Fought Victory Over Andreev
Carlo Bumina-ang scored his second win at ONE Friday Fights against Denis Andreev, but unlike his debut victory, this one came after three grueling rounds.
The 29-year-old went toe-to-toe with Andreev in their bantamweight MMA banger, and he edged him out by split decision when the dust had settled.
From the get-go, Bumina-ang bull-rushed his Russian opponent and startled him with crisp left and right punches. As time wore on, the Filipino only upped the pace with low kicks, spinning attacks, and even the occasional takedown.
Although Andreev made a fight out of it, Bumina-ang stayed one step ahead throughout the affair, and it showed on the judges’ scorecards as two of the three gave the Team Lakay athlete the nod.
Ortikov’s Grappling Earns Him Win In Tough Battle With Mwambi
Komronbek Ortikov used his grappling prowess to outwork a dangerous Percival Oumo Mwambi in their 130-pound catchweight MMA contest.
Mwambi asked questions in the stand-up exchanges early on, scoring with hard low kicks and punches, but he struggled to shake off his Uzbek rival once they were in close quarters.
Ortikov repeatedly threw his Kenyan-Australian foe to the canvas throughout the three-round affair. And though he couldn’t make any of his submission attempts stick, his ground dominance earned him the unanimous decision win from the judges in his promotional debut.
