Sen’s Star Rises With Second First-Round KO, Apisit Bests Szana In War At ONE Friday Fights 45
The year may be winding down, but ONE Championship still has a few more tricks up its sleeve in 2023.
ONE Friday Fights 45 offered up yet another thrilling night of world-class martial arts when it went down live in Asia primetime inside the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday, December 15.
Nine fast-paced Muay Thai bouts followed a pair of enthralling MMA curtain-jerkers, and we’ve got a recap of everything that happened – from quick knockouts to hard-fought decisions – right here.
Sen Shines In First-Round Stoppage Of Otop
The main event saw Soner “Golden Boy” Sen score a second first-round knockout in a row in ONE Championship against Otop Or Kwanmuang in bantamweight Muay Thai action.
Otop struck first to score a flash knockdown in the opening minute, but the Turkish scrapper quickly returned to his feet.
Utterly undeterred by the early drop, Sen happily engaged in a wild firefight with his ultra-aggressive Thai foe. That strategy quickly paid off for “Golden Boy,” as one of his big right hands landed flush on Otop’s jaw, crumbling him to the canvas and bringing the raucous Lumpinee crowd to its feet.
The Sor Sommai man couldn’t return to his feet, so Sen was handed the KO win at 1:47 of round one, improving his career record to 20-7 overall and 2-0 in ONE.
Dabdam Gone In 60 Seconds Thanks To Chartpayak’s Left Hook
Chartpayak Saksatoon obliterated Dabdam Por Tor Tor Thongtawee just one minute into their 126-pound catchweight Muay Thai encounter.
The pair decided stood and traded right from the start, and this played into Chartpayak’s hands perfectly. The 25-year-old unleashed a flurry of punches before dropping Dabdam to the canvas with a thudding left knee.
The Por Tor Tor Thongtawee/Petsomnuck man got back to his feet, but it wasn’t to be for long.
Chartpayak flew straight in to seal the deal, and he landed an inch-perfect left hook as his rival attempted to fire back.
Dabdam hit the canvas face-first, and the bout was waved on the stroke of 1:00 to move Chartpayak to 61-15 overall.
Pettasuea Demolishes Singmanee With Thunderous Left Hook
Pettasuea Seeopal couldn’t have asked for a better showing in his ONE Championship debut against Singmanee Surasakmontri.
The talented young Thais opened the 120-pound catchweight Muay Thai contest at a blistering pace, trading blows with bad intentions early and often.
Pettasuea was there to do a job, however, and after just over a minute of brawling, he found a home for a jaw-crushing left hook that sent his foe melting to the canvas and unable to continue.
The KO officially came at 1:14 of the first round, and the debut win pushed the 19-year-old’s career slate to 51-8-2.
Charlie Sleeps Silapet To Score KO Win On Debut
Charlie Singha Mawynn and Silapet Por Petkaikaew threw hell for leather in their ONE debuts, but Charlie’s persistent pressure saw him topple his Thai compatriot in their 126-pound catchweight Muay Thai tilt.
The Singha Mawynn Muay Thai representative put the pressure on from the first bell, throwing everything he had behind his shots. But Silapet answered back with a litany of elbows on the counter as the Lumpinee Stadium faithful stood in awe.
Charlie knew his approach was working, so he brought the fire in the same way in the second frame. The 20-year-old refused to leave the pocket, and his work paid dividends when he caught Silapet with a tremendous body-head combination and sent him to the mat for good at 2:28 of round two.
With his debut win, Charlie moved to 43-13-1 overall.
Jaoinsee Bests Ratchamongkol Over Three Tough Rounds
Jaoinsee PK Saenchai‘s pressure was enough to earn him the victory in a hard-fought 118-pound catchweight Muay Thai battle with Ratchamongkol Maethongbairecycle.
The PK Saenchai Muaythaigym man fired into his rival after the opening bell, taking aim with relentless flurries of punches as he hunted for an early finish.
Despite being just 16 years old, Ratchamongkol showed composure beyond his years to absorb Jaoinsee’s heavy left hooks and right hands. The TK Yuthanna athlete stood his ground to score with counters when his marauding rival charged in.
The first two rounds were dictated by Jaoinsee’s intense forward pressure, but his younger foe grew into the match in round three, timing his uppercuts and scoring with more frequency.
But it was too little, too late for Ratchamongkol, and Jaoinsee took the unanimous nod to move to 71-29-1 in the end.
Apisit Battles Szana To Hard-Fought Decision Win
Apisit Fairtex and Patrik Szana went to war in their 140-pound catchweight Muay Thai clash, and the former left the victor after three incredible rounds.
Both men were happy to exchange strikes at all ranges throughout the bout, with the respected Thai veteran pressing forward behind ruthless combinations and Szana employing phenomenal movement and counter-strikes.
Ultimately, it was Apisit’s aggressive work with his hands that earned him the judges’ favor and a unanimous decision victory in his much-anticipated ONE debut.
The 35-year-old improved his impressive career slate to 156-32-3 with the win.
El Halabi Proves His Worth In Three-Round Barnburner
After coming up short in his ONE debut, Omar “Ironside” El Halabi had a point to prove when he met Yodthongthai Sor Sommai in 130-pound catchweight Muay Thai, and he did just that with an impressive win.
El Halabi entered the fray with venom and fired everything at Yodthongthai, who weathered the storm and used his experience to land his own shots.
The Lebanese warrior recomposed himself in the second round and came at Yodthongthai with lethal intentions. This time, his precision paid off with a knockdown after a swarming combination. His Thai foe would survive to see off the frame, however.
The final round saw a mixed affair, with both men biting down on their gumshields and giving it all they had.
In the end, El Halabi’s knockdown made the difference, and he picked up the majority decision win to move to 21-6-2 overall.
Jaruadsuk Edges Past Kabutov After Three Rounds
Jaruadsuk Sor Jor Wichitpadriew earned a debut victory by the closest of margins in his flyweight Muay Thai battle against Sherzod “Lion” Kabutov.
Kabutov looked comfortable in the opening frame, countering his rival’s kicks with heavy boxing combinations, but the Thai athlete was accurate with his straight punches.
Jaruadsuk landed his straight left more frequently in round two and scored with some hard elbows, but Kabutov stood his ground and countered with his hands.
Neck and neck in round three, both men had success in the exchanges. Jaruadsak snapped Kabutov’s head back with his left while the Kyrgyz striker had success with counterpunches and spinning attacks.
After three rounds, two judges sided with Jaruadsuk to give him the win via split decision, extending his record to 76-5-10.
Karabag Starches Di Vara With Clean Boxing
In featherweight Muay Thai action, Turkish star Furkan Karabag put on a clinical performance en route to scoring a dynamic finish against promotional newcomer Lorenzo Di Vara.
The pair traded heavy kicks and punches for much of the first frame, but it was Karabag who did more damage, wobbling his foe with a thudding jab.
In the second round, the 25-year-old found even more success with his hands. A massive right sent Di Vara crashing to the canvas early on. And while the Italian would gamely return to his feet, two more knockdowns, thanks to Karabag’s venomous boxing, brought an end to proceedings soon after.
The finish officially came at 2:00 of the second stanza, and the win improved Karabag’s record to 27-8 overall.
Suleymanov Stuns Toktorov With Second-Round Submission
Suleyman Suleymanov managed to keep his unbeaten run going with a second-round submission over Nursultan Toktorov in their flyweight MMA tussle.
The Azerbaijani powerhouse found himself in plenty of dangerous predicaments against his undefeated foe in the first round. He had to eat numerous calf kicks and take a fair share of right hands before he could find an opening.
Suleymanov’s determination paid off just 12 seconds into the second frame, however, as he capitalized on a telegraphed takedown attempt from Toktorov to secure a guillotine and score the submission win.
Suleymanov moved to 10-0 with the debut victory.
Khan Stays Perfect In Exciting MMA Opener With Dhant
Ismail Khan and Rabindra Dhant entered their flyweight MMA clash undefeated, but it was the former who left with his perfect slate still intact.
Khan had to work out of some tough spots throughout the bout, as he saw himself mounted by Dhant early in the first and second rounds. But the Pakistani athlete reversed the position each time before dominating with his impressive grappling and submission skills.
The KAK’s Fight Club star came close to drawing the tap with an arm triangle, rear-naked choke, and armbar attempts, but Dhant grit his teeth and battled out every time.
Despite the Nepalese man’s durability, Khan’s superior aggression in the ground exchanges won out in the end, and he took the unanimous decision to extend his record to 7-0.
