Yod-IQ Outworks Musaev In Barnburner, Avatar Makes It Three In A Row At ONE Friday Fights 44
ONE Friday Fights 44 kickstarted a double-header for the world’s largest martial arts organization this weekend when it went live from Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Boxing Stadium on Friday, December 8.
Twelve Muay Thai and mixed martial arts bouts were on offer inside the storied venue, and the action was world-class from start to finish.
Before all attention shifts to ONE Fight Night 17: Kryklia vs. Roberts on Prime Video later today, let’s recap everything that went down in Asia primetime at the latest installment of ONE Friday Fights.
Yod-IQ Earns Split-Decision Win In Thrilling Tilt With Musaev
Yod-IQ Or Pimolsri had critics to answer to when he stepped into bantamweight Muay Thai action against Ilyas Musaev, and he managed to silence them by earning a split-decision victory.
The pair went strike for strike in the opening frame, with each battler showing their mettle by returning their foe’s fire.
The pace picked up significantly in the second frame, with Yod-IQ finding a home for his strikes and Musaev dazzling his Thai foe with spinning elbows.
Both men were very much in it going into the third round, but Yod-IQ’s shot selection allowed him to edge ahead of his Russian counterpart, and the knees and combinations he landed in the clinch sealed the deal.
The judges handed Yod-IQ the split decision victory, returning him to the winner’s column and moving his slate to a staggering 118-36 overall.
Pompet Blitzes Rittidet For Impressive Third-Round Stoppage
Pompet PK Saenchai worked through the gears to earn a third-round TKO in his 132-pound catchweight Muay Thai battle with Rittidet Sor Sommai.
Rittidet looked the slicker of the two in the early running, taking the PK Saenchai Muaythaigym man off his feet with some well-timed kicks, but Pompet kept his cool and fired back with hands.
In round two, Pompet dialed up the pressure with his boxing offense. And although his Sor Sommai foe gamely returned offensive, it looked like the match was slipping away from him.
Pompet pulled out all the stops in the final frame, connecting with furious salvos of punches that put Rittidet down twice.
A final flurry then forced the referee to step in at 1:56, handing Pompet the win and pushing his slate to 105-44.
Maisangkum Stops Chalarmdam To Go 4-0 In ONE
Maisangkum Sor Yingcharoenkarncharng didn’t take a backward step en route to scoring a brutal first-round finish against Chalarmdam Nayokatasala in their 119-pound catchweight Muay Thai meeting.
The 22-year-old came out guns blazing, and he taunted Chalarmdam into a slugfest from the get-go. Once “King Speed” bit the bait and stepped forward into action, Maisangkum drove a blistering right hook into his body to end the contest at 2:54 of the first round.
The Boxing 3 athlete moved to 50-16 in his career and 4-0 in ONE with the jaw-dropping finish.
Peemai Bests Thanungern In Bantamweight War
Peemai Por Kobkuea earned the win against Thanungern FA Group at the end of a bantamweight Muay Thai thriller that had fans on the edge of their seats.
Thanungern started the stronger of the two, dominating swathes of the first two rounds with a varied output that utilized all of his weapons.
The FA Group representative had his opponent hurt with heavy knees to the body in the second stanza, but Peemai flipped the script with a huge left hook that sent his opposite man down.
He dropped Thanungern a second time soon after and did his best to seal the deal from there, but somehow his durable rival managed to cling on.
Thanungern tried to get back into the match with his elbows in round three, but Peemai’s blistering second round saw him take the unanimous decision win in the end, moving his slate to 46-19.
Ganchai Scores Highlight-Reel Head Kick KO Against Binladin
Ganchai Jitmuangnon‘s introduction to the Lumpinee crowd couldn’t have gone any better, as he knocked out Binladin Sangmorakot to kickstart his promotional tenure in fine form.
The 22-year-old weathered Binladin’s early storm in their 124-pound catchweight Muay Thai affair to fire off shots of his own and find his distance.
Once he established his range, Ganchai put everything he had behind a hellacious head kick to end the contest at 2:24 of round one.
With the debut win, the Jitmuangnon gym athlete moved to 31-19 in his career overall.
Sungprab’s Right Hand Puts Petmuangthai Down And Out
Sungprab Lookpichit made Petmuangthai TBM Gym pay for leaving his chin exposed in their 112-pound catchweight Muay Thai encounter.
Petmuangthai looked vulnerable whenever he stepped toward his shorter foe, leaving his head high as a target for Sungprab to swing at.
At the end of round one, the Lookpichit athlete found a home for his overhand right to put Petmuangthai down, but the Thai was saved by the bell.
Motivated by that success, though, Sungprab went after his opponent in round two, and he found the KO with a barrage of right hands at the 2:12 mark to push his record to 61-15.
Avatar Makes It Three Wins In A Row Against Wang
Avatar PK Saenchai officially kicked off a run in ONE Championship by claiming his third win in as many outings against Wang Kaifeng in bantamweight Muay Thai.
The Thai striker was met with a confident Wang in the opening round, but he measured his entries well and executed his strikes perfectly.
Avatar’s confidence grew further in the second round. He stood in the pocket and turned up the heat on his Chinese adversary before cutting him open with an elbow midway through the frame.
In the final round, Avatar made it clear he was the hungrier battler by closing down Wang’s aggression with impressive body kicks and high pressure, and that was enough to earn him the unanimous decision win in the end.
The 30-year-old moved his slate 98-42 with the victory.
Cicek’s Power Gets Him Nod In War With Blasi
Ferzan “The Boogeyman” Cicek’s power was the difference in his three-round bantamweight Muay Thai battle with Lenny Blasi.
Blasi looked strong in the opening round, utilizing his jab-cross to score from the outside and landing his left hook to the body. But Cicek was steadfast in the face of this offense, and he wobbled his foe in the dying seconds.
In round two, the Turkish slugger absorbed more of his rival’s punches and countered with heavy hooks and overhands before a spinning elbow sent Blasi reeling late in the frame.
The Italian kept working behind his jab-cross in round three, but Cicek stood his ground and landed the more hurtful punches to get the unanimous nod from the judges and extend his record to 22-7.
Alves Ekes Out Win Against Chirino To Go 3-0 In ONE
Following two successful outings in Lumpinee Stadium, Yuly Alves had every reason to feel confident stepping into her strawweight Muay Thai matchup with Chellina Chirino, and the Brazilian star made the most of it to score another impressive win.
Chirino shined in the opening frame with solid pressure and strong counterstrikes, but Alves settled into the slugfest in the second frame.
She landed elbows, rangey strikes, and front kicks that stung her foe and brought her back into the fight, but Chirino stepped in with some decent combinations in response, leaving it all to play for.
In the final round, Alves pulled ahead with more front kicks and leg attacks, and she was handed the split-decision win to go 3-0 in ONE and 31-6 overall.
Ali Fends Off Biagtan With Strong Wrestling Game
Babar “The Flogger” Ali had to endure some tough spots to earn the decision win over Fritz “Kid Tornado” Biagtan in their exciting flyweight MMA clash.
Knockout artist Biagtan looked to have his foe rocked with some powerful flurries in round one, but the Afghan star showed his durability by eating the shots and pressing forward.
Following a barrage of ground-and-pound late in the first, Ali’s momentum grew in rounds two and three. “The Flogger” repeatedly took Biagtan to the canvas, scoring with punches, knees, and elbows from top position.
“Tornado Kid” never stopped battling, but he couldn’t turn the tide, and Ali was handed the unanimous decision win to move to 7-2.
Bumina-ang Folds Dursun With Stunning 23-Second KO
Carlo Bumina-ang earned his third consecutive victory in ONE, and he did so with style points by knocking out Ilyas Dursun just 23 seconds into their bantamweight MMA encounter.
The Team Lakay talent wasted no time once the opening bell rang, countering Dursun’s charge with a right hook that floored his Turkish foe.
Bumina-ang knew the finish was on from there, and he landed a perfect left hook to knock his foe out cold as soon as he returned to his feet.
The 29-year-old moved to 3-0 in ONE and earned the fourth victory of his MMA career as a result.
Gomes Looks Slick En Route To Dominant Debut Victory
Leandro “The Machine Jr” Gomes capped off a surgical performance with a third-round TKO over Milad Hosseini in their flyweight MMA show-opener.
The Portuguese athlete stayed a step ahead with his sharp striking in the first two rounds, punishing the Iranian with his hands before uncorking some spectacular flying knees.
In round three, Gomes put his foot further on the gas and scored with a takedown before working from the back. He then unleashed hell on Hosseini when the Phuket Fight Club man returned to his feet.
“The Machine Jr” backed his foe into the corner and blitzed him with a salvo of devastating hooks, leading the referee to step in at the 2:47 mark and extend Gomes’ record to 5-1.
