Halil Amir, Seksan, Sinsamut Highlight ONE Fight Night 16 Undercard With Exciting Wins
On Friday, November 3, fans once again witnessed why ONE Championship is the premier destination for martial arts fans of every type.
The eight MMA, kickboxing, and Muay Thai bouts leading up to the headliners of ONE Fight Night 16: Haggerty vs. Andrade on Prime Video over-delivered on expectations.
Underdogs prevailed, World Title contenders emerged, and legends lived on at the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. Here’s what went down live in U.S. primetime from the scene of action in the Thai capital.
Seksan Puts On Classic Performance In U.S. Primetime Debut
With his walk-forward style, relentless elbow attacks, and refusal to back down to a challenge, it’s obvious why Seksan Or Kwanmuang is known as “The Man Who Yields To No One.”
He was also the man who welcomed Karim “The Surgeon” Bennoui to ONE Championship – unfortunately for the French-Algerian debutant.
Seksan came out for his 140-pound catchweight Muay Thai bout and slowly turned up the dial with his torture-chamber-like elbow and knee attacks.
After nine minutes of swarming and marauding Bennoui – who ended the bout all but slouched where he stood – the four-time Muay Thai World Champion bagged a dominant unanimous decision win.
With that, the 34-year-old Thai legend earned a victory in his U.S. primetime debut, improved to 7-0 in ONE Championship, and upped his career record to a massive 200-74 overall.
Amir Solidifies Contender Status With TKO Of Mujtaba
Halil “No Mercy” Amir continued to build his case for a World Title shot after stopping Ahmed “Wolverine” Mujtaba between the first and second rounds of their lightweight MMA encounter.
The #4-ranked contender survived some scary moments in the first, slithering his way out of a deep kimura attempt from the Pakistani submission machine midway through the frame.
The Turkish heavy hitter ended up on top of Mujtaba and escaped a weak triangle attempt from “Wolverine”. He then postured up and landed some big shots from that position as the bell sounded.
In between rounds, Mujtaba didn’t answer from his stool, forcing referee Herb Dean to stop the bout and award Amir the TKO victory – improving his overall record to 10-0 with nine stoppages.
Sinsamut Edges Out Chafi In Hotly Contested Firefight
Former two-time ONE Lightweight Muay Thai World Title challenger Sinsamut Klinmee and late-notice replacement Mouhcine Chafi went to war in their 174.5-pound catchweight Muay Thai clash.
The promotional newcomer gave the Thai superstar all he could handle over the course of nine high-paced minutes, finding a home for his long-range weapons and punishing straight punches.
However, Sinsamut’s counter-strikes and well-rounded kicking game ultimately overcame the Spanish-Moroccan striker’s relentless aggression, as he took home the unanimous decision victory.
The win improved the 28-year-old’s career slate to an impressive 82-18-3 and put him in prime position for another crack at the lightweight Muay Thai gold.
Botelho Shocks Zhang In Three-Round Thriller
Rui Botelho weathered an early storm from “Fighting Rooster” Zhang Peimian and held tough in the end to score a surprising split-decision win in their strawweight kickboxing affair.
Zhang opened like a house on fire, connecting with left hands and leg kicks to push Botelho on his back foot. The Portuguese striker had answers, though, effectively countering each time his opponent moved forward.
The Chinese phenom started aggressively in the second frame, but Botelho seemed more prepared for the onslaught as he timed his right hand well. The veteran’s combinations were also on point, as he repeatedly tagged Zhang with one-twos while being patient enough to avoid overextending.
Knowing the match was razor-close, Botelho looked for more combinations in the final round – and this time, it was Zhang reacting and countering. Down the stretch, “Fighting Rooster” threw some big body kicks, but Botelho circled out of harm’s way to end the fight.
After three frames, two of the three judges awarded the fight to Botelho, who snapped his skid and earned a massive victory over a former ONE Strawweight Kickboxing World Title challenger.
Miura Submits Meng With Trademark Scarf-Hold Americana
“Keep Moving Forward” – that was the motto printed on Ayaka “Zombie” Miura’s Tribe Tokyo MMA shirt while making the walk to her strawweight MMA battle with Meng Bo.
It also happened to be her fight philosophy on Friday.
When the bell sounded, Miura was forced to fend off a bull-rushing Meng. The Chinese star dragged “Zombie” to the canvas and tried to pummel her with punches.
However, Miura kept her composure in the scramble and gained side control, where she eventually cranked on a scarf-hold Americana to get the tap at 2:09 of round one.
With the victory, the 33-year-old earned her 12th career win – and incredibly, her sixth by scarf-hold Americana. In the process, the Japanese sensation took a big step closer to a potential rematch with ONE Women’s Strawweight MMA World Champion Xiong Jing Nan.
Tynan Submits Kang In Smashing ONE Debut
Ben “Vanilla Thunder” Tynan arrived in ONE Championship in style, dominating “Mighty Warrior” Kang Ji Won before submitting him via arm triangle in the third round of their heavyweight MMA clash.
Kang had no answers for Tynan’s NCAA Division I wrestling pedigree, as the Canadian quickly shot for a takedown and controlled the South Korean from the top position. He spent the first round in the mount while actively looking for submissions.
It was pretty much the same story in the second round, with “Vanilla Thunder” controlling the action on the canvas, although Kang showed great toughness amid Tynan’s ground dominance.
“Mighty Warrior” could only defend for so long, though, as Tynan once again secured the takedown in the third stanza.
This time, he locked in the arm triangle tightly, forcing Kang to submit at the 1:22 mark.
With the win, Tynan moved to 5-0 in MMA, kept his 100 percent finishing rate intact, and went home US$50,000 richer after getting a performance bonus.
Morales Shocks Supergirl With First-Round Stoppage
In atomweight kickboxing action, Spanish standout Cristina Morales ventured into enemy territory to take out Thai prodigy Anna “Supergirl” Jaroonsak in a stunning performance.
The 30-year-old veteran wasted little time in pressing the action, blitzing her teenage opponent early and often with ferocious punching combinations.
Those strikes quickly added up to force “Supergirl” on the defensive, and in the closing moments of the opening frame, she turned her back from the fight to finish the contest via TKO after 2:54 of combat.
With Morales’ victory, the three-time Kickboxing World Champion secured a well-deserved US$50,000 performance bonus and improved her career slate to 49-8 overall.
Adiwang Evens Score With Miado In Fiery Rematch
Lito “Thunder Kid” Adiwang can finally move past the ghost of his fractured past after beating Jeremy “The Jaguar” Miado via unanimous decision in an action-packed strawweight MMA rematch to open ONE Fight Night 16.
Nineteen months after losing their first contest and suffering a serious ACL injury, Adiwang looked better than ever in this showdown of Filipino stars. A left hook dropped Miado early in the first round, and that punch continued to land throughout the frame.
“The Jaguar” adjusted well in the second stanza, but the Soma Fight Club representative had answers – this time disrupting Miado’s flow with an overhand right, spinning elbows, and leg kicks.
In the third round, Miado moved forward and strung together combinations. As he looked for the finishing shot, though, Adiwang targeted his leg and punished him with counter right hooks each time he overextended.
After three rounds of action, all three judges gave “Thunder Kid” the nod. The 30-year-old earned his second straight win since the knee injury and moved to 15-5 overall in his MMA career.
