Ham Seo Hee, Zhang Peimian, Akbar Abdullaev Earn Pivotal Wins At ONE Fight Night 8
On Friday, March 24, the world’s largest martial arts organization returned to the Singapore Indoor Stadium for ONE Fight Night 8: Superlek vs. Williams on Prime Video.
Fans were excited about the main and co-main event showdowns, but the eight battles that happened earlier in the night impressed those in attendance, as well as those watching around the globe.
Here’s a quick recap of the action that went down earlier tonight in “The Lion City.”
Ham Seo Hee Secures Bragging Rights Over Itsuki Hirata
In an atomweight MMA grudge match that’s been four months in the making, South Korea’s Ham Seo Hee earned a pivotal unanimous decision win over Japanese rising star Itsuki Hirata.
“Hamzzang’s” superior striking was immediately on display, as the Team MAD representative landed rounds of left hands and kicks on the takedown-hunting Hirata.
Although Ham’s formidable stand-up game pushed Hirata on the back foot, “Android 18” found a way to a couple of takedowns. However, the #2-ranked contender stayed sharp on the canvas, peppered her rival with strikes, and worked back to her feet during those attempts.
The unanimous decision extended Ham’s winning streak to nine and moved her record to 26-8.
Akbar Abdullaev Starches Oh Ho Taek In 44 Seconds
In featherweight MMA action, Akbar Abdullaev wrapped up his promotional debut with a first-round TKO win over Oh Ho Taek. The unbeaten star only needed 44 seconds to get the job done.
Abdullaev quickly made his intentions known, connecting with jabs and body shots as he closed the distance. That prompted Oh to reply with jabs, but the Kyrgyzstani warrior slipped them and countered with a booming uppercut and a barrage of hammer fists to secure his eighth first-round victory.
The win earned Abdullaev a US$50,000 performance bonus, improved his record to 9-0, and kept his impressive 100 percent finishing rate intact.
Zhang Peimian Prevails In Wild Firefight With Torepchi Dongak
Former ONE Strawweight Kickboxing World Title challenger Zhang Peimian overcame a spirited effort from promotional newcomer Torepchi Dongak to leave Singapore with a unanimous decision win.
The pair fought at a furious pace throughout the three-round strawweight kickboxing clash, showing no fear when they moved forward and relentlessly exchanged strike-for-strike.
Ultimately, the 19-year-old Chinese striker’s blinding hand speed and brilliant ability to mix up combinations proved to be the clear difference-makers.
With another impressive showing, “Fighting Rooster” moved his professional record to 17-2 and took home a US$50,000 performance bonus for his efforts, courtesy of ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong.
Aslanbek Zikreev Survives Late Scare, Outworks Rui Botelho
Second-ranked strawweight Muay Thai contender Aslanbek Zikreev may have replaced Danial Williams on short notice, but even with minimal preparation, he overcame Portuguese star Rui Botelho by split decision in their 128-pound catchweight Muay Thai contest.
After frustrating the Lisbon native in the opening stanza, Zikreev upped the tempo in rounds two and three, pressuring Botelho from bell to bell and even threatening with his trademark spinning attacks.
A hard left hand from the Portuguese dynamo knocked the Russian off-balance late in the third, but he instantly popped back up and dished out more offense.
In the end, two of the three judges scoring Circle-side handed Zikreev the win, which improved his career record to 12-3.
Keito Yamakita Shines In Decision Win Over Alex Silva
Japanese MMA sensation Keito Yamakita couldn’t have asked for a much better ONE debut, as he took home a hard-earned decision over former ONE Strawweight World Champion Alex Silva.
The undefeated 26-year-old displayed elite wrestling skills and ferocious ground-and-pound throughout the three-round affair, battering the former titleholder with heavy ground strikes and threatening with submission attempts. Despite Silva’s world-class ground game, it was “Pocket Monk” who won most of the scrambles on the canvas.
With a spectacular showing in his promotional debut, Yamakita improved his career record to a pristine 8-0 and could pose a serious threat in the strawweight MMA division.
Eddie Abasolo Knocks Out Niclas Larsen
Eddie Abasolo earned his first ONE victory with a spectacular knockout that set the pace for a thrilling night. The American landed a beautiful straight right hand that turned off Niclas Larsen‘s lights at the 2:14 mark of round two in their 158.5-pound Muay Thai catchweight bout.
Abasolo connected with a beautiful right elbow early, which opened a cut on the Dane’s left eyebrow. “Silky Smooth” tried his best to land more damaging elbows for the rest of the opening stanza, but the #5-ranked featherweight Muay Thai contender was wise to his foe’s strategy.
Larsen got his footing back in the second round, even rocking his rival with a brilliant left hook. That punch, however, only lit a fire inside Abasolo. The American soon connected with a picture-perfect straight right that put “Dreamchaser” down that forced the referee to wave off the action.
With the KO win, Abasolo moved his career record to 14-4.
Iman Barlow Nabs Decision Over Ekaterina Vandaryeva
Iman Barlow picked up her second promotional win in the strawweight Muay Thai ranks with a dominant showing against Ekaterina Vandaryeva.
The English striker repeatedly smashed her kicks into the Belarussian’s legs and body, all while keeping her guard high to fend off “Barbie’s” powerful punches.
Vandaryeva tried to find a route to victory with some spinning attacks, but “Pretty Killer” stayed a step ahead to take the unanimous decision nod and extended her impressive record to 97-6.
Tammi Musumeci Edges Out Fellow BJJ Black Belt Bianca Basilio
Promotional newcomer Tammi Musumeci shined in her strawweight submission grappling match against fellow elite BJJ black belt Bianca Basilio.
The New Jersey native attacked from her guard for the vast majority of the high-paced, 10-minute affair, finding her way into several leg lock attempts. Basilio continuously looked for openings to pass guard and hunted for leg locks of her own.
Musumeci, however, was simply the more aggressive grappler. That, along with her deep leg lock attempts, secured her the unanimous decision victory and elevated her career record to 76-20.
