Kongthoranee Scores Sixth Straight Win, Karimi Upsets Teeyai At ONE Friday Fights 48
ONE Championship took over Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, once again to host 11 action-packed MMA and Muay Thai contests.
At ONE Friday Fights 48, five bouts ended by knockout, two rising stars continued their winning streaks, and relative newcomers upset promotional veterans – all live in Asia primetime on January 19.
In case you missed any of the action inside the iconic stadium, here’s what went down starting with the main event.
Kongthoranee Dominates Mazoriev In Three-Round Thriller
Kongthoranee Sor Sommai and Sharif Mazoriev delivered a barnburner in their flyweight Muay Thai affair.
The fight began with Mazoriev making a beeline for Kongthoranee. He managed to stun the Thai striking ace, and that’s when all madness broke loose.
However, a clip to the dome was the wake-up call that the Sor Sommai athlete needed. He began to back Mazoriev onto the ropes in the middle of the fight, serving up plenty of combinations that humbled the raging Russian.
The Thai went full throttle toward the end, knocking down Mazoriev on two occasions with a barrage of strikes and a single elbow inside the clinch.
But through hell and high water, Mazoriev lived to see the final bell as Kongthoranee took home the unanimous decision win and moved his record to 67-15-1.
Aekkalak Bags Win Over Petsansab With Early Knockdown
Aekkalak Sor Samarngarment scored a stunning win over Petsansab Sor Jaruwan after a back-and-forth 124-pound catchweight Muay Thai war.
From the sound of the first bell, both athletes stood in the pocket and threw with intent. In fact, with barely two minutes into the contest Aekkalak found success as he let rip a head kick that sent the ONE debutant in Petsansab down.
Despite Aekkalak’s best efforts to land another one of his haymakers, his Thai compatriot took control of rounds two and three, working behind his left to set up piercing elbows and attacks from the right.
Although the Sor Samarngarment star appeared to have his back against the wall, his early knockdown proved to be a pivotal juncture, one that earned him the nod from all three ringside judges.
With his first victory at ONE Friday Fights, Aekkalak’s record moved to 57-16-3.
Mardsing Stops Sibsan’s Surging Run Through ONE
Another impressive win streak was snapped on Friday night when Mardsing Khaolakmuaythai defeated Sibsan Nokkhao KorMor11 in their 138-pound catchweight Muay Thai matchup.
Before the bout, Sibsan had raced to a perfect 4-0 ONE slate while his rival failed to register a victory, but that made no difference during their three-round firefight.
Mardsing was the aggressor, pressing forward with punches and low kicks in the opening frame. Sibsan, for his part, had more success on the front foot in round two, but the Khaolak Muaythai man came on strong in the final stanza, catching his compatriot’s kicks and punishing his body with counters.
Though it was always competitive, Mardsing took the judges’ nod to push his record to 61-16 and bag his first win in ONE.
Sornsueknoi Bodies Ngaopayak To Earn Third Straight Knockout
Following back-to-back finishes, Sornsueknoi FA Group continued his path of destruction when he met Ngaopayak Adsanpatong in 128-pound catchweight Muay Thai action.
The 29-year-old had his strategy set and began to unleash big kicks and sharp strikes on Ngaopayak. Sornsueknoi could tell his firepower was beginning to loosen up Ngaopayak’s defense, so he sent a crushing body kick into his compatriot’s torso to finish the fight at 2:32 of round one.
Sornsueknoi earned the 44th win of his career and moved to 3-0 in ONE with the knockout.
Songpandin Powers His Way To Victory Over Yodsingdam
In strawweight Muay Thai action, Songpandin Chor Kaewwiset evened his score with Yodsingdam Keatkhamtorn after a thrilling rematch.
Following a feeling-out process in the early goings of the fight, Songpandin doubled his intensity and ripped through the Thai’s guard with piercing right punches and elbows.
The Chor Kaewwiset athlete stepped on the pedal with a similar strategy as the fight wore on, cracking through Yodsingdam’s midsection with heavy knees. But the latter fought at a similar tempo, relying on his kicks and elbows to get things going.
Still, nothing the Keatgamthon representative pieced together seemed to break the Lao’s spirit, as he mixed targets and connected with every weapon of his arsenal to take home a unanimous decision victory.
With the win, Songpandin upped his striking slate to 33-7-1.
Kwanjai Obliterates Petganya With Three Knockdowns
Kwanjai KwanjaiMuaythaigym went from strength to strength to dispatch Petganya Sor Puangthong in the second round of their 120-pound catchweight Muay Thai tussle.
The 29-year-old Thai striker waded into her compatriot with heavy punches in round one before coming out for round two with even more aggression.
Kwanjai dropped her rival with a flurry of fists, and although Petganya bravely tried to get back into the contest, she was dropped again with a series of hard elbows.
The finish came when the Kwanjai Muay Thai Gym athlete unleashed another barrage of elbows and knees to score the knockout at 1:40, extending her record to 53-21-3.
Ouraghi Finishes Gingsanglek In Blistering Two-Round Thriller
Lumpinee Boxing Stadium can be an intimidating place for foreign fighters, but Joachim Ouraghi walked into the epic arena and scored a second-round knockout against Thailand’s Gingsanglek Tor Laksong in their 142.6-pound catchweight Muay Thai bout.
As the combatant with the bigger frame, Ouraghi put it to good use as he stalked Gingsanglek throughout the first round. He used his long limbs to break through the Thai’s guard as he warmed into the contest.
In the second round, the French-Algerian man managed to pierce the Thai’s defense once again with a stern left hand to give Gingsanglek the standing eight-count.
“Pantera” followed up with a barrage of body shots to drop the veteran twice more and bring a close to the action at 1:49 of round two, moving to 32-3 overall in the striking arts.
Pichitchai Scores Impressive Debut Win Over Khanzadeh
Pichitchai PK Saenchai had only one thing on his mind as soon as his 122-pound catchweight Muay Thai contest against Mehrdad Khanzadeh took off – attack.
In fact, the muay mat stylist stayed true to form, biting down on his mouthpiece, dropping his guard, and throwing heavy hands to punch his ticket to a cracking debut win at ONE Friday Fights.
The 28-year-old’s hooks and crisp combinations lit up the Iranian and dropped him three times, once in each round. Even when Khanzadeh got back up and fought fire with fire, more misery awaited him from the Thai’s ferocious fists in 4-ounce gloves.
After three rounds of dominance, the PK Saenchai Muaythaigym standout cruised to a unanimous decision victory that upped his slate to 113-36-2.
Karimi Halts Teeyai’s Unbeaten Run In Emphatic Fashion
Majid Karimi threw the form book out the window with a stunning TKO victory against Teeyai PK Saenchai in round two of their strawweight Muay Thai clash.
The 22-year-old – who entered the bout with a perfect 4-0 ONE Friday Fights slate – struck first, knocking Karimi down with a right hand in round one. However, the debuting Team Mehdi Zatout athlete came firing back with a pair of knockdowns of his own.
Teeyai got his legs back underneath him in round two, but Karimi kept up the pressure. He dropped the Thai star with a looping left hand, then started the finishing sequence with a left high kick before sealing the deal with punches, knees, and elbows at 1:47.
Now 8-1, Karimi has instantly announced himself as a major threat in the Muay Thai ranks.
Jelevan Earns Majority Decision Win Over Sulaiman In Frantic Rematch
The first flyweight Muay Thai encounter between Kabilan Jelevan and Sulaiman Looksuanmuaythai in July of last year ended rather quickly with Jelevan scoring a first-round knockout. This time around, however, the 24-year-old had to settle for a majority decision victory.
The pair wasted no time getting into the thick of it. Jelevan came out aggressive but Sulaiman remained in the contest, landing multiple thunderous body kicks and sharp jabs.
The flyweights refused to let up in the second frame, and this allowed the Malaysian to sneak a counter right hand down the pipe and put Sulaiman down on one knee for an eight-count.
The final frame was just as fast-paced as the first, with the pair battling to see who wanted it more. Ultimately, the Rentap Muaythai Gym standout’s movement, aggression, and second-round knockdown saw him earn his second victory over Sulaiman to move to 27-4-1 overall.
Kara-Ool Remains Undefeated After Dominating Balisacan
Changy “Boyka” Kara-Ool overwhelmed Arsenio “The Filipino Assassin” Balisacan with his relentless offense to secure a debut victory in their strawweight MMA battle.
The 26-year-old Russian swung heavy leather at Balisacan on the feet, but it was his high-impact wrestling that really set them apart. Kara-Ool repeatedly threw his opponent to the canvas and dominated from top position in round one before offering up more of the same in round two.
“Boyka’s” pressure started to tell on his Filipino rival, and he ramped up his ground-and-pound late in the second frame.
Balisacan made the bell but he was in no fit state to continue, earning Kara-Ool the TKO win between rounds to extend his perfect slate to 5-0.
