Loman, Alexandre, Kim Score Exciting Victories At ONE On Prime Video 4
Fans were treated to a trio of thrilling performances ahead of the World Title main events at ONE on Prime Video 4: Abbasov vs. Lee.
On Friday, November 18, the evening’s main card featured an epic retirement fight, the rise of a dangerous contender, and an impressive transition to a new weight class.
Here, we recap the MMA and Muay Thai action that kicked off the main card of ONE on Prime Video 4 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Loman Delivers Star-Making Performance Against Fernandes
There were a lot of questions surrounding #5-ranked bantamweight contender Stephen “The Sniper” Loman before the biggest fight of his career against Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes.
He responded by sending a chilling message to the weight class.
The Filipino phenom pulled out his entire bag of tricks as he dominated the former ONE Bantamweight World Champion from start to finish to earn a unanimous decision win and leave no doubt about who’s next in the division’s World Title picture.
Loman was quicker to the punch on the feet as he stalked Fernandes from the onset. The Team Lakay sensation mixed his punches with a variety of kicks – from teeps to head kicks to leg kicks – frustrating the 42-year-old Brazilian, who looked a step slower than his younger counterpart.
Things then went from bad to worse for Fernandes, as Loman surprised the BJJ black belt by landing takedowns and controlling him for most of the second and third rounds. The Filipino delivered elbows and punches from the AMC Pankration star’s guard, easily pulling away on the judges’ scorecards.
The unanimous decision was Loman’s 11th straight win and his third consecutive in ONE Championship as he improved to 17-2 overall.
With this stunning performance, the 27-year-old could be looking at the winner of the upcoming fight between John Lineker and Fabricio Andrade for the vacant ONE Bantamweight World Title at ONE on Prime Video 7 on February 10.
Alexandre Knocks Out Cervantes, Announces Retirement
Cosmo Alexandre capped off his legendary combat sports career with an impressive second-round finish of Juan Cervantes in their welterweight Muay Thai clash.
Although Cervantes was stronger at the start of their matchup, the 40-year-old Brazilian bided his time while waiting for the right moment to strike. And when “Good Boy” came alive, he found moments to make great use of his power, landing hard shots that stunned the British athletes and foreshadowed what was to come.
To his credit, Cervantes landed a flurry of combinations and did his best to keep his distance, but he proved no match for the Brazilian iconic power. Even Alexandre’s brief swipes caused him to freeze.
The truly devastating maneuver came when “Good Boy” connected with an upward elbow just over a minute into round two. Cervantes went down and was unable to answer the referee’s count, so Alexandre was declared the winner by knockout, improving his overall record to 70-19-1.
Afterward, the Brazilian took to the mic and announced his retirement with an emotional farewell. As a thank you for his work and a reward for his performance, Alexandre was also awarded a US$50,000 bonus.
‘The Fighting God’ Crushes Belingon In Bantamweight Debut
“The Fighting God” Kim Jae Woong opened up the main card with an incredible TKO finish against former ONE Bantamweight World Champion Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon.
In his first appearance since dropping down from featherweight, the South Korean star shot across the Circle and looked to make a statement. Belingon was waiting, however, and broke his foe’s rhythm by scoring a takedown.
Despite that early success, the Filipino veteran was unable to keep Kim down. And once “The Fighting God” regained his feet, he quickly lived up to his nickname.
As the two warriors exchanged leather in the center of the Circle, Kim landed a crushing fadeaway left hook that dropped Belingon to the canvas. Seeing his foe fall, the Extreme Combat athlete moved in for the finish with calculated ground-and-pound strikes.
Managing his positioning first and foremost, Kim forced Belingon to cover up on the mat. He then rained down heavy shots, causing the referee to halt the action at 2:33 of the first round.
It was a pivotal victory for the former #2-ranked featherweight contender, who emphatically announced his presence at bantamweight by putting away a former divisional king.
