Marques, Ruotolo, Zamboanga, ‘Reug Reug’ Kick Off ONE On Prime Video 5 Lead Card With Big Wins
ONE Championship kicked off its final doubleheader of the year with a star-studded lead card.
This past Friday, December 2, the promotion broadcast ONE on Prime Video 5: De Ridder vs. Malykhin live from the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines, and fans witnessed a slew of former ONE World Champions, top-five contenders, and rising stars in action.
The four-bout lineup featured a trio of thrilling MMA fights and an explosive submission grappling match. So, in case you missed the action, here is everything that went down on the ONE on Prime Video 5 lead card.
Edson Marques Shocks Eduard Folayang, Snags TKO
Edson “Panico” Marques picked up the biggest victory of his MMA career when he knocked out former ONE Lightweight World Champion Eduard “Landslide” Folayang in the feature bout of the lead card.
Both men exchanged leg kicks and jab-crosses to start the proceedings, but with each fighter coming from a striking background, most of the early exchanges were stuck in a gridlock.
Recognizing that, Folayang began to blend his trademark kicks with heavy artillery upstairs. The Brazilian, on the other hand, was forced to play a counter-attacking game and peppered the Team Lakay star with jabs, straight rights, and head kicks.
The Filipino legend’s output grew as the match progressed, and that made it hard for “Panico” to land something significant at the beginning of the second round. “Landslide” connected with four-punch combinations, spinning backfists, and teeps, one of which even pushed Marques onto the Circle Wall.
Unfortunately for the former divisional king, his eagerness to finish the bout cost him dearly. As he advanced into enemy territory, Marques caught him in a clinch. In a desperate attempt, Folayang tried to escape by uncorking a right. However, it was the Brazilian who broke free and clipped “Landslide” with a short right hook.
Folayang instantly dropped to the canvas, forcing referee Olivier Coste to wave off the contest at the 2:53 mark of the second round. Not only did Marques move his record to 11-2, but ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong gave the Brazilian striker a US$50,000 performance bonus too.
Tye Ruotolo Taps Out Marat Gafurov, Gets Win & Bonus
Tye Ruotolo showed once again why he is one of the most exciting submission grapplers on the planet, notching up his second promotional victory over former ONE Featherweight World Champion Marat Gafurov.
The 19-year-old American went straight on the attack against his veteran rival in their 180-pound catchweight submission grappling contest. Ruotolo looked for multiple throws, but “Cobra” was heavy and did well to either defend or counter and get on top.
However, the young phenom’s moment came in typically daring fashion. After working his way up from the bottom, the Atos representative could have solidified his position, but instead, he decided to dive over Gafurov’s head to attack an arm.
The Dagestani defended the initial kimura attempt, but Ruotolo was relentless, switching to an armbar, then a triangle choke, before finally securing the tap with a move back to the armbar at the 5:09 mark of the single 10-minute round.
That submission victory also earned him the first US$50,000 performance bonus of the night from Sityodtong.
‘Reug Reug’ Dominant, Hands Jasur Mirzamukhamedov First Loss
“Reug Reug” Oumar Kane was hardly challenged in his return to the Circle, as he controlled Jasur “White Tiger” Mirzamukhamedov for most of their three-round heavyweight MMA fight en route to a unanimous decision win.
Kane utilized his superior wrestling and top control to neutralize his unbeaten rival, often waiting for Mirzamukhamedov to overcommit with his strikes before ducking under and securing takedowns.
The moment “Reug Reug” was on top, there was no stopping him. All “White Tiger” could do was to survive and avoid the bombs that the Senegalese Wrestling Champion was pouring down on him.
After 15 minutes of action, Kane got the nod from all three judges to get his second straight win and improve his record to 5-1. Meanwhile, the Uzbekistani striker suffers the first defeat of his career.
Denice Zamboanga Outstrikes Lin Heqin To Earn Ninth MMA Win
After a couple of tough outings, #3-ranked women’s atomweight contender Denice “The Menace” Zamboanga returned to the winner’s column with a nail-biting performance against “MMA Sister” Lin Heqin.
Zamboanga controlled the pace from the get-go, clipping the Chinese star with her jab-cross combination. More impressively, the TREX MMA representative didn’t even need time to establish her range.
In an effort to reply with strikes of her own, Lin unloaded thumping kicks and hammered away on her foe’s lead leg, which began to swell up midway through the second frame. However, the 25-year-old Filipina still advanced with intent and caught the Haosheng MMA standout with a plethora of strikes.
And when Lin decided to go punch-for-punch with the local favorite in the final stanza, she only came out second best against Zamboanga’s fists of fury, particularly the Filipina’s right hand, which constantly found the mark.
After three rounds of back-and-forth action, two of the three judges scoring at Circle-side awarded Zamboanga the victory. The win pushed her MMA record to 9-2.
