ONE Friday Fights 12: Petsukumvit Shines Again, Zeta And Dentungtong Stun In Debuts
ONE Championship has now drawn the curtain on a dozen consecutive weekly events at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, and once again, jaw-dropping skills were on display at the historic venue.
On April 7, ONE Friday Fights 12 kicked off with a pair of MMA bouts and then paraded forward with 10 Muay Thai matches – six of which ended by knockout.
Here’s what went down in front of another energetic Thai crowd this week.
Petsukumvit Blitzes Past Kongthoranee In Main Event War
In the headline affair, Petsukumvit Boi Bangna moved to 3-0 in ONE Championship with another strong display against Kongthoranee Sor Sommai.
The Thai star’s Rodtang-esque forward pressure set the tone in their flyweight Muay Thai duel, as he gave little to no room for his opponent to advance and land anything significant.
The An Sukhumvit representative stepped inside the pocket behind his stinging kicks, and he depended on his punching power and knees to the body to consistently push his foe into reverse gear.
Though Kongthoranee did land multiple counter-elbows, Petsukumvit ate them with ease and blasted more attacks to put the cherry on top of the cake.
With the unanimous decision win, the 24-year-old improved his overall record to 63-26 and continued his rise in the flyweight Muay Thai division.
Petlampun Scores Unanimous Decision In Three-Round Firefight
Petlampun Muadablampang and Sunvo Tded99 went to war in the penultimate clash of the evening, and after a trio of hard-fought rounds, the former earned the nod on all three scorecards.
Both Thai strikers remained relentless across nine minutes of 130-pound catchweight Muay Thai action, with each of them having their moments.
However, Petlampun controlled the majority of the contest and utilized his combinations extremely well, setting himself apart from Sunvo to secure the 46th win of his professional career.
The 26-year-old extended his ONE Championship slate to 2-0 after a knockout debut last month, and his latest performance continued to make a statement that he’s an exciting name to watch.
Dentungtong Surprises Mohawk With Destructive Finish
Dentungtong Singha Mawynn sported a pair of sunglasses as he walked to the ring for his flyweight Muay Thai tilt, but nothing could stop the shine he would receive in his ONE debut.
The Singha Mawynn representative met decorated Rajadamnern Stadium World Champion Mohawk Ngorbangkapi, who was planning to make a grand entrance into the organization.
But with just about a minute left on the clock in round two, Dentungtong discharged a seven-punch combination in Mohawk’s direction. The attack took the air out of his fellow Thai striker, and the referee was forced to stop the bout at 1:56 of the second frame.
The victory improved the 21-year-old’s record to 72-16-2 and emphatically announced his arrival.
Khunsuk Earns Decision Win In Epic Battle With Kohtao
High-octane. That’s the best way to describe the atomweight Muay Thai cracker between Thai teenage sensations Khunsuk Sor Dechapan and Kohtao Petsomnuk.
Khunsuk dropped his rival twice throughout the contest with a perfectly timed straight right and then a counter-left hook. His quickfire one-two combinations, elbows, and roundhouse kicks troubled his foe, but Kohtao recovered well and replied with damaging strikes of his own.
Although the Sor Dechapan athlete left the ring with a deserved unanimous decision win after three thrilling rounds, Kohtao’s iron will ensured that his rival had to dig very deep.
The win bumped Khunsuk’s record to 52-11-2 and 2-0 in ONE.
Tubtimthong Destroys Petchnumchai In One-Round Wreckage
Tubtimthong Sor Jor Lekmuangnon enjoyed a dream start to his ONE Championship tenure when he dispatched Petchnumchai Sor Jor Tongprachin after 1:50 of the opening frame in their 112-pound catchweight Muay Thai bout.
The 22-year-old smashed Petchnumchai with heavy hands almost immediately, dropping his compatriot to the ground. The tattooed terror continued to put an insurmountable level of pressure on Petchnumchai, setting up the finish with damaging elbows to take home the knockout win.
As a result, Tubtimthong progressed to 56-10-1 in his professional striking career.
Zeta Shocks Chalawan With Walk-Off KO
Zeta Chor Chokamnuay burst into ONE with a first-round knockout win over Rajadamnern Stadium Muay Thai World Champion Chalawan Ngorbangkapi.
The 23-year-old stepped into their 124-pound catchweight Muay Thai clash as the definitive underdog. However, after nearly two minutes had elapsed, Zeta sent a left hook careening into Chalawan’s jaw, and the latter swayed sideways.
The Chor Chokamnuay representative followed with a right head kick that ricocheted Chalawan in the other direction, and the latter was out before he touched the canvas.
The referee waved off the action at 1:55 of the opening round, and Zeta left the ring with his 108th career win.
Bohic Uses Experience And IQ To Beat Tapaokaew In Debut
It took a while for eight-time Muay Thai World Champion Rafi Bohic to hit his stride in Friday’s ONE debut, but once he shifted into fifth gear, there was simply no stopping him in this bantamweight Muay Thai thriller.
Tapaokaew Singha Mawynn’s stinging right hand dropped Bohic to the canvas early in the first round, and the Thai continued to find plenty of success by ending each combination with his trademark weapon.
Unfortunately, that was as far as it got for the local striker. The 31-year-old Bohic’s experience and timing saw him connect with more power and volume in the latter stages – be it with his counter left punches, left hook-right hook combinations, or vicious overhand rights.
After three entertaining frames, the decorated Frenchman earned a split-decision win that bumped his career slate to 83-19-1.
Yodphupa Slices Toscano To Cut The Contest Short
Yodphupa Wimanair continued his unbeaten streak on Friday, elbowing his way to a victory over Italian striker Samuel Toscano in their bantamweight Muay Thai showdown.
The 19-year-old Thai prodigy wasted no time in asserting himself, ensuring his output was hard and heavy.
Midway through the first frame, Yodphupa landed a short right elbow to the head of Toscano, opening up a cut and forcing the doctor to stop the bout for the TKO finish at 2:20.
That pushed the “Road To ONE: Thailand” Champion’s record to 62-9-1 overall and 2-0 in ONE Championship.
Samingdam Scores Stunning TKO With Signature Dropkick
Samingdam Looksuan’s career in ONE Championship is taking off – quite literally.
The 20-year-old Thai phenom returned to battle Javad Bigdeli in flyweight Muay Thai action on Friday. The two men squared off for two rounds before Samingdam floored the Iranian with a left hook in the final stanza.
Bigdeli answered the eight-count, and the fight resumed. Then, Samingdam sprinted across the ring and took flight into his signature one-legged dropkick. It connected on Bigdeli’s face, spinning first his head, then his body, around and down until he was tangled in the ropes.
The referee jumped in to stop the bout at 1:33 of the third round, and Samingdam nudged his slate to 39-4 with the highlight-reel finish.
Nongam Smashes Chu With Massive Overhand Right
Nongam Fairtex overcame a shaky second round and put Chu Nga Sze to sleep early in the third frame of their 110-pound catchweight Muay Thai contest.
Both ONE newcomers started off well, but Nongam had the upper hand with her battering right kicks that left some visible damage. Chu, however, switched tactics and scored points with linear attacks in the second round.
Sensing a tight battle on the scorecards, both women came out hunting for a finish. But just as Chu dropped her guard and advanced with a left body shot, Nongam surged in with a looping overhand right to close the clash at the 0:20 mark of the third frame.
The debut win bumped Nongam’s record to 44-5-2.
Eshbaev Edges Past Subba In Hard-Hitting Contest
Nurzaman Eshbaev took a licking and kept on ticking en route to a unanimous decision victory in his enthralling featherweight mixed martial arts fight with Keanu Subba.
Eshbaev was tested early on in the battle, falling to a sharp right hand from the Malaysian veteran. The fierce Kyrgyzstani recovered rapidly, though, and evened the score in the following round with a knockdown of his own.
The 28-year-old debutant then firmly controlled the final stanza to earn the fifth win of his MMA career.
Lee Survives Early Scare To Score Second-Round TKO
Do Gyeom Lee’s chin carried him to his ninth career win in Friday’s opening featherweight MMA bout.
The 32-year-old South Korean absorbed almost seven minutes of Guilherme Antunes’ elbows and knees before he pommeled the Phuket Fight Club representative with three right hands.
The final punch sent the Brazilian tumbling into the corner of the ring, where referee Olivier Coste jumped in and waved off the action at 3:23 of the second round.
