Panrit Moves To 3-0 With Impressive Showing, Gonzalez Scores KO In Rematch With Win At ONE Friday Fights 73
The most exciting weekly combat sports series around, ONE Friday Fights, once again lived up to its stellar reputation on Friday, August 2.
ONE Friday Fights 73 featured 12 exciting contests across Muay Thai, kickboxing, and MMA, and each one delivered electrifying action for those in attendance at the iconic Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, and watching around the world.
Before attention shifts to ONE Fight Night 24: Brooks vs. Balart on Prime Video later today, let’s recap everything that went down live in Asia primetime this week.
Panrit Outclasses Worapon In Frantic Main Event
Panrit Lukjaomaesaiwaree extended his winning streak to three in ONE Championship when he picked up the win over Worapon Sor Dechapan in their 142-pound catchweight Muay Thai headliner.
Panrit’s aggression allowed him to get ahead early on. He unloaded on his Thai compatriot with barrages of heavy kicks and fierce combinations that kept him at bay.
The pace picked up in the second round, as both men began to throw hell for leather. Panrit timed his entries to perfection and cut Worapan open with one of his strikes before escaping unscathed.
The 27-year-old star continued targeting his opposite man’s body in the final frame, and he countered with short elbows and low kicks whenever Worapan tried to enter the pocket.
Panrit’s overall output saw him take the unanimous decision win in the end, and he moved to 72-29 in his career as a result.
Sanpet Outworks Watcharaphon To Go 3-0 In ONE
Sanpet Sor Salacheep‘s speed and counters helped him stay perfect in ONE Championship, but he needed to dig deep to get the win in his 130-pound catchweight Muay Thai clash with Watcharaphon Singha Mawynn.
The Sor Salacheep upstart cracked his rival’s defense with heavy artillery, primarily working behind his jabs and follow-up rights and kicks to steer himself into an early lead.
Despite his fellow Thai going full throttle in search of a highlight-reel finish, Watcharaphon refused to raise the white flag. He had his fair share of impressive shots in the clinch and even threatened to turn the tide at the midway point of the third frame.
In the end, though, Sanpet kept himself out of danger without much fuss, and he earned the unanimous decision win to up his overall resume to 88-30.
Gonzalez KOs Win For Impressive Rematch Victory
Xavier Gonzalez took a more emphatic victory in his 128-pound catchweight Muay Thai rematch with Win Sitjanim.
Gonzalez won by split decision in their exciting first encounter at ONE Friday Fights 62 in May, but this time he stopped his Thai rival.
The Spanish striker pressured Win with his relentless work rate in the opening frame, but the Sitjanim man started to return fire late in the round.
Win dialed up his output in round two. But just as he unleashed a heavy salvo, Gonzalez countered with a right hand that connected behind the ear and sent him crashing to the canvas at the 0:28 mark.
The referee’s count couldn’t be answered, so Gonzalez was handed the KO win, which stood as his fourth victory in ONE Championship overall.
Sornsueknoi Returns To Winning Ways Against Jencherng
Following a tough defeat at ONE Friday Fights 60, Sornsueknoi FA Group got back in the winners’ column with a three-round clinic against Jencherng Pumpanmuang in their 131-pound catchweight Muay Thai clash.
The 29-year-old landed the better strikes from the start and picked his shots decisively to streak ahead on the scorecards.
Sornsueknoi’s confidence grew further in the second round, as he pressed Jencherng against the ropes and punished him with crushing kicks.
The FA Group product continued to hunt for the finish in the final frame, but he couldn’t find it.
Nonetheless, he scored the unanimous decision win after the final bell rang to go 4-1 in ONE Championship.
Toyota’s Left Hand Puts Fino Down And Out In Round One
Toyota Eaglemuaythai needed just under three minutes of his ONE Championship debut to see off Fino Chor Ketwina in their atomweight Muay Thai contest.
The Eagle Muay Thai star exploded into action as soon as the opening bell rang. He threw punishing leg kicks that took a toll on his fellow debutant, who struggled to deal with the traffic that came his way.
From there, Toyota didn’t need a second invitation. He backed his foe against the ropes with an overhand right and a left hook. And just as Fino retaliated, he beat him to the punch with a straight left that sat his opposite man down for good just before the end of the first round.
The action was waved off, so Toyota earned the KO win at the 2:59 mark to move his slate to 40-13.
Petmai Finishes Sungprab With Crushing Body Kick
It was quality and not quantity that got the job done for Petmai MC Superlek Muaythai in his 112-pound catchweight Muay Thai bout with Sungprab Lookpichit.
Sungprab was the aggressor in round one with his heavy right hands and right kicks, but Petmai picked his shots for maximum damage and dropped his foe with a right hook when he lunged in.
The Lookpichit man continued to swarm in round two, and he found success. But it was only momentarily, as a Petmai threw a thudding left kick that landed on his liver and stopped him in his tracks.
Sungprab couldn’t recover from the strike, so Petmai was handed the debut KO win at 2:05 of the second round, moving him to 72-15.
Jarvis Bests Bravo In Lightweight Kickboxing Debut
George Jarvis entered ONE Championship’s kickboxing realm for the first time on Friday after finding mixed success in Muay Thai, and he notched up a win with a three-round masterclass against Ricardo Bravo.
The Brit banger started the lightweight affair strong, using his size advantage to control the range and land frequent right hands on his Argentinian foe.
He then kept Bravo at bay with his long limbs in round two by forcing him to throw looping shots that he countered expertly.
The final three minutes seemed a matter of routine for the WBC Muay Thai World Champion, as he jabbed his way to a unanimous decision win.
Jarvis moved to 25-4 overall with the victory, and his performance was arguably his best in ONE so far.
Sonrak Emerges Victorious In Three-Round Barnburner
Attack was the best form of defense in the high-octane flyweight Muay Thai duel between Alfie Ponting and Sonrak Fairtex.
Both men slammed their feet through the gas pedal from the very start. Ponting relied on his heavy kicking game to trim the gap, while his Fairtex Training Center foe utilized speed and hands to do damage.
The British striker started strong again in the second stanza. But again he was forced to deal with a heavy tide of attacks from Sonrak, who added elbows and kicks to the mix.
Both men continued to fight at a furious pace in the third round, and though Ponting did impress whenever he advanced, the Myanmar warrior had his number at every exchange.
In the end, Sonrak was awarded the majority decision, earning him his third win in ONE Championship and pushing his overall slate to 65-22.
Dostonbek Gets Off Canvas To Score Late KO Win Over Yonekawa
Ilashev “Uzbek Volk” Dostonbek came back from a worrying knockdown to score a late finish against Tasuku Yonekawa in their bantamweight kickboxing clash.
Neither man got much of a foothold in round one, but the battle sprang to life in round two.
As the Uzbek slugger waded forward with punches, Yonekawa countered with a right hook that put him on the canvas.
Dostonbek returned to his feet, but he knew he was down on the scorecards. As a result, he upped his intensity, which paid off in the final frame when he sent his foe reeling with a spinning hook kick then dropped him with a right high kick and left cross combination.
Yonekawa couldn’t make the count, so Dostonbek took the knockout win at 2:19 of round three to push his record to 10-2.
Fahjarat Chops Down Naoya For First ONE Win
Fahjarat Sor Dechapan scored the first finish of the evening to arrive in ONE Championship in style against Kuroda Naoya.
The Sor Dechapan representative took a minute to get settled against his fellow debutant in their 119-pound catchweight kickboxing affair, which allowed Naoya to dictate the early going with multiple high kicks and punching combinations.
As a result, Fahjarat came out in the second round with a completely different strategy. He began to relentlessly kick at the lead leg of his Japanese foe, stumping his movement to take control of the outing.
Sensing a defining moment was coming, the 24-year-old chopped further at Naoya’s leg and then connected with a huge straight right hand to send him down for the count at 0:43 of round three.
Fahjarat was handed the KO win to move to 76-15 overall in his career.
Nazruloev Stays Unbeaten Against Rakhmonzhonov
Khalim Nazruloev’s world-class groundwork took him across the finish line in his flyweight MMA battle with Zhamoliddin Rakhmonzhonov.
The Archangel Michael representative scored huge takedowns throughout the 15-minute duel, and he threatened with rear-naked chokes, heavy ground-and-pound, and knees to the head to stay a step ahead of his foe.
Though Rakhmonzhonov attempted to pull himself back into the tie with a couple of triangles from guard, Nazruloev’s pressure and grappling acumen continuously unsettled him.
This saw the Russian standout take a well-deserved unanimous decision win that took his resume to a pristine 10-0.
Fahmi Grinds Out Decision Win Over Bushev
Mohammad Fahmi’s refusal to give up on his wrestling offense helped him gain a hard-fought decision win over Antonio Bushev in their lightweight MMA opener.
Fahmi spent much of the first round attempting to take his rival down against the ropes. He did finally get some payoff, but the Iranian couldn’t make any inroads.
Nonetheless, he put Bushev on the canvas again and again across the next two rounds, controlling the action for long stretches, to stay ahead on the scorecards.
Bushev threw hard strikes in the rare moments he managed to escape to his feet, but it wasn’t enough to sway the judges, and Fahmi took the unanimous decision to extend his perfect slate to 4-0 in the end.
