Sam-A’s Second-Round Knockout And More Results From The ONE: CENTURY PART I Prelims
ONE Championship returned to the famous Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan for the second time for its historic 100th show, ONE: CENTURY PART I and PART II, on 13 October.
As expected, the preliminary match-ups of PART I – filled with knockouts, submissions, and back-and-forth battles between some of the greatest martial artists on the planet – set the pace for the rest of the evening.
Here is a look back at the preliminary action from the first installment of this double-header.
Yuya Wakamatsu Shuts Out Dae Hwan Kim
Yuya “Little Piranha” Wakamatsu ruined “Ottogi” Dae Hwan Kim‘s flyweight debut.
The Japanese talent earned a unanimous decision win against his South Korean opponent in their flyweight mixed martial arts clash in the final preliminary bout of ONE: CENTURY PART I.
Both warriors measured each other’s game in round one, trading lightning-quick kicks and punches before escaping the pocket.
In the second stanza, “Ottogi” looked like the hungrier of the pair. But every time he advanced, Wakamatsu stopped him in his tracks with his jab and elbows.
Each athlete had his moments in the third and final round. The Tribe Tokyo representative’s striking and in-and-out footwork forced the South Korean to rethink his strategy. As a result, Kim looked to land punches and take the contest to the canvas.
With a minute left, the bout went to the ground. Kim got full mount, dropped some strikes, and forced his rival to surrender his back. But the 24-year-old hometown hero’s bushido spirit showed as he got back to his feet and hit Kim with a body kick.
After three rounds, the judges scored the contest in favor of “Little Piranha,” who extended his record to 12-4.
Sam-A Gaiyanghadao Knocks Out Daren Rolland
Sam-A Gaiyanghadao returned to his winning ways at ONE: CENTURY.
The former ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Champion stopped France’s Daren Rolland in round two of the first-ever ONE Super Series strawweight Muay Thai clash.
Both athletes exchanged low kicks at the beginning of the first stanza, and a push kick from Rolland sent the Thai backward. But as the Team El Quandili representative inched forward to try and find his range, Sam-A stung him with a straight left hand, which buckled his legs.
Toward the end of the round, Rolland returned the favor and dropped Sam-A with a hard right. The Evolve athlete was not too fazed, however, as he jumped right back to his feet.
In round two, the Paris native came out confident, but a bit jumpy. However, the Singapore-based Thai handled the pressure well and began to punish the right side of Rolland with left kicks.
Then, in an attempt to grab control of the bout, the 21-year-old went for a left hook-straight right combo. Sam-A saw it coming, evaded, and landed a short left hand that knocked the Frenchman out. The referee called a close to the action at 1:20 of round two.
That knockout win put Sam-A back on the path to becoming a World Champion and moved his record to 367-47-9.
Yushin Okami Edges Out Agilan Thani
Yushin “Thunder” Okami battled through three rounds to pick the split-decision win over Agilan “Alligator” Thani.
In the opening round, the Japanese martial arts legend got a pair of takedowns, but it was his quick rear-naked choke attempt that nearly put an end to the bout. Thani showed toughness, though, and the Malaysian sensation escaped before the close of the frame.
Okami controlled Thani for much of round two in similar fashion. The halfway mark of the bout saw the Japanese athlete trying to stop the 24-year-old on the canvas, but he was unable to secure a submission.
“Alligator” turned the tables on Okami with an early takedown in the final round. He transitioned to the back of his Japanese foe, but could not dish out much damage. Thani closed the round by trying to score with punches to the midsection of Okami, but it was not enough to take the victory.
At the end of the clash, two of the three judges awarded Okami the split-decision win, bringing the Japanese legend’s professional record to 36-14.
Itsuki Hirata Finishes Rika Ishige
Itsuki “Strong Heart Fighter” Hirata let her Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and judo do the talking in front of her hometown fans at the expense of Rika “Tiny Doll” Ishige.
The Japanese rising star submitted the Thai via armbar in round two of their women’s atomweight mixed martial arts contest.
Just 40 seconds into round one, the Tokyo native sent “Tiny Doll” to the mat with a huge right hand, then followed with a barrage of ground and pound.
The Bangkok Fight Lab representative managed to avoid most of the punishment by pulling guard, but Hirata’s ground game was far superior. Hirata schooled her adversary on the canvas with keylock attempts, transitions, and a guillotine choke attempt.
In round two, “Strong Heart Fighter” dominated from start to finish. She countered a low kick from Ishige with a series of punches — two hard overhand rights, in particular, sent the Bangkok native to the canvas.
Hirata went for another keylock, but she transitioned into an armbar and forced Ishige to tap at 4:44 of round two.
The win at ONE: CENTURY PART I nudged Hirata’s professional mixed martial arts record to 2-0.
Lito Adiwang Ruins Senzo Ikeda’s Homecoming
Lito “Thunder Kid” Adiwang showed he could hang with the best of them in his ONE Championship debut.
The Filipino overcame the challenge of local hero and Pancrase Flyweight World Champion Senzo Ikeda, as he vanquished him in the first round of their strawweight mixed martial arts battle.
The tilt began with Ikeda pushing forward, trying to establish his range with the jab. As Adiwang was backed into the Circle by the pressure of the Paraestra Matsudo representative, he remained confident, wrapped his foe up, and landed a knee. Then, he grabbed his head and tossed him to the ground.
Once on the canvas, both athletes scrambled for a dominant position with Adiwang cranking on Ikeda’s head and trapping his arm between his legs. In the chaos, the Japanese star was injured and could not continue. The referee recognized this and stopped the action at 1:57 of round one, awarding “Thunder Kid” with the TKO win.
With the victory, Adiwang brought his professional mixed martial arts record to 10-2.
Yoon Chang Min Forces Phoe Thaw To Tap
“The Big Heart” Yoon Chang Min kept his spotless record intact with a dominant first-round submission win over Phoe “Bushido” Thaw.
Yoon submitted the Myanmar hero via rear-naked choke in the opening round of their featherweight mixed martial arts clash.
In the opening moments of the contest, the South Korean attacked his rival with a leg kick and then attempted a single-leg takedown. “Bushido” defended the attempt, but the tenacity of Yoon paid off and he put Phoe Thaw on the canvas.
He worked from side control until he transitioned to full mount. From there, he rained down punches. Phoe Thaw rolled away from the strikes, but gave up his back in the process. That allowed the man from Seoul to sink in the rear-naked choke, and he ultimately forced the tap at 3:17 of round one.
The 25-year-old moved his record to 3-0 and has truly become a force in the featherweight division.
Kwon Won Il ‘Terminates’ Sunoto With Strikes
“Pretty Boy” Kwon Won Il wasted no time in the morning’s first contest, as he handed “The Terminator” Sunoto a painful loss.
The South Korean defeated the Indonesian via TKO in the opening stanza of their catchweight mixed martial arts contest, which served as the event’s first preliminary bout.
At the start of the match, Kwon fended off the WKF Indonesia Champion’s attempts at taking the bout to the canvas, but Sunoto eventually found the takedown he was looking for.
The South Korean’s pace and positioning helped him bring the contest back to the feet. After landing a knee that punctured the mid-section of his opponent, “Pretty Boy” went for another one. That one, however, accidentally struck the groin of Sunoto.
The match came to brief a halt, but when the duel resumed, the Seoul native got the ending he was looking for.
Kwon marched forward with a series of punches, which sent the man from Jakarta to the mat. On the ground, “Pretty Boy” delivered some devastating ground and pound strikes, which prompted the referee to stop the bout at the 1:43 mark of round one.
The win brought Kwon’s professional record to 10-2-0.
