Spectacular Finishes Set Explosive Pace For ONE: HERO’S DREAM

Everyone may be awaiting the astonishing main event spectacle, which pits hometown hero and ONE Middleweight World Champion Aung La N Sang against four-time Muay Thai and kickboxing heavyweight world champion Alain “The Panther” Ngalani, but three fantastic preliminary matches got ONE: HERO’S DREAM off to a solid start.

On Friday, 3 November, a pair of women’s bouts and a lightweight showdown set the tone inside the Thuwunna Indoor Stadium in Yangon, Myanmar for what is bound to be an unforgettable night of action.

It featured two outstanding stoppage finishes, and a captivating back-and-forth battle that kept everyone’s attention.

Jomary Torres Outgrapples Nita Dea In Thrilling Battle

Three months removed from crushing Thai heroine Rika “Tinydoll” Ishige’s undefeated record in a successful promotional debut, Jomary “The Zamboanginian Fighter” Torres deployed a grappling-heavy strategy to keep her momentum going.

The Filipina atomweight attempted to finish Indonesia’s Nita Dea several times during their seesaw battle, but she could not. As a consolation, she pulled away with a unanimous decision victory.

For the first two rounds, Torres shot for the takedown and immediately brought her nemesis to the ground. She systematically advanced to more dominant positions, such as the mount and side control. To Dea’s credit, she stayed active and reversed course multiple times, but it nearly cost her twice, as the Filipina closed out each round threatening with rear-naked choke attempts.

Dea’s closest attempt to turning the tide was when she rocked Torres with a knee to the chin in the third stanza. Torres, despite being momentarily stunned, still brought the three-time Indonesian Sanda Champion to the canvas, and closed out the contest in the full-mount. With the win, Torres improves to 3-0. 

Zhang Ze Hao Knocks Out Eight-Time Indian Muay Thai Champion

“The Ghost” Zhang Ze Hao was not supposed to have the stand-up edge in his lightweight tilt against India’s Bala “The Tulunad Warrior” Shetty, but he would end up with the highlight reel knockout anyways.

Zhang knocked out Shetty, an eight-time Indian Muay Thai Champion, with a devastating left hook at the 2:01 mark of the first round. From the very beginning, both combatants threw heavy leather. Shetty displayed a good clinch, knees to the gut, and a willingness to exchange.

However, “The Ghost” constantly mixed up his attack, as he marched forward with jabs and left hooks, which stunned his Indian rival throughout the duration of the short bout. The 25-year-old leaned on an aggressive mixture of strikes, takedowns, and ground and pound to tire “The Tulunad Warrior” out before eventually landing the final blow. 

For Zhang, this is his second consecutive win in the promotion, which follows his TKO win over Li Cheng Chao from ONE CHAMPIONSHIP: SHANGHAI a mere two months ago.

“Supermom” Miao Jie Sets Women’s Record With Armbar Submission

“Supermom” Miao Jie called her shot, and delivered yet again. The BJJ World Bronze Medalist predicted an armbar finish in the first round, and that is exactly what she did, as the Chinese tapped out the debuting Amira “The Wandera” Hafizovic in 45 seconds of their strawweight affair. It was the fastest finish in ONE Championship women’s history.

Upon the opening bell, Hafizovic took the center of the cage and threw strikes at China’s Miao, but did not land anything of note. “Supermom” then rushed in for a takedown, and although “The Wandera” avoided the first one, she could not resist the second, and was subsequently tossed to the ground.

Miao instantly went for the armbar, but the Australian initially defended well. However, the Chinese strawweight transitioned into full mount, and then confused her rival by spinning over, and grabbed Hafizovic’s arm once again before locking it down for the inevitable tap.

Coming off the heels of a 49-second armbar submission win at ONE CHAMPIONSHIP: SHANGHAI, “Supermom” moves to 5-1, and now owns the two fastest finishes in ONE women’s history.