Stamp, Kadestam Earn Interim World Title Shots After Dominant Wins On ONE Fight Night 10 Main Card
The energy felt during the main card of ONE Fight Night 10: Johnson vs. Moraes III on Prime Video at the sold-out 1stBank Center in Colorado couldn’t be rivaled.
From bout one, fans went into a frenzy, and as the submissions and knockouts flooded the arena their excitement only grew. Out of the eight fights, five ended early. And the three that went the distance were nail-biting affairs.
If you missed any of the action from ONE Championship’s historic United States debut on Friday, May 5, here’s what went down before the evening’s co-main and main events.
Stamp Starches Anderson, Books Shot At Interim Crown
Former two-sport ONE World Champion Stamp Fairtex promised to put on a performance for the ages, and the #1-ranked atomweight mixed martial artist did just that, albeit at Alyse “Lil’ Savage” Anderson’s expense.
The Thai superstar used her knees to deter Anderson’s takedown attempts while connecting with stiff jabs and kicks for most of their atomweight MMA battle. Despite that, “Lil’ Savage” still tried to switch levels.
But after getting struck by knees during another takedown attempt, Anderson took a step back. In a flash, Stamp connected with a whipping body kick that folded the 28-year-old. Stamp followed up with two punches for good measure, and the referee stopped the match at the 2:27 mark of the second frame.
With the victory, Stamp upped her slate to 10-2, earned a shot at the ONE Interim Women’s Atomweight World Title, and received a US$50,000 performance bonus from ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong.
Kadestam Scores Shocking Knockout Of Soldic, Earns Interim Welterweight World Title Shot
Former ONE Welterweight World Champion Zebaztian “The Bandit” Kadestam earned a huge upset victory by crushing heavily hyped Croatian superstar Roberto “Robocop” Soldic.
After a competitive opening round in their ONE Interim Welterweight World Title eliminator, “The Bandit” caught the advancing Soldic early in the second frame with a well-timed elbow.
Soldic staggered toward the cage, and Kadestam rushed in and unloaded in search of the finish. A punch from the Swedish superstar dropped “Robocop” hard, but the latter sprung to his feet.
Then Kadestam scored another knockdown with a flurry of punches, forcing the referee to intervene after just 45 seconds into round two.
The dramatic knockout was Kadestam’s 14th finish from 15 professional victories. And not only did he earn a shot at interim welterweight gold, he bagged a US$50,000 performance bonus too.
Northcutt Scores 39-Second Submission Of Mujtaba
“Super” Sage Northcutt returned to MMA action after four years and didn’t miss a beat against Ahmed Mujtaba in their lightweight tilt.
The American superstar let loose with snappy kicks, but a counter left jab from Mujtaba shook up “Super.” Northcutt recovered from the guard, and that prompted “Wolverine” to get back on his feet.
During the scramble, though, Northcutt saw an opening on his rival’s left foot and sunk in a heel hook. He tightened the submission and drew a tap from his foe at the 39-second mark of the first round.
With the win, Northcutt improved his record to 12-3 and earned a US$50,000 performance bonus.
Aung La N Sang Submits Fan With Slick Guillotine
Former two-division ONE World Champion Aung La N Sang scored his 28th career finish after submitting Fan Rong in their middleweight MMA matchup.
Following a back-and-forth first round, Fan sent “The Burmese Python” stumbling backward with a hard right hand early in the second frame.
Fan rushed in and took Aung La N Sang down, but the Myanmar icon quickly sunk in a modified guillotine choke. The Chinese star tried to escape, but he was forced to tap after just 48 seconds of action in the second frame.
Aung La N Sang improved to 30-13 with the win and strengthened his case for an opportunity to reclaim the ONE Middleweight World Title.
Ruotolo Pushes The Action To Defeat De Ridder
IBJJF World Champion Tye Ruotolo kept his undefeated ONE record intact with a hard-fought decision win over ONE Middleweight World Champion Reinier “The Dutch Knight” de Ridder in their submission grappling battle.
The matchup took place almost entirely on the feet, with both middleweight grapplers using heavy collar-ties and foot sweeps to jockey for position.
Ultimately, it was the Atos representative who – despite giving up a significant size advantage – was the more aggressive, effective grappler, largely pushing the action to secure a unanimous decision victory.
The win improved Ruotolo’s career BJJ record to 22-9.
Buntan Ignites 1stBank Center With First-Round Knockout Of Martin
Former ONE Strawweight Muay Thai World Title challenger Jackie Buntan made short work of Diandra Martin in front of her American compatriots on Friday night.
The California native stalked a tentative Martin from the opening bell, landing leather early in their 131-pound catchweight Muay Thai battle.
Then, toward the end of the opening frame, Buntan unleashed a left hook to the body followed by a crushing right hand that sent the Australian crashing to the canvas. Martin was unable to answer the count, and the referee waved off the bout at the 2:34 mark.
Buntan improved her all-striking record to 25-6 and took home a pivotal victory. In the post-fight interview, the 25-year-old even teased a transition to another sport, as she eyes a shot at the inaugural ONE Strawweight Kickboxing World Title.
Akhmetov Dominates McLaren In Pivotal Rematch
Former ONE Flyweight World Champion Kairat “The Kazakh” Akhmetov earned another shot at MMA gold after outclassing old foe and #4-ranked contender Reece “Lightning” McLaren.
Akhmetov, who’s currently ranked #2 in the division, used his heavy wrestling to dominate the proceedings from round one. Despite “Lightning’s” best efforts to steer his way out of Akhmetov’s acumen in the clinch and on the ground, the Australian was no match for “The Kazakh’s” constant grappling.
After three rounds of action, the 35-year-old sprinted to a unanimous decision win. His sixth consecutive victory bumped his resume to 30-2 and sealed his spot as the next challenger for the flyweight crown.
Ok Edges Tynanes In High-Paced Opener
The historic fight card kicked off with former ONE Lightweight World Champion Ok Rae Yoon earning a hard-fought unanimous decision win over American standout Lowen Tynanes.
The #1-ranked contender’s boxing was on point from the opening bell. And although he found himself in some tough spots on the mat for much of the second round, Ok otherwise displayed striking superiority, punishing his foe with crisp jabs and venomous punching combinations.
With the victory, the 32-year-old South Korean pushed his career record to an impressive 17-4.
