Superbon, Freymanov, Kwon, Malachiev Score Wild Finishes At ONE Fight Night 11
For many of the martial artists competing at ONE Fight Night 11 on Prime Video on June 9, redemption was a strong motivator.
Several of those athletes scored massive bounce-back victories at the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium, while a number of dangerous rising stars made their marks on the global stage.
After eight opening bouts that featured four stunning finishes, let’s look at what went down before the two World Title headliners capped off another epic night of action in Bangkok, Thailand, live in U.S. primetime.
Freymanov Survives Early Scare To Submit Shinechagtga
Ilya Freymanov was simply too good for Shinechagtga Zoltsetseg.
The Russian phenom briefly tasted the canvas at the start of their featherweight MMA firefight, as he walked into a hard right hand from the ultra-aggressive Shinechagtga.
It proved to be a minor blip, as the #3-ranked contender quickly sprung back to his feet and set about picking apart the Mongolian excitement machine.
A knee from the clinch sent Shinechagtga crashing to the ground before Freymanov mounted him and started raining down heavy elbows. The 27-year-old then secured a fight-ending rear-naked choke at 2:18 of the first round as his opponent gave up his back.
Freymanov earned a US$50,000 performance bonus for the scintillating finish, improving to 12-2 overall and bolstering his case for a future shot at ONE Featherweight World Champion Tang Kai.
Superbon Returns With Highlight-Reel KO Of Ozcan
Superbon Singha Mawynn took out Tayfun Ozcan in dramatic fashion en route to a potential shot at the ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Title he once held.
Early in the fight, #5-ranked Ozcan appeared to be outpointing the Singha Maywnn Muay Thai product. He kept a tight guard while advancing into the pocket and peppering the #1-ranked contender with punches.
Superbon, however, was just baiting his opponent.
The Thai superstar waited for his chance to counter – and it came at the 1:46 mark of the second round with a devastating left high kick that dropped the Dutch-Turkish athlete and left him lying flat on the canvas.
With the highlight-reel win, Superbon bumped his record to 114-35, bagged a US$50,000 performance bonus, and may have scored a rematch with old tormentor and reigning divisional king Chingiz Allazov.
Malachiev Debuts With First-Round Finish Of Miado
Highly touted promotional newcomer Mansur Malachiev backed up the hype with a slick submission victory over Filipino star Jeremy Miado.
The unbeaten Russian imposed his crushing grappling attack early and often, swarming “The Jaguar” from the opening bell of their strawweight MMA encounter.
Then in the final minute of the first frame, the 31-year-old bombed away with ground strikes before latching onto a fight-ending D’Arce choke to officially stop the action after 4:31.
In the process, Malachiev extended his pristine MMA record to 11-0 with nine sensational finishes, while snapping Miado’s four-fight winning streak and announcing himself as a serious threat in the division.
Sadikovic Outworks Holzken In Technical Battle
Bosnian-German striker Arian Sadikovic overcame Dutch legend Nieky Holzken across three entertaining rounds of 176-pound catchweight kickboxing action.
Holzken controlled the very early stages of the fight with his world-class kicking game, before “Game Over” exploded to unleash a flurry of power punches with 30 seconds left in the first frame.
“The Natural’s” defense stayed tight, but the tone had been set, as Sadikovic’s relentless output of power shots proved to be the difference.
It was a massive performance for the 28-year-old, who earned the unanimous decision victory over a former four-time Glory Kickboxing World Champion following his unsuccessful ONE Lightweight Kickboxing World Title challenge last year.
With the victory, Sadikovic improved to 23-4 as he pushes for another crack at divisional king Regian Eersel.
Kwon Stops Belakh’s Hype Train With Second-Round TKO
Kwon Won Il held down his #4 spot in the bantamweight MMA rankings by scoring a second-round TKO over surging #5-ranked contender Artem Belakh.
The South Korean was relentless with his body work, hammering the Russian with shovel hooks that paid dividends in round two. Getting Belakh to drop his arms, Kwon starched his adversary with a right hand before finishing him with ground-and-pound at the 3:57 mark.
With the victory, Kwon backed up his pre-fight prediction, improved his MMA record to 13-4 with 12 finishes, and pocketed the night’s first US$50,000 performance bonus.
He also snapped Belakh’s three-bout winning streak and stated his case for a rematch with reigning ONE Bantamweight World Champion Fabricio Andrade.
Michieletto Edges Past Kitchen In High-Paced Scrap
Martine Michieletto walked out the winner in her hard-fought ONE debut – a 129.25-pound catchweight Muay Thai battle against Amber “AK 47” Kitchen.
“The Italian Queen” survived an early barrage from the Brit, only to storm back in the second and third rounds with aggressive and dynamic striking. Fighting out of the southpaw stance, Michieletto consistently found a home for her venomous left hand, slicing elbows, and lightning-fast head kicks.
That technical work secured the unanimous decision for the 30-year-old sensation, who now sports a 49-13 career record in kickboxing and Muay Thai and owns an incredible 14-fight winning streak.
Hu Prevails Over Woo In Razor-Close Slugfest
Flyweight MMA competitors “Wolf Warrior” Hu Yong and “Dynamic” Woo Sung Hoon went to war for three rounds, with the Chinese athlete earning a closely contested nod.
The bout was a judge’s nightmare, as the well-matched fighters each had their moments throughout the back-and-forth contest.
The opening round set the tone, as Hu landed an early hard right hand that momentarily dropped Woo, before the South Korean scored a catch with a rear-naked choke attempt late in the frame.
Ultimately, Hu’s power shots made the difference, as the 27-year-old claimed a split-decision victory.
The win improved the 2019 ONE Hero Series winner’s record to 11-4 and built on the momentum he gained with a crushing knockout of former ONE Flyweight World Champion Geje Eustaquio in December.
Opacic Earns Revenge With Stellar Performance Against Inocente
Ever since Rade Opacic succumbed to the power of Guto Inocente in June 2022, he’s been waiting for the chance to redeem himself. And the 25-year-old got his wish when the two men clashed under heavyweight kickboxing rules for a second time in Friday’s opener.
Opacic scored an eight-count after two piston-like right hands sent the Brazilian sideways and down in the early going. Inocente tried to rally back with left hooks midway through the fight, but the Serbian overcame those attacks and blasted his rival with hard punches to close out the contest with a unanimous decision.
With the victory, Opacic nudged his professional striking record to 18-6, but his path toward redemption isn’t over yet.
The young star would surely love another crack at reigning ONE Light Heavyweight Kickboxing World Champion Roman Kryklia – who defeated him in 2019 – perhaps even for the inaugural heavyweight kickboxing gold.
