THE WORLD’S largest martial arts organisation, ONE Championship, has made a triumphant return to the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur with a thrilling night of martial arts action.
ONE on Prime Video 3: Lineker vs. Andrade, held last night (Oct 21), featured a series of exciting matchups, headlined by three World Title bouts.
ONE Championship, in partnership with leading premium lifestyle and luxury performance brand TUMI, presented the prestigious ONE World Title belt to the world champions.
The main event showdown between former ONE Bantamweight World Champion John Lineker and number two-ranked contender Fabricio Andrade ended in controversy midway through the third round after Andrade connected with an unintentional knee to Lineker’s groin.
The two bitter rivals traded bombs from the sound of the opening bell, with “Wonder Boy” Lineker looking to push forward behind a stinging right jab.
Lineker found openings to land his thunderous hooks, rocking Andrade in the second round. However, the younger fighter did considerable damage to Lineker with his striking, causing the veteran’s right eye to nearly close by the end of the frame.
In the third stanza, Andrade connected with a knee to the midsection and had Lineker reeling in pain. “Wonder Boy” tried to follow up with another knee, but it unintentionally landed south of the waistline.
After a five-minute recovery period, Lineker could no longer continue. The fight was ruled a no-contest and the ONE Bantamweight World Title now remains vacant.
In the co-main event, Regian Eersel became a two-sport ONE World Champion, capturing the inaugural ONE Lightweight Muay Thai World Title behind an efficient striking display against Thai star Sinsamut Klinmee.
Fierce action
The action was fierce throughout the five-round contest, with both men trading combinations while taking each other’s best shots.
Sinsamut was game from start to end, wearing Eersel’s damage on his face well. But the Dutch-Surinamese fighter was just too good, with the “Immortal” increasing his aggression in the championship rounds to take the split-decision victory.
On the other hand, teenage Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu sensation Kade Ruotolo captured the inaugural ONE Lightweight Submission Grappling World Title, defeating multi-time Sambo World Champion Uali Kurzhev via heel hook.
Ruotolo was constantly on the attack, but once he trapped Kurzhev in a leg lock situation, the American grabbed hold of the heel and put pressure on the knee to force the tap. Ruotolo also received a US$50,000 bonus for his performance.
In the featherweight kickboxing contest, Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong and Mohammed Boutasaa figured in an all-out war of attrition for three rounds. The two met each other at the center of the circle and looked to trade bombs in the opening stanza.
Boutasaa went on the offensive in round two as Sitthichai opted to lay back and counter. In the third frame, the Thai star came alive, moving forward with a sense of purpose.
In the end, all three judges saw the bout in favour of Sitthichai to win by a unanimous decision.
ONE Championship newcomer Shamil Gasanov, meanwhile, made quick work of number two-ranked featherweight MMA contender Kim Jae Woong in his promotional debut, submitting the South Korean dynamo with a rear-naked choke in the first round.
Gasanov closed the distance early and swiftly took Kim’s back with an explosive takedown.
After a quick scramble, the Russian’s left arm wound up underneath Kim’s chin as he cranked out the rear-naked choke, a performance that earned the former a US$50,000 bonus as well. – Oct 22, 2022
All photos are credited to ONE Championship
