The Uzbek southpaw looked to land the left hand early on with Watcharapon seemingly reluctant to commit. The Thai fighter kept coming forwards but was disrupted by the constant counters Ortikov was throwing.
Going into the second round Watcharapon needed to get a foothold in the fight if he wanted to prevent the Uzbek from making it four wins in a row on these cards. He started to use his knees in the second, looking to drag his opponent into the clinch.
Ortikov proved he was just as comfortable fighting at close quarters by throwing Watcharapon to the floor. The Thai was having some success with body kicks and knees but was getting picked off by his opponent’s punches.
FLAWLESS 💯 Aslamjon Ortikov moves to 18-0 with a unanimous decision over Watcharaphon#ONEFridayFights54 | 🔴 Live Now
🌎 Live TV broadcast in 190+ countries (check local listings)
🌎 Also available on ONE YouTube and ONE Facebook (geo-restrictions may apply)
🌎 Also available… pic.twitter.com/y8HLNrCBYn— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) March 8, 2024
Contract winner
The Thai knew he was potentially two rounds behind heading into the third and made an aggressive start but continually ran into Ortikov’s counters. The Uzbek was throwing multiple combinations of punches and kicks while holding his own in the clinch.
Ortikov was so composed that he repeatedly found time to fix his hair. The judges were clearly impressed as all three scored the fight for the Uzbek who made it four wins in a row at Lumpinee Stadium.
Afterwards it was announced that Ortikov had secured a long term ONE Championship contract. The 20 year old’s next fight is likely to be on one of the Prime Video events
View this post on Instagram
Best of the rest
Pompetch PKSaenchaigym and Suriyanlek Por Yenying traded knockdowns in the co-main event. It will go down as one of the best fights ever witnessed on one of these shows.
In the end Pompetch, who scored three of the five knockdowns, prevailed with a decision win. Both men were awarded 350,000 baht bonuses for their efforts, for Suriyanlek this was the sixth fight in a row he had received a bonus after.
ONE Friday Fights 54, Bangkok, March 8th
Aslamjon Ortikov def. Watcharapon SinghaMawynn via Decision (Unanimous)
Pompetch PKSaenchaigym def. Suriyanlek Por Yenying via Decision (Unanimous)
Tubtimthong Sor JorLekmuangnon def. Khunsuk Sor Dechapan via Decision (Unanimous)
Petchbanrai Singha Mawynn def. Petchrit Nokkhao KorMor11 via Decision (Unanimous)
Maisangkum Sor Yingcharoenkarnchang def. Jaoinsee PKSaenchaigym via Decision (Unanimous)
Yoddoi Kaewsamrit def. Nongchamp Luckybantermg via KO (Straight left) at 2:22 of R1
Ferzan Çiçek def. George Mouzakitis via Decision (Unanimous)
Francisca Vera def. Celest Hansen via Decision (Split)
MMA: Kyrgyzstan Yryskeldi Duisheev def. Ismail Khan via Submission (Rear-naked choke) at 4:30 of R1
Petchlampun Muadablampang def. Hiroto Sameshima via KO (Straight right) at 1:39 of R2
Rustam Yunusov def. Ramu Araya via Decision (Unanimous)
Nonthakit Tor Morsi def. Bazooka Koki via Decision (Unanimous)
MMA: Sanzhar Zakirov def. Ryosuke Honda via TKO (Punches) at 3:55 of R2
