By:  | May 20, 2022 9:50 pm

Four fighters books their places in the semi finals of the flyweight Grand Prix at ONE 157 tonight. Rodtang Jitmuangnon, Walter Goncalves, Superlek Kiatmoo9 and Savvas Michael all progressed.

In the first quarter final Michael faced Amir Naseri. He controlled the action from start to finish, firing off solid kicks and punches to leave his opponent’s face a bloody mess.

There was only going to be one winner and the judges were left with a very easy decision:

One way traffic

The next semi final saw Superlek Kiatmoo9 take on Taiki Naito. The Thai was seen by many as being the favourite for the tournament but he didn’t have things all his own way in the opening round.

Naito was able to time his kicks and sweep his front leg out on a couple of occasions, leaving Superlek on the floor. But in the second round the former Lumpinee champion started to score with elbows and it was one way traffic.

Superlek couldn’t find the finish but he spent the final two rounds attacking relentlessly giving the judges another straightforward decision:

Fast finish

Walter Goncalves had been booked to face Jonathan Haggerty but the Englishman withdrew due to ‘health reasons’ during the weight cutting process. In his place stepped Josue Cruz who had originally been booked to take on Panpayak Jitmuangnon.

The Brazilian made short work of the replacement. A left hook to the body finished Cruz just 35 seconds into the fight:

Reigning champion

Reigning flyweight champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon took on Jacob Smith in the last quarter final. The fight has been in the works for over a year so the Englishman has had plenty of time to prepare.

But nothing can really prepare you for the experience of facing Rodtang in a Muay Thai fight with MMA gloves. The Thai attacked with punches and elbows right from the opening bell and cut Smith in the opening round.

Rodtang was firing in punches and elbows with laser like accuracy and by the end of the second round there was so much blood on the Englishman’s face that it was difficult to tell exactly where the damage was.

By contrast Rodtang, who was sporting a bright new hairdo, barely had a mark on him. Smith survived to hear the final bell but there was no doubt who the winner would be as the champion booked his spot in the semi finals.

Next round

With the draw having been made in advance all the fighters knew who they would be facing next. Rodtang will face Savvas in one semi final while Superlek takes on Goncalves in the other.

All four men won convincingly, although Goncalves needed much less time than the other three. It means they will all be feeling confident heading into the next round with the date of those matchups yet to be announced.