By:  | September 15, 2023 8:43 pm

Ismail Khan was in total control of his flyweight fight with Joon Gun Cho right from the opening bell. He was able to take the Korean down and keep him down at ONE Friday Fights 33 before finding the finish in the final round.

Khan came into the contest with an unblemished record although there were questions about the quality of his opposition. The Pakistani demonstrated that he is the real deal with a one sided win over Cho at Lumpinee Stadium.

He needed less than 3o seconds to secure his first takedown. Cho found himself on his back early in the opening round and it was a position the Korean would become all too familiar with.

Relentless takedowns

Khan was relentless with his takedowns and Gun didn’t get to engage in a striking exchange until the closing seconds of the round. The Korean looked dangerous but couldn’t do any serious damage before the bell sounded.

Khan took the teenager down again at the start of the second round. The 17 year old only made his debut last year and looked out of his depth against the more experienced Pakistani.

He survived the second stanza but was taken down early in the third and this time Khan took his back and sank in a rear naked choke. The tap came at the 1:10 mark with the Pakistani finishing an impressive performance in style.

 

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Best of the rest

Khan was not the only fighter from South Asia celebrating. In the first bout on the card Nepal’s Rabindra Dhant (6-0) finished Torepchi Dongak (1-1) in the third round of their flyweight fight.

ONE Friday Fights 33, Bangkok, September 15th
Alexey Balyko def. Yod-IQ PKSaenchaigym via Decision (Unanimous)
Watcharapon Singha Mawynn def. Apiwat Sor Somnuk via Decision (Unanimous)
Panthep VKKhaoyai def. Chalamkhao PKSaenchaigym via Decision (Unanimous)
Tubtimthong Sor Jor Lekmuangnon def. Sakolpat ChotBangsaen via KO (Right uppercut & left hook) at 1:38 of R1
Abdallah Ondash def. Palangboon Wor Sangtai via Decision (Split)
Sing Sor.Chokmeechai def. Win Sitjaenim Decision (Unanimous) 3 3:00
Yodnumchai Fairtex def. Chalamkhao Jitmuangnon TKO (Punches) 2 0:48
Otop Or.Kwanmuang def. Shingo Shibata via TKO (Three knockdowns) 1 0:59
Yamin PKSaenchaigym def. Zhang Jinhu via KO (Left elbow) at 0:23 of R3
Teeyai PKSaenchaigym def. Ayad Albadr via Decision (Unanimous) at 3:00 of R3
Junior Fairtex def. Zehra DoÄźan via TKO (Punch) at 2:36 of R2
MMA: Ismail Khan def. Cho Joon-Gun via Submission (Rear-naked choke) at 1:10 of R3
MMA: Rabindra Dhant def. Torepchi Dongak via TKO (punches) at 1:55 of R3