ONE Championship kicked off its first event of 2020 in style on Friday night, staging a stacked fight card in Bangkok that showcased the best and brightest from MMA, Muay Thai and kickboxing. In a highlight attraction local favourite Stamp Fairtex took on Puja Tomar, scoring the fourth straight win of her career.
The 22-year-old immediately asserted her authority by drilling Tomar with a torrent of punches and knees in the clinch. When the Indonesian tried to disrupt her striking rhythm she miscalculated the execution of a judo toss, and ended up giving up her back.
Stamp capitalized on the opportunity, unloading a relentless volley of ground-and-pound before attempting to latch on a rear-naked choke. Tomar successfully defended by trapping her left arm but the Thai persevered
Stamp had back mount and continued to dispense punishment with her hands and elbows, compelling the referee to jump in and call a halt to the proceedings at 4:27 of the first round.
With the impressive win, Stamp kept her unscathed MMA record intact and improved her standing to 4-0. On the other hand, Tomar fell to 4-4.
Spectacular showing
Meanwhile, Vietnamese-American Thanh Le (11-2) turned in a spectacular showing by routing seasoned Japanese veteran Ryogo Takahashi(13-4), solidifying his position as a top contender in ONE Championship’s talent-rich featherweight division.
Le, 34, flaunted his fluid striking right off the bat, repeatedly hammering Takahashi with combinations stinging punches and lashing kicks to the midsection.
Takahashi elected to fight fire with fire but was knocked down by a right hand. Le followed up with a barrage of hammerfists and punches and, seeing the gravity of the damage, the referee quickly stepped in to wave the bout off.
Le, who has now won three matches in a row via knockout on the ONE Championship stage, makes a strong case to challenge Martin Nguyen for the featherweight strap later this year.
Best of the rest
In other MMA bouts, American standout Joey Pierotti (12-2) received a rude welcoming in his maiden promotional appearance as he bowed to Raimond Magomedaliev of Russia via first-round submission.
Moreover, ONE Warrior Series alumnus Shinechagtga Zoltsetseg (6-2) of Mongolia authored a main roster debut to remember, knocking out Chinese stalwart Ma Jia Wen in 55 seconds with a strong overhand right.
The grappling brilliance of Japan’s Ayaka Miura (10-2) was in full display once again, defeating Brazilian vixen Maíra Mazar (6-3) with her trademark Americana submission in the second round of their women’s strawweight clash to claim her third-straight win under the ONE Championship banner.
Serving as the curtain-raiser contest of the night, Filipino fighter Roel Rosauro (5-3) finally experienced his moment of glory in the promotion, picking apart Indonesia’s Yohan Mulia Legowo (8-9) in the stand-up courtesy of his Yaw-Yan pedigree to cruise to a unanimous decision victory.
ONE: ‘A New Tomorrow’, Bangkok, January 10th
ONE: ‘A New Tomorrow’, Bangkok, October 10th
Muay Thai: Rodtang Jitmuangnon def. Jonathan Haggerty by TKO (Punches) at 2:39 of Round 3 (Defends flyweight title)
Stamp Fairtex def. Puja Tomar via TKO (Elbows) at 4:27 of Round 1
Muay Thai: Sangmanee Sathiangym def. Kenta Yamada by Decision (Unanimous)
Muay Thai: Muangthai PKSaenchaigym def. Brice Delval by Decision (Split)
Thanh Le def. Ryogo Takahashi via KO (Punch) at 2:51 of Round 1
Raimond Magomedaliev def. Joey Pierotti bySubmission (Guillotine choke) at 3:50 of Round 1
Kickboxing: Adam Noi defeats Victor Pinto by Decision (Unanimous)
Shinechagtga Zoltsetseg def. Ma Jia Wen by KO (Punches) at 0:55 of – Round 1
Muay Thai: Mehdi Zatout def. Han Zi Hao by Decision (Split)
Ayaka Miura def. Maira Mazar by submission (Scarf Hold Armlock) at 3:01 of Round 2,
Roel Rosauro def. Yohan Mulia Legowo by Decision (Unanimous)
