Xie Wei racked up a third consecutive victory with a hugely impressive knockout against Dae Hwan Kim at ONE: ‘Battleground’ Part III. The first round of the flyweight fight at the Singapore Indoor Stadium was fought at a furious pace as the Chinese fighter landed a stout right cross early on.
Kim replied with a right hook as his opponent was moving in. Xie landed with a crossing elbow to the bridge of the nose with both fighters finding a home for the majority of their shots.
Xie then caught a body kick and drove Kim against the fence. The Korean, in turn, went to the body with a pair of well-placed punches.
Xie planted a solid one-two combination and sensing the momentum was with him he marched forwards but got dropped with a boulder of a right hand. The ‘Hunter’ recovered quickly and went for the takedown.
Big takedown
He eventually secured it but found himself wrapped in a guillotine. When the pair got back up, Kim slammed Xie to the ground with a big takedown.
The former bantamweight title contender showed off his experience as he transitioned to mount with ease. Xie’s own ground game appeared much improved though as he not only escaped, but went onto reverse the position before getting back to his feet.
Xie hammered Kim with a heavy low kick in the second stanza before both men exchanged some big uppercuts. The Korean uncorked more body shots with the right hand.
Xie responded by switching up his attack and keeping Kim at bay with the teep. Xie scored with another uppercut and a left hook then followed up with a solid right hand to the belly button.
Powerful shots
Kim continued to look for powerful single shots as Xie checked the leg kick. Sensing the tide starting to flow his way, Xie clipped Kim with a series of uppercuts and left hooks.
With less than half a minute to go, Xie then send Kim to the mat with the left hand before unleashing some heavy ground and pound. As Kim found his feet he was met with a high knee and an elbow as the round came to a close.
The onslaught appeared to leave Kim exhausted in the final round. Xie landed a beautiful spinning back kick to the liver. He followed up with a left hand and, after a brief spell of clinching, Kim was pushed to the canvas.
The referee eventually told the Korean to get up. Despite clearly fading, he was able to uncork a decent shot with the right but was soon met with a stunning sequence that would bring the contest to an end in some style.
Xie let go with a right uppercut and a knee before a stunner of a liver shot with the left-hand left Kim collapsed and wincing in pain. The decisive blow was certainly one for the highlight reel as the Chinese fighter climbs to 8-3 while his opponent falls to 15-8-1.
Best of the rest
There was another emphatic finish in the co-main event as Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke (12-6) put Duoji Banma (13-2) away in the second round. A trio of sharp elbows were followed by a monster knee as the Thai returned to winning ways.
Jenelyn Olsim (5-2) ground out a unanimous decision win over Bi Nguyen (6-7) to earn a spot on the upcoming atomweight Grand Prix. It was a close contest overall but all three judges thought the Filipino did enough to earn the victory.
Purev Otgonjargal (7-1) scored a giant first round knockout against Ben Royle (5-2). He cracked the Brit with a bomb of a right to send him folding to the canvas and followed with some ground and pound to finish the fight fast.
ONE: ‘Battleground’ Part III, Singapore, August 27th
Muay Thai: Sittichai Sitsongpeenong def. Tawanchai PKSaenchaigym by Decision (Split)
Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke def. Banma Duoji by TKO (Punches) at 3:31 of R2
Jenelyn Olsim def. Bi Nguyen by Decision (Unanimous)
Xie Wei def. Dae Hwan Kim by KO (Punch) at 1:46 of R3
Song Min Jong def. Tial Thang by Decision (Unanimous)
Purev Otgonjargal def. Ben Royle by TKO (Punches) at 0:50 of R1
