Ze Ru scored his second straight submission win at ONE Hero Series 7 yesterday. The Chinese strawweight had to come from behind to defeat Li Hong Lin in the second round.
Lin is a southpaw and had a significant advantage in terms of both height and reach. Right from the opening bell he was on the front foot and looking to land the overhand left.
Ru, who was coming off a win at OHS 4, appeared to be struggling with the distance but began to score with solid body kicks. Meanwhile Lin was loading up on the left hand which allowed his opponent to time the strikes and shoot for takedowns.
On point
Lin’s defence was on point and he fought off the takedown attempt before eventually reversing the position and putting Ru on his back. From there he went to work with elbows but found himself defending against triangle attempts.
Lin, who tasted victory at OHS 5, was able to take Ru’s back, flatten him out, lock in a body triangle and work for the rear naked choke. It seemed the end might be nigh but the bell rang before he could complete the submission.
In the second stanza it was Ru’s turn to throw haymakers before scoring with a body kick. A straight left from Lin found its target and he followed up with a successful takedown.
Unorthodox ending
Lin looked in his element on the ground ad he moved into mount before taking Ru’s back again. Once again the rear naked choke attempt looked deep but this time he tried to transition to an armbar.
The strategy backfired as Ru slipped out and landed in top position. From there he quickly took Lin’s back and clasped his hands together to a secure a slightly unorthodox rear naked choke.
With the win Ru improves to 9-2 and the Chinese strawweight moves a step closer to securing himself a spot on the main ONE Championship roster. Lin drops to 2-2.
ONE Hero Series 7, Beijing, July 23rd
Kickboxing: Zhang Wan Xin def. Lu Rui Lei via Decision (Unanimous)
Wang Jing Jia def. Liu Meng Yu via Decision (Split)
Kickboxing: Luo Chao def. Zhang Meng Fei via TKO in round two
Ze Ru def. Li Hong Lin via Submission (Rear-Naked choke) in round two
Fan Jiale def. Xiatihe Zhumatai via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) in round one
Muay Thai: Zhang Shuai def. Hu Bin Qian via decision
Meng Ketuogesi def. Xia Ming Quan via TKO in round two
Muay Thai: Huang Ding def. Yuan Hao via TKO in round two
