THE Home Of Martial Arts returned to China with a stunning spectacle that eclipsed every expectation.
ONE: AGE OF DRAGONS last Saturday, Nov 16, thrilled fans inside Beijing’s Cadillac Arena from the first bout to the main event, which saw Dutch-Moroccan striking sensation Ilias Ennahachi defend his ONE Flyweight Kickboxing World Title against hometown hero Wang “Metal Storm” Wenfeng.
In the co-main event, Ukraine’s striking dynamo Roman Kryklia handed Tarik “The Tank” Khbabez his first ONE Championship defeat to lift the ONE Light Heavyweight Kickboxing World Title.
There were plenty of knockouts from the other matches too. Here are three that topped the lot in the Chinese capital.
#1 Yusupov Stuns A Legend
There was no bigger underdog on the card than Jamal “Kherow” Yusupov who had it all to do against Thailand striking legend “The Boxing Computer” Yodsanklai IWE Fairtex.
However, he did not allow the pressure to get to his head and knocked out the Muay Thai icon in the second stanza. Yusupov struck from the pocket in a risky game plan, however it paid off as a heavy left cross just moments after the second bell, sent Yodsanklai to the canvas.
Sensing a knockout was near, the Russian powerhouse struck with more punches as the match resumed, but this time around, another heavy left put Yodsanklai to sleep.
It was the first time the Thailand star suffered back-to-back losses, and his first knockout defeat since January 2005.
#2 A Dream Debut For India’s New Martial Arts Star
India’s Ritu “The Indian Tigress” Phogat got her mixed martial arts campaign off to a flyer with a TKO win over Nam “Captain Marvel” Hee Kim.
The wrestling champion dragged her opponent into deep water from the start of the contest, shooting for a takedown and putting pressure on her foe. Though Nam managed to shrug it off the first time, Phogat made no mistakes during her second attempt.
“The Indian Tigress” transitioned on the ground with ease, switching from half-guard into side control, before securing a crucifix position. From there, Phogat unloaded with stinging punches and elbows that went unanswered from her opposite number.
Referee Olivier Coste stopped the one-way traffic at the 3:37 mark of the opening round to hand India’s latest mixed martial arts sensation a dream debut.
#3 ‘The Hurricane’ Storms Beijing
Enriko “The Hurricane” Kehl lived up to his moniker in Beijing. The German striking sensation barely made an error en route to a second-round TKO win over Italy’s Armen Petrosyan.
The Italian sensation was pushed in reverse gear from the opening bell, as Kehl influenced the contest in the second round. He delivered a hard left-cross that floored Petrosyan onto the canvas for an eight-count.
He answered the count, but the Tempel Fightschool athlete once again sent the Italian kickboxer into an eight-count as he unleashed knees into the body and head.
With no offense coming in the opposite direction, referee Olivier Coste halted the contest. The victory improved Kehl’s record to 49-15-2.
ONE Championship travels to Singapore next for ONE: EDGE OF GREATNESS on Friday, Nov 22. Catch all the action live on the ONE Super App.
