AGILAN Thani’s enormous victory over Japanese-Korean mixed martial arts icon Yoshihiro “Sexy Yama” Akiyama didn’t go unnoticed by his fellow ONE Championship athletes from Malaysia.
Monarchy MMA teammate Keanu Subba shared his delight on Thani’s incredible performance throughout the three-round co-main event clash at ONE: LEGENDARY QUEST on Saturday, 15 June in Shanghai, China.
“He was sharp when he was more patient, and relaxed throughout the contest. But when he was a brawler, he just wanted to brawl,” the featherweight sensation pointed out.
“During the entire fight, he showcased his improvements in the striking department. He’s been working with Coach Conrado Furlan, and it’s paid off.”
The welterweight phenom from Sentul dominated the opening stanza with his effective striking. Despite Akiyama threatening with a couple of surprises, Thani remained collected and countered with various tricks from his grappling arsenal.
Akiyama started to tire midway through the second round. However, the 43-year-old sprung into life towards the final minute of the frame with huge combinations, which connected on the Malaysian star.
That spell of dominance left the “Alligator” hungrier for success, and he impressively escaped the onslaught by taking the Japanese-Korean legend to the canvas.
“What impressed me the most is his will to dig deep in that latter part of the second round,” Subba added.
“He looked in trouble, but he escaped that. It just shows you how much he wanted to win. I was also really impressed with his southpaw stance.”
Thani’s performance was enough to secure him a unanimous decision win after three rounds of back and forth action.
“Alligator” dazzled from start to finish, and Jihin “Shadow Cat” Radzuan – who is preparing for her return at ONE: MASTERS OF DESTINY in Kuala Lumpur on Friday, 12 July – echoed a similar sentiment.
She believed that Thani’s forward pressure and boxing left Akiyama with no chance.
“He did very well when pressuring his opponent. When Agilan charged in, ‘Sexy Yama’ couldn’t do anything. Well, he did counter, but it didn’t trouble Agilan,” the 20-year-old Johorean shared.
“It could have gone both ways, but his game plan was good. I’m happy that he scored a comeback win.”
Another compatriot who was delighted by the win was none other than Ann “Athena” Osman.
Osman, a Malaysian women’s mixed martial arts pioneer, was thrilled to see Thani bounce back after several months on the sidelines recovering from injury.
“It was an awesome performance,” she said. “He looked so different than before – calmer, stronger, and just zen. He executed the game plan to the tee – kudos to his coaches and team, too. Congratulations, Agi!”
