Top 3 Highlights Of ONE: MASTERS OF FATE
ONE Championship returned to the Mall Of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines for the final time this year on Friday, 8 November with ONE: MASTERS OF FATE.
Fans reveled in a night of phenomenal finishes, thrilling battles, and even an epic World Title showdown between the nation’s best strawweight martial artists.
Before we look ahead towards next week’s show in China, we look back at three of the best highlights from this star-studded event in the Philippine capital.
Roshan Mainam and Kim Kyu Sung Earn Back-To-Back Wins
The Evolve Fight Team fielded two of its best young martial artists and both delivered big in the prelims.
Roshan Mainam, the Indian wrestling sensation, made a huge statement by submitting Cambodian rival Khon Sichan in round one of his promotional debut.
The wrestling specialist had Sichan down on the canvas in the opening minute after a double-leg takedown. Mainam passed to side control, and then got into mount and unloaded a series of elbows.
The 23-year-old switched to a submission and got the tap by Americana at the 3:22 mark of the first round.
Next, Kim Kyu Sung took things up a notch in his flyweight contest against Akihiro “Superjap” Fujisawa.
The South Korean star used his height advantage to throw punches from the outside, which forced “Superjap” to step forward and engage. When he did, Kim caught his Japanese adversary with a picture-perfect uppercut to the jaw.
Fujisawa dropped to the canvas and the contest was over in just 68 seconds, giving Kim his first win in ONE.
Geje Eustaquio Turns Things Around With Spinning KO
Geje “Gravity” Eustaquio vowed to redeem himself for his loss against Finnish grappler Toni “Dynamite” Tauru in December 2016.
The Team Lakay representative did exactly that, as he got back into the winner’s circle by knocking out “Dynamite” in the third round.
Unlike their last encounter, Eustaquio was more prepared for Tauru’s grappling, and in round one, he defended smartly against his rival on the ground.
In the second frame, their bout evolved to a stand-up battle, and the Filipino hero found a home for his straight punches and low leg kicks.
Tauru attempted a jump kick of his own, but “Gravity” caught it and brought him crashing down to the canvas with a sweep.
The Finn needed to look for the decisive finish and he began to push the pace in the third round. Just as he moved forward to strike, Eustaquio unleashed a spinning back kick to Tauru’s midsection.
Seeing the damage done, referee Kemp Cheng stopped the contest at 2:11 mark of round three.
Stamp Fairtex Dominates Bi Nguyen In Mixed Martial Arts Battle
Stamp Fairtex took another big step towards her goal of becoming a three-sport World Champion.
The Thai striker looked sublime in her unanimous decision win over Vietnamese-American Bi “Killer Bee” Nguyen.
As the early aggressor, Nguyen threw strikes and tried to keep the pressure on Stamp, but her pressure had little effect.
Stamp rarely looked in danger. The Rayong native did most of her work early with bruising knees when she got Nguyen locked in the clinch.
The 21-year-old began to control both the range and tempo as “Killer Bee” struggled to find a striking rhythm.
Every time Nguyen stepped forward to grapple, the ONE Super Series Kickboxing and Muay Thai Atomweight World Champion defended well and answered with more knees in the clinch.
Nguyen again attempted to close the distance in the third round, but Stamp’s defense was on point, and she returned fire with crisp punches and roundhouse kicks just as the action came to an end.
After 15-minutes of exciting action from both women, all three judges handed Stamp the unanimous decision win.
Read More From ONE Championship:
ONE: MASTERS OF FATE – Live Results And Highlights For Catalan Vs. Pacio
Explosive Knockouts Light Up ONE: MASTERS OF FATE Prelims
Two World Title Matches Announced For ONE: MARK OF GREATNESS
