After a week away, the world’s largest martial arts organization returned to Lumpinee Boxing Stadium with ONE Friday Fights 38 on October 27.
The scintillating lineup showcased 11 MMA and Muay Thai fights and delivered excitement from top to bottom. Some of the event series’ established stars clashed with rising talent as they aimed to win a six-figure contract with the organization.
In case you missed any of the action, here’s what unfolded live in Asia primetime in Bangkok, Thailand.
Musaev Pulverizes Otop To Score First-Round KO
When two of Thailand’s top Muay Thai gyms send their combatants to battle each other in Lumpinee Stadium, you get exactly what unfolded in Friday’s main event.
Team Mehdi Zatout’s Ilyas Musaev took on Sor Sommai’s Otop Or Kwanmuang in bantamweight Muay Thai action, and the two men needed just less than a full round to settle the duel.
Otop – the lankier, rangier fighter – wanted to keep the matchup on the outside, but Musaev – the smaller of the two, but with no less heart – advanced right past his Thai foe’s offensive and blasted him with a spinning elbow that immediately drew both blood and an eight-count, which Otop answered.
Moments later, though, Musaev connected with an overhand right that launched his rival into the ring’s corner post, forcing the referee to stop the fight at 2:59 of round one.
The 21-year-old Russian’s victory was only the tenth of his professional career, meaning that he still has a long and exciting road ahead of him in ONE.
Chorfah Earns Second Straight Victory Against Pompet
After scoring a win in his last outing at ONE Friday Fights 31, Chorfah Tor Sangtiennoi successfully kicked off a run by overcoming Pompet PK Saenchai in their 132-pound catchweight Muay Thai battle.
The Thai strikers traded blows in a close first round before the action opened up in the second and third frames.
Chorfah set the tone by dropping Pompet at the start of round two, and he hunted for the finish from there. But Pompet’s durability kept him in the fight, and he soon turned it on its head by putting his compatriot on the ropes.
The Sangtiennoi Gym man returned the favor in the final round, then both men threw hell for leather, knowing the win was up for grabs.
In the end, though, Chorfah’s handiwork saw him take home the unanimous decision win, and he moved his slate to an incredible 103-45.
Singdomthong Bests Irvine By Decision In Striking Firefight
Both Stephen Irvine and Singdomthong Nokjeanladkrabang entered their 127-pound catchweight Muay Thai showdown at 2-0 in ONE Friday Fights, and they put on quite a show as they tried to end one another’s run.
Singdomthong came out guns blazing to score a pair of knockdowns with his heavy hands in the first frame.
“El Matador” came roaring back in the second and third rounds, however, landing punishing body blows while marching forward into the pocket.
Ultimately, though, Singdomthong’s double drop of Irvine in the opening stanza proved enough for him to walk away with the majority decision win.
The 26-year-old improved his career record to 79-18, and he remains undefeated in ONE.
Puengluang Smokes Sonrak In Second Round
Just 16 seconds into round two of their flyweight Muay Thai contest, Puengluang Baanramba hit Sonrak Fairtex with a show-stopping right hand to continue carving his path through the stacked division.
Leading up to that moment, the Baanramba battler kept Sonrak on the outside with zinging left and right punches.
Sonrak, his head hinging backward with every hit, tried to shuffle his way through the attacks, but he couldn’t land anything significant on his Thai foe.
So, the Myanmar man decided to keep his distance and try to outwork Puengluang. But that move proved fatal for him, as the Fairtex Training Center star came down the pipe with a thunderous straight right punch.
The one-hitter quitter pushed Puengluang to 4-0 in ONE and nudged his impressive Muay Thai record to 62-5 overall.
Petgarfield Edges Out Numpanga In Three-Round Classic
Lumpinee Stadium has seen some incredible fights over the years, and Petgarfield Jitmuangnon’s 140-pound catchweight Muay Thai war with Numpangna Eaglemuaythai will add to that fabled list.
The Thai pairing had one plan when entering the iconic venue’s ring – stand toe-to-toe and put on a show. Neither man backed down over the course of the three rounds, and both gave as good as they got.
Petgarfield damaged Numpangna early on, but the latter followed up with slicing elbows and head kicks midway through the battle.
It looked to be on a knife edge going into the final stanza, but Petgarfield’s relentless display on the front foot throughout the affair earned him the nod from all three judges when the battle came to an end.
The 21-year-old scored the 57th victory of his career with the win.
Yodsingdam Demolishes Chalawan To Score First-Round KO
In strawweight Muay Thai action, 16-year-old prodigy Yodsingdam Keatkhamtorn made a spectacular promotional debut against Chalawan Ngorbangkapi.
The teen phenom employed an aggressive boxing approach early and often and consistently found a home for his thunderous right hand to score three straight knockdowns – the third of which came at 1:45 of the opening stanza and brought an end to the bout.
With the highlight-reel KO victory, Yodsingdam pushed his career slate to 23-3 and announced himself as a force in ONE’s strawweight Muay Thai division.
Tupiev Nabs Decision In Three-Round Thriller With Yodphupa
A defiant Mavlud Tupiev went three hard rounds with much-touted Thai Yodphupa Wimanair and emerged from the other side with a majority decision win.
The bantamweight Muay Thai battle had all the makings of an instant classic – wild back-and-forth exchanges, blitzes from within the pocket, and even a knockdown when Tupiev slammed his right fist into Yodphupa’s chin in the second frame.
The 19-year-old striker answered the count, however, and continued to make a fight out of it. He rallied hard in the later stages, which left the judges with a difficult decision at the end.
Of the three at ringside, two favored Tupiev, and he improved his all-striking record to 44-8.
Kitano Survives Kutukcu’s Late Flurry To Earn Decision Win
Katsuki Kitano and Halil Kutukcu put it all on the line in their featherweight Muay Thai showing, but the former took home the unanimous decision win in the end.
Kitano set the pace from the get-go by landing better strikes, and he scored a takedown on his Dutch-Turkish adversary in the latter stages of the first round.
The Japanese striker followed up with more of the same in the second frame, timing his strikes perfectly and connecting with clean body kicks.
However, the third frame was all Kutukcu. The 31-year-old bit down on his gumshield and forced Kitano onto the back foot. But his charge was too little too late, and Kitano’s body of work earned him the nod from all three judges after the final bell.
His debut win in ONE moved his record to a respectable 25-10 overall.
Blasi Scores Epic Third-Round Stoppage Against Nonthakit
Teenage sensation Lenny Blasi picked up the biggest victory of his career in an electrifying bantamweight Muay Thai war with local hero Nonthakit Tor Morsri.
The 19-year-old came out aggressively in the first round but found himself on the receiving end of some heavy counters from his Thai foe.
Blasi stormed back in the second and third stanzas, though, and landed massive elbows and punches that cut Nonthakit up.
That dominance helped the Italian star find the finish 55 seconds into the final frame. He threw heavy hands to work his rival into the corner, and one last combination of punches and knees put Nonthakit down and out for good.
His first win in ONE improved Blasi’s career record to 26-5.
Abelardo Overcomes Early Scare To Stop Shahruramazanov
Raw emotion poured out of Mark “Tyson” Abelardo as he dropped to his knees to celebrate a come-from-behind victory in his 146.8-pound catchweight MMA bout with Georgy “Tiger” Shahruramazanov.
The Kiwi-Filipino veteran had to overcome nearly nine minutes under the gorilla-like grip of Shahruramazanov to get the win, though.
In almost mirror instances in rounds one and two, the Russian used a spinning back kick to floor the 32-year-old before bull-rushing him to the ground to continue the assault.
But after that maneuver in the second frame, Abelardo returned to his feet and sent a left hook careening into Shahruramazanov’s jawline. He fell, and the Fairtex Training Center athlete pounced with ground-and-pound to score the TKO finish at 4:43 of the frame.
The performance earned Abelardo his 22nd career win in MMA.
Biagtan Bodies Bhardwaj In One-Round Destruction
Fritz Biagtan got ONE Friday Fights 38 underway in emphatic fashion by demolishing Deepak Bhardwaj inside the first frame of their flyweight MMA encounter.
“Kid Tornado” accelerated towards his Indian foe after the opening bell rang and pressured him with precise strikes and dominant clinch work.
He defended well when Bhardwaj shot in for a takedown, and the finish was set up from there.
Biagtan stayed on his feet and managed to land a beautiful knee to the Bali MMA man’s sternum. Bhardwaj backed up, and the Filipino brawler followed up with a destructive left hand that forced the referee to intervene at 1:13 of round one.
The win was Biagtan’s second finish in a row in ONE, and his overall slate moved to 6-1.
