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Check out these photos from Joshua Pacio vs. Jarred Brooks at ONE 166 in Qatar.
Check out these photos from Joshua Pacio’s title victory over Jarred Brooks at ONE 166 which took place at Lusail Sports Arena in Lusail, Qatar. (Photos courtesy of ONE Championship)
Check out the results from Friday’s ONE Championship: Revolution event in Singapore, which featured an upset in the main event title fight.
In a stunner at Singapore Indoor Stadium, [autotag]Rae Yoon Ok[/autotag] pulled off his third straight upset and took the lightweight title from [autotag]Christian Lee[/autotag] in the ONE Championship: Revolution main event.
Ok took a unanimous decision from the champion, who called the result “bullsh*t” and said he wanted an instant rematch and would challenge the judges’ result with ONE’s board.
There was no change of title in the co-feature when [autotag]Joshua Pacio[/autotag] won his trilogy fight with [autotag]Yosuke Saruta[/autotag] handily.
Check out all the ONE Championship: Revolution MMA results and highlights below.
ONE Championship returns Friday with a pair of title fights atop the MMA portion of the card. Check out the faceoffs for the key fights.
ONE Championship returns Friday with a pair of title fights atop the MMA portion of the card.
[autotag]Christian Lee[/autotag] (15-3), ONE’s 23-year-old lightweight (170 pounds) champion, puts his title on the line against South Korea’s [autotag]Rae Yoon Ok[/autotag] (15-3) in the headliner. Strawweight champ [autotag]Joshua Pacio[/autotag] (19-3) will put his belt up against Japan’s [autotag]Yosuke Saruta[/autotag] (21-9-3).
Lee has six straight wins, including five by stoppage, including title defenses over Timofey Nastyukhin in April and Iuri Lapicus in October 2020. Ok debuted with ONE earlier this year and beat former champ Marat Gafurov, then outworked former UFC and Bellator champ Eddie Alvarez for a unanimous decision in April. Now he has the biggest opportunity of his short ONE tenure against Lee.
In the video above, check out highlights from the ONE Championship: Revolution pre-fight press conference, as well as the key fighter faceoffs.
“ONE Championship: Revolution” takes place at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore. The main card streams on the B/R Live app Friday at 8:30 a.m. ET. Prelims also stream on the app beginning at 6:30 a.m. ET.
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Check out the video highlights from ONE Championship 108, where Reinier de Ridder earned himself a middleweight title shot.
Dutch middleweight contender [autotag]Reinier de Ridder[/autotag] picked up a crucial win at “ONE Championship 108: Warrior’s Code” to earn a shot at reigning champion Aung La N Sang.
De Ridder’s decision victory over Brazilian contender Leandro Ataides in the featured MMA bout of the night was one of the highlights at Istora Senayan as the Dutchman battled past the former Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion and noted knockout artist over three rounds in Jakarta, Indonesia.
His next big test comes against two-division champ N Sang, who holds the middleweight and light heavyweight title, as well as a TKO victory over heavyweight champion Brandon Vera. As tasks go, they don’t get much bigger for “The Dutch Knight.”
Check out the best of the action from his victory, as well as highlights from the other big winners of the night, including a big muay Thai knockout from Australia’s Josh Tonna, a hometown victory for [autotag]Eko Roni Saputra[/autotag], a superb submission finish by [autotag]Iuri Lapicus[/autotag] and the best of the main event, which saw Thailand’s Petchmorakot Petchyindee Academy win the inaugural ONE featherweight muay Thai title.
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Check out the video highlights from ONE Championship 107, where Joshua Pacio wasn’t that thrilled with his performance.
Strawweight champion [autotag]Joshua Pacio[/autotag] got his hand raised this past Friday and left ONE Championship 107 with his title.
But he wasn’t thrilled about how he got the result. Pacio beat former champ Alex Silva with a split decision, then told the crowd at Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines, he wasn’t happy with his performance.
What do you think? Should Pacio be down on himself after the win, which was his third straight title victory and second title defense? You can judge for yourself in the video highlights above.
Plus, you can check out Lito Adiwang’s first-round submission of Pongsiri Mitsatit, Shoko Sato’s submission of Kwon Won Il, and Pieter Buist’s upset of former lightweight champion Eduard Folayang.
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Joshua Pacio defended his title on home soil in Manila, but he wasn’t fully satisfied with his display against former champ Alex Silva.
ONE strawweight champion [autotag]Joshua Pacio[/autotag] edged out former champ [autotag]Alex Silva[/autotag] by split decision, then declared he was “not really impressed” with his performance.
Pacio went back and forth with former Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion Silva in a hard-fought, five-round main event at “ONE Championship 107: Fire & Fury” at Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines. But despite holding his own on the ground with the world-class former grappling ace, he said he feels he can still do better.
“It’s really hard,” he told the crowd after his victory. “I just fought two months ago and I needed to go back immediately to training camp for this fight. It’s the one thing we’ve been working on – our ground game.”
Pacio held the clear striking advantage and connected with a plethora of eye-catching strikes throughout the fight, but Silva’s relentless forward pressure ensured the defending champion was never fully comfortable during the matchup.
While Pacio dominated on the feet, Silva had the clear edge on the ground. But, despite pulling guard and securing takedowns throughout the fight, Silva found himself unable to lock up the submission he needed to pry the championship belt away from the Filipino.
Silva attempted a host of submissions during the bout, most notably a tight-looking arm-triangle choke, but Pacio always seemed to have the answers to whatever grappling offense “Little Rock” threw his way.
But with Silva on the attack on the mat and Pacio pushing forward on the feet, the judges were split on the outcome when the scorecards were gathered at the end of the bout.
The result left Pacio elated, but also slightly disappointed, as he explained after his victory.
“For me, I’m not really impressed with my performance,” he said. “I need to work more on my combinations and, of course, on my grappling skills.”
In the night’s co-main event, Dutch striking specialist [autotag]Pieter Buist[/autotag] scored his eighth successive victory when he defeated former ONE lightweight champion [autotag]Eduard Folayang[/autotag] for the biggest win of his MMA career.
Buist stepped in on short notice to replace Ahmed Mujtaba and produced a superb display of striking, while also highlighting his submission threat on the ground, as he earned the nod from two of the three cageside judges.
Buist made the first big breakthrough of the fight in the first round when connected with a big head kick, then a follow-up punch, midway through the opening round. The towering Dutch striker then stepped in and looked to lock up a tight guillotine choke, but Folayang kept his composure and eventually took his man to the mat, where he threatened with a guillotine of his own. Buist briefly escaped, but Folayang kept the pressure on and forced “The Archangel” onto the back foot for the remainder of the round.
Buist threatened again in Round 2 when he locked up a tight triangle armbar on the former lightweight champion. But, once again, Folayang managed to extricate himself from the predicament and finish up on top, where he landed offense of his own.
It set up a crucial final round and, after a quick show of respect as they hugged in the center of the cage, the battle recommenced. After a few range-finding kicks from both men, Buist connected with a right high kick to the head that briefly had Folayang on wobbly legs. The Dutchman then moved in and looked for another guillotine but, yet again, Folayang escaped. The pair then went toe to toe for the remainder of the fight, with Buist appearing to have the edge in with his range and accuracy.
That superiority in the stand-up, combined with his pursuit of submissions on the ground, was enough to earn the split-decision verdict and put him within striking distance of a shot at reigning ONE lightweight champion Christian Lee.
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Filipino flyweight contender [autotag]Danny Kingad[/autotag] had the fans on their feet with a typically energetic performance, as he overcame a third-round head butt from opponent [autotag]Xie Wei[/autotag] and secured a unanimous decision victory.
Kingad started fast and appeared to have the edge in both speed and technique in the first two rounds as he edged the scrambles on the mat while holding the clear striking advantage on the feet.
But in the third round the Chinese athlete turned up the pressure and threatened with submission attempts. But his improved performance in the final frame was offset by a pair of fouls – a head butt and an illegal knee to the back of Kingad’s head – that twice saw him lose a dominant position.
It cost Wei crucial momentum just when he appeared to be working his way into the fight, and it eventually cost him any chance of the victory, as Kingad’s hand was raised at the end of three well-contested rounds.
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The event also marked the arrival of Team Lakay’s newest star, “The Thunder Kid” [autotag]Lito Adiwang[/autotag], who finished Thailand’s [autotag]Pongsiri Mitsatit[/autotag] with a Kimura to cap a hugely impressive display.
Adiwang came out all guns blazing, dropped Mitsatit and threatened to overwhelm Mitstit with a blistering salvo of punches, but somehow the Thai was able to weather the storm and get the fight back to the feet.
“The Thunder Kid” would not be denied, however, and showed that he had submission skills to match his heavy hands as he locked up a nasty Kimura to force the gritty Mitsatit to tap midway through the opening round.
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Team Lakay’s big night kicked off with a dominant victory from women’s atomweight contender [autotag]Gina Iniong[/autotag], who defeated India’s [autotag]Asha Roka[/autotag] on the preliminary card.
Roka had secured all four of her professional MMA wins inside the opening round, but was outgrappled by ONE muay Thai and kickboxing champion Stamp Fairtex in her last outing.
Iniong clearly paid attention to that matchup, as she abandoned her usual wushu striking in favor of a grapple-first approach that saw her cruise to a unanimous decision win after three dominant rounds.
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ONE Championship 107 results:
MAIN CARD
PRELIMINARY CARD
Stay up to date with MMA Junkie’s live results as Filipino strawweight champion Joshua “The Passion” Pacio puts his title on the line against former champion Alex “Little Rock” Silva in Manila.
The second big event of ONE Championship’s 2020 calendar, “Fire & Fury” sees the Asian promotion return to Manila’s Mall of Asia Arena with a card featuring eight MMA bouts, with six of the eight matchups featuring Filipino athletes.
Headlining the card is a battle for the ONE strawweight title, as local hero and reigning champion [autotag]Joshua Pacio[/autotag] (18-3) puts his title on the line against Brazil’s former champion [autotag]Alex Silva[/autotag] (9-4), while Filipino fan-favorite and former two-time lightweight champion [autotag]Eduard Folayang[/autotag] (22-8) will look to move one step closer to a shot at his old title when he faces Dutch contender [autotag]Pieter Buist[/autotag] (16-4) in the night’s co-main event.
Two former victims of Demetrious Johnson are set for action in separate matchups as [autotag]Danny Kingad[/autotag] (13-2) and [autotag]Tatsumitsu Wada[/autotag] (22-11-2) take on [autotag]Xie Wei[/autotag] (5-2) and [autotag]Ivanildo Delfino[/autotag] (8-0), respectively.
The card also features a pivotal bout in the ONE bantamweight division, as South Korean knockout artist [autotag]Kwon Won Il[/autotag] (8-2) returns to action against former Shooto bantamweight champion [autotag]Shoko Sato[/autotag] (34-16-3), who is riding a five-fight, five-finish win streak and has lost just once since 2015.
“ONE Championship 107: Fire & Fury” live results include:
MAIN CARD (B/R Live, 7:30 a.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY CARD (5 a.m. ET)
The Filipino stars of Team Lakay will take center stage in Manila as ONE Championship returns to the Mall of Asia Arena for “Fire and Fury.”
The ONE Championship cage returns to the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila on Friday, with Filipino champion [autotag]Joshua Pacio[/autotag] (18-3) set for top billing.
The two-time ONE strawweight champion will take on a former champ, Brazil’s Alex Silva (9-4), in the main event of a fight card that is packed with some of the biggest martial arts stars from the region.
The co-main event features Pacio’s teammate and former two-time lightweight champion [autotag]Eduard Folayang[/autotag] (22-8), who takes on dangerous late replacement Pieter Buist (16-4) from the Netherlands, while further main card support comes from another Filipino star, flyweight [autotag]Danny Kingad[/autotag] (13-2), who takes on China’s Xie Wei (5-2).
The trio, along with women’s atomweight contender [autotag]Gina Iniong[/autotag] (8-4), are set for action on home soil as they look to produce another big night for their gym, Team Lakay.
The team, based in Baguio City and run by head coach Mark Sangiao, identifies talented wushu prospects from the city’s University of the Cordilleras and builds their skillsets in preparation for a career in the cage. It’s a successful formula, with the team producing a host of notable champions in recent years, with Pacio (strawweight), Folayang (lightweight), Honorio Banario (featherweight), Geje Eustaquio (flyweight) and Kevin Belingon (bantamweight) all capturing championship gold in ONE Championship, while fellow teammate Stephen Loman currently holds the Brave CF bantamweight title.
With such a strong roster of athletes, Team Lakay always figures prominently whenever ONE brings a fight card to the Philippines, and the success of their fighters on the big stage has led to the collective becoming one of the most well-regarded camps in Asia.
If there was one criticism of Team Lakay’s fighters a couple of years ago, it was the fact that they lacked the grappling acumen to effectively compete on the mat, but over the last 18 months, the team has made great strides, and their top fighters now possess solid scrambling ability, with the likes of Pacio in particular showing a real talent for submissions. Indeed, his modified kimura finish of Pongsiri Mitsatit in July 2018 became known as “The Passion Lock” in his honor.
Now the man known as “The Passion” makes his return to the cage on Friday as he looks to complete the second successful defense of the strawweight title.
Pacio captured the strap with a unanimous decision win over Japan’s Yoshitaka Naito in September 2018, then lost a razor-thin split decision to Naito’s compatriot Yosuke Saruta in January 2019. The Filipino bounced back in the rematch and finished Saruta by knockout three months later to reclaim the title, then cemented his status as the premier strawweight in Asia with an arm-triangle finish of Filipino veteran Rene Catalan last November.
Now Pacio faces former champion Silva, a former Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion who has claimed seven of his eight ONE Championship victories by submission. Four of those wins have come via armbar, and a pair of back-to-back finishes with the technique has propelled him back into title contention once again as he bids to become a two-time champion.
Former lightweight champ Folayang faces a tough road back to the top of the super-competitive ONE lightweight division, but it’s a journey he has successfully completed before. The spectacular striker, known for his spinning back kicks, defeated Japanese legend Shinya Aoki to win the title back in November 2016, then, after losing the belt the following year, reclaimed it in 2018 to become a two-time champion. A loss to an inspired Aoki at ONE’s first event in Japan saw him lose the belt again, and now “Landslide” is looking to build momentum and work his way back to the belt once more.
Ably supported by flyweight contender Kingad and women’s atomweight contender Iniong, Pacio and Folayang will receive the lion’s share of the support on fight night when they return to action in front of their fellow countrymen at the Mall of Asia Arena on Jan. 31.
The latest “ONE Championship 107: Fire & Fury” fight card includes:
MAIN CARD (B/R Live, 7:30 a.m. ET)
PRELIMINARY CARD (5 a.m. ET)
Recap the best knockout finishes from Asian MMA promotion ONE Championship in their end-of-year countdown.
It’s been a spectacular year for Singapore-based promotion ONE Championship. With big-name signings and a packed schedule of events encompassing MMA, kickboxing and Muay Thai, 2019 has been the biggest year in ONE Championship history.
The promotion has served up more than its fair share of spectacular finishes over the course of the year, as the stars of Asian MMA have delivered a plethora of eye-catching knockouts to wow the fans across the region.
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In Part 3 of ONE’s official countdown of their Top 10 knockouts of the year, we round out the list with the top three knockout finishes from the Asian promotion.
The KO that resonated the most with the U.S. MMA audience was undoubtedly [autotag]Timofey Nastyukhin[/autotag]’s first-round demolition of former UFC and Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez at “ONE: A New Era” in Tokyo, Japan. The Russian lightweight had a well-earned reputation as a devastating first-round finisher, but his resumé nonetheless flew under the radar of many fans heading into his bout with the debuting Alvarez on Mar. 31.
But those fans who weren’t aware of Nastyukhin’s nasty KO power were certainly aware of it by the end of the contest, as the power-punching Russian dismantled Alvarez inside a round to claim a huge victory and eliminate the American from the ONE lightweight grand prix at the quarterfinal stage.
If Nastyukhin’s stoppage of Alvarez was a heavy-handed beatdown, the No. 2 KO on the list was a one-shot special from one of the organization’s best athletes.
Australia’s [autotag]Martin Nguyen[/autotag] became ONE’s first “champ champ” in 2018, but after relinquishing the lightweight belt later that same year due to injury, “The Situ-Asian” headed into 2019 focused on defending his featherweight title. And he successfully held on to his belt throughout the year with a pair of stoppage victories, with his April finish of former featherweight champion Narantungalag Jadambaa at “ONE: Roots of Honor” featuring at No. 2 on the list.
Nguyen systematically broke down Jadambaa with his slick striking and deft footwork as he picked apart the Mongolian. Then, after hurting the former champion with a well-placed low calf kick, Nguyen saw his moment and launched into a spectacular flying knee that sent his man crashing to the canvas.
But Nguyen’s finish wasn’t quite enough to earn the top spot on the list, as Filipino strawweight star [autotag]Joshua Pacio[/autotag] claimed the Knockout of the Year award with his fourth-round roundhouse knee finish of ONE strawweight champ Yosuke Saruta at “ONE: Roots of Honor” in Manila.
“The Passion” had captured the strawweight title in September 2018, but lost the belt to Saruta after a razor-thin split-decision verdict went the Japanese fighter’s way at “ONE: Eternal Glory” in January. A rematch was booked for April, and a packed Mall of Asia Arena crowd roared their support for Pacio as he battled into the championship round with Saruta once again.
But, just as people began to wonder how the fight might be scored, Pacio ended all doubt about the outcome as he connected with a roundhouse knee, which landed flush on Saruta’s temple, sending the defending champion face-first into the canvas.
It was a stunning KO as Pacio registered the best ONE Championship knockout of the year and reclaimed the ONE strawweight title amid wild scenes in Manila.
Watch the top three ONE Championship finishes of 2019 via the video player above, or via YouTube here.
ONE Championship’s Knockouts of the Year 2019 – in full:
The 125-pound title will be on the line when ONE Championship returns to its regular stomping grounds in the Philippines in January.
The 125-pound title will be on the line when ONE Championship returns to its regular stomping grounds in the Philippines in January.
“ONE Championship 107: Fire & Fury” is set for Jan. 31 at Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, the promotion announced Thursday. The card will stream on the B/R Live app.
In the headliner, strawweight (125 pounds for ONE) champion [autotag]Joshua Pacio[/autotag] (18-3) will defend his title in front of his home fans against former champion [autotag]Alex Silva[/autotag] (9-4). And former lightweight champion [autotag]Eduard Folayang[/autotag] (22-8) gets a home fight when he takes on [autotag]Ahmed Mujtaba[/autotag] (8-2).
The 23-year-old Pacio won the title in September 2018 with a unanimous decision over Yoshitaka Naito. But in his first defense four months later, he lost a split call to Yosuke Saruta and surrendered the belt.
He got a rematch three months later, though, and took Saruta out with a fourth-round knockout. Then, just a month ago, he defended the title with a second-round submission of Rene Catalan in Manila.
Silva beat Naito to win the title in December 2017, but lost it to him in a split decision in May 2018. He then dropped a decision to Saruta for the first consecutive losses of his career, and after Naito had lost the title to Pacio, Silva fought him in a rematch and lost a unanimous decision in May.
But he’s been on the upswing the past few months and has back-to-back second-round armbar wins over STefer Rahardian and Xuewen Peng to cement himself back into the title picture. Eight of the Brazilian’s nine career wins have come by submission.
The ONE Championship 107 lineup includes:
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