Tag: Kimihiro Eto

Tears of joy and defeat: Go behind the scenes at ‘ONE Championship 109: King of the Jungle’

Go behind the scenes for instant reaction from the fighters after their respective fights at “ONE Championship 109: King of the Jungle” in Singapore.

The most recent ONE Championship show marked the first instance of a major MMA organization taking significant steps to combat the spread of the coronavirus, as the promotion placed “ONE Championship 109: King of the Jungle” behind closed doors on Friday, Feb. 28.

The event played out to a virtually empty arena at Singapore Indoor Stadium, as the fighters battled it out inside the ONE Championship circle while the fans stayed in their homes, and Asia began the routine we all now recognize as “self-isolation” and “social distancing.”

The night’s main event featured a rematch for the ONE atomweight women’s kickboxing title, as America’s [autotag]Janet Todd[/autotag] avenged her prior loss to Thailand’s [autotag]Stamp Fairtex[/autotag] to capture her first ONE title after another highly-competitive battle.

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It was a disappointing night for Singapore’s own [autotag]Amir Khan[/autotag] (12-7), who was submitted by rising Japanese prospect [autotag]Kimihiro Eto[/autotag] (17-5), while Asian MMA legend [autotag]Yoshihiro Akiyama[/autotag] (15-7) defied his 44 years to knock out [autotag]Sherif Mohamed[/autotag] (9-6) in the first round of their welterweight bout.

There was also an impressive win for Florida’s [autotag]Troy Worthen[/autotag] (7-0), who extended his unbeaten record with a dominant victory over New Zealand’s [autotag]Mark Abelardo[/autotag] (19-7).

ONE’s cameras were on hand to capture the emotion of the fighters after their respective bouts as they headed back to the locker room on one of the more unusual nights of their fighting careers. Check out their reactions, featuring tears of joy and defeat, via the video above.

And if you’ve got some extra time to kill, be sure to stick around at the end of the behind-the-scenes video, as ONE have included the full fight from Todd’s title bout with Fairtex.

ONE Championship 109 free fight: Kimihiro Eto chokes out Amir Khan in Singapore

Recap the action in full as Japanese prospect Kimihiro Eto stunned longtime lightweight contender Amir Khan in Singapore.

Hopes were high for one of Singapore’s finest martial artists at “ONE Championship 109: King of the Jungle,” but [autotag]Amir Khan[/autotag]’s return to action on home soil didn’t go his way.

Khan (12-7) faced Japanese ONE Warrior Series graduate [autotag]Kimihiro Eto[/autotag] in the top-billed MMA bout at Singapore Indoor Stadium on Feb. 28. The event was held behind closed doors due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis in the region, but the lack of a paying crowd didn’t dampen Eto’s enthusiasm as he took the fight to Khan and imposed his grappling game to secure a quickfire finish.

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Khan initially looked to establish his striking rhythm, but Eto (17-5-2) closed the distance and took the Singaporean knockout artist down to the mat.

Once there, the Japanese prospect pinned Khan against the cage fence and locked in a rear-naked choke that sent his man into unconsciousness inside the opening two minutes of the fight.

Recap the action in full from Singapore in the video above.

ONE Championship 109 video highlights: Get your ‘Sexy’ on

ONE Championship 109 was contested behind close doors due to coronavirus concerns, but that’s not the reason to check out these highlights.

ONE Championship 109 proved an interesting card for the Asian promotion, which elected to contest the card behind close doors due to the spreading coronavirus epidemic. But that’s not the reason to check out these highlights.

After all, for many, sport is about taking one’s mind off the rigors of the world and simply being entertained. With that in mind, ONE brings you “Sexyama.”

This weekend’s ONE Championship 109 event took place at Singapore Indoor Stadium. In the featured MMA bout of the night, Japan’s [autotag]Kimihiro Eto[/autotag] (17-5) picked up an impressive submission win over [autotag]Amir Khan[/autotag] (12-7). But for an international audience, the promotional debut of [autotag]Yoshihiro Akiyama[/autotag] (15-7) was the real story, especially when the 44-year-old master of sexy delivered with a first-round knockout of Egypt’s [autotag]Sherif Mohamed[/autotag] (9-6).

Check out highlights of all the night’s top bouts, including a women’s kickboxing world title fight, in the video above.

ONE Championship 109 results: Yoshihiro Akiyama rolls back the years to flatten Sherif Mohamed

Asian MMA icon Yoshihiro Akiyama produced a stunning one-punch knockout to stun Sherif Mohamed at “ONE Championship 109: King of the Jungle” in Singapore.

Asian MMA legend [autotag]Yoshihiro Akiyama[/autotag] turned the tables on heavy-handed [autotag]Sherif Mohamed[/autotag] to score a stunning first-round knockout and show that at 44, he still possesses the sort of punching power that can finish a fight in an instant.

Akiyama (15-7) had to weather an early storm against Mohamed (9-6) when the Egyptian came flying out of his corner throwing bombs from the opening bell and tagged the Japanese-Korean star in the opening exchanges of their bout at “ONE Championship 109: King of the Jungle.”

Mohamed had clearly arrived in Singapore looking to overwhelm the older man, and kept the pressure on as he chased the backpedaling Akiyama around the cage, connecting with heavy punches as he dominated the first 90 seconds of the fight.

But Akiyama eventually found his feet and briefly halted Mohamed’s charge with a thumping leg kick that clearly affected his opponent. He then narrowly missed with a spectacular spinning heel kick to the head as the veteran showed his physical gifts were still very much at his disposal.

Then, with Mohamed launching into another charge, “Sexyama” struck. A perfectly-timed short left hand connected flush on the onrushing Mohamed’s chin, sending the former EFC champion crumbling down to the canvas. Akiyama moved in to land a finishing shot to his downed foe, and the fight was swiftly stopped to give the former UFC veteran a stunning knockout win – his first victory since his win over Amir Sadollah at UFC Fight Night 52 in Saitama in September 2014.

After his victory, Akiyama told ONE co-commentator Mitch Chilson, “This is the start of my martial arts journey,” before asking for the chance to fight in South Korea.

“I want a chance, if possible, in Korea,” he said.

Eto stuns Singapore’s Khan with quickfire submission

The top-billed MMA fight on the card saw Singaporean lightweight contender [autotag]Amir Khan[/autotag] submitted in swift fashion by Japanese grappler [autotag]Kimihiro Eto[/autotag] as the ONE Warrior Series graduate announced himself as a legitimate threat to the lightweight division’s best.

Khan (12-7) looked to settle into his striking early, but was quickly taken to the canvas by Eto (17-5-2), who pinned his man against the fence, then locked up a tight rear-naked choke that eventually put Khan to sleep inside the opening two minutes of the matchup.

Teo surges back into title contention at strawweight

It may have been a disappointing night for Singapore’s Khan, but it was a huge night for his compatriot as former women’s strawweight title challenger [autotag]Tiffany Teo[/autotag] stopped surging Japanese judoka [autotag]Ayaka Miura[/autotag] to position herself for a potential title rematch with the woman who beat her to win the inaugural title, China’s Xiong Jing Nan.

Xiong was an interested spectator at cageside as Teo (9-1) used her striking skills to nullify Miura’s grappling attack before eventually finishing an exhausted “Zombie” with body shots on the ground with 15 seconds remaining in the fight.

Miura (10-3) had actually started well, and appeared to be dominating the action on the mat, but Teo managed to escape before settling into her striking rhythm to pepper the Japanese contender with a constant jab and chopping leg kicks en route to a last-gasp stoppage victory.

“ONE Championship 109: King of the Jungle” official MMA results:

  • Kimihiro Eto def. Amir Khan via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 1:39
  • Yoshihiro Akiyama def. Sherif Mohamed via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 3:04
  • Tiffany Teo def. Ayaka Miura via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 4:45

PRELIMINARY CARD

  • [autotag]Denice Zamboanga[/autotag] def. [autotag]Mei Yamaguchi[/autotag] via unanimous decision
  • [autotag]Troy Worthen[/autotag] def. [autotag]Mark Abelardo[/autotag] via unanimous decision
  • [autotag]Honorio Banario[/autotag] def. [autotag]Shannon Wiratchai[/autotag] via split decision
  • [autotag]Ritu Phogat[/autotag] def. [autotag]Wu Chiao Chen[/autotag] via unanimous decision
  • [autotag]Murad Ramazanov[/autotag] def. [autotag]Myung Ho Bae[/autotag] via TKO (ground strikes) – Round 1, 4:53
  • [autotag]Jeff Chan[/autotag] def. [autotag]Radeem Rahman[/autotag] via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:00

Yoshihiro Akiyama returns at ONE Championship 109 in February

Fan favorite Japanese fighter Yoshihiro Akiyama will turn 45 in July, but he’s not done yet.

Fan favorite Japanese fighter [autotag]Yoshihiro Akiyama[/autotag] will turn 45 in July, but he’s not done yet.

Akiyama (14-7) will return next month in a middleweight bout against [autotag]Sherif Mohamed[/autotag] (9-5) at “ONE Championship 109: King of the Jungle,” the promotion announced today. Akiyama, known as “Sexyama” to his legion of fans, arguably is the highest profile MMA fighter on a card that is topped with a trio of fights in ONE’s Super Series.

ONE Championship 109 takes place Feb. 28 at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore. The card streams on the B/R Live app.

After a seven-fight run in the UFC in which he went just 2-5, but won three straight “Fight of the Night” bonuses, Akiyama stepped away from the sport after a split decision loss to Alberto Mina in late 2015. But this past June, he returned under the ONE banner to fight for the first time in nearly four years. His comeback ended in a decision loss to Agilan Thani in China, giving him six losses in his past seven fights.

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Egypt’s Mohamed will be looking for his first win under the ONE banner. He has dropped three of his past four fights over a three-year stretch, and all three of those setbacks have been in ONE fights. After a win outside the promotion in August 2017, he came back to ONE on a week’s notice and lost to a decision to Thani. Then this past June, he was stopped by Rong Fan with a second-round TKO for his second straight loss.

Other key MMA fights on the card include a fight between former welterweight title challenger [autotag]Amir Khan[/autotag] (12-6) and [autotag]Kimihiro Eto[/autotag] (16-5-2), and a women’s strawweight bout between two-time title challenger [autotag]Mei Yamaguchi[/autotag] (21-11-1) and [autotag]Meng Bo[/autotag] (14-5).

The ONE Championship 109 lineup includes:

MAIN CARD (B/R Live app)

  • Kimihiro Eto vs. Amir Khan
  • Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Sherif Mohamed
  • Meng Bo vs. Mei Yamaguchi

PRELIMINARY CARD (B/R Live app)

  • [autotag]Mark Abelardo[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Troy Worthen[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Honorio Banario[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Shannon Wiratchai[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Ayaka Miura[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Tiffany Teo[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Wu Chiao Chen[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Ritu Phogat[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Hexi Getu[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Adrian Mattheis[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Jeff Chan[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Radeem Rahman[/autotag]

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