Tag: Lito Adiwang

ONE Championship 126: Shinya Aoki reaches submission milestone, finishes James Nakashima

Japanese MMA icon Shinya Aoki notched his 30th career submission by defeating James Nakashima at ONE Championship 126.

Japanese MMA icon [autotag]Shinya Aoki[/autotag] reached a career milestone as the former ONE lightweight champion notched the 30th submission win of his career at “ONE Championship 126: Unbreakable” in Singapore.

Matched against former LFA welterweight champion [autotag]James Nakashima[/autotag], Aoki (46-9) took charge of the bout early in the first round as, after some clinch work against the cage, “Tobikan Judan” leapt onto Nakashima’s (12-2) back before locking up a body triangle and following up with a rear-naked choke to claim the win at the 2:42 mark.

Aoki’s win saw him become ONE Championship’s all-time leader in submission finishes with eight, and extended his remarkable tally of overall submission finishes to 30. It also extended his winning streak as he continued his return to form following his title loss to Christian Lee in May 2019 with his third consecutive victory.

While one former champion shined in Singapore, it proved to be a nightmare for another ex-champ, as former welterweight titleholder [autotag]Zebaztian Kadestam[/autotag] was quickly taken down and submitted by rising Russian contender [autotag]Gadzhimurad Abdulaev[/autotag].

Abdulaev (6-0) secured an early takedown and immediately took the Swedish fighter’s back, locking in his position with a body triangle. Kadestam (12-6) attempted to fight the hands as Abdulaev worked for a rear-naked choke but, despite being prevented from lacing his arm under the former champion’s chin, Abdulaev simply switched to a face crank and applied the pressure to force the tap and secure an eye-catching first-round finish.

Also on the card, women’s atomweight contender [autotag]Meng Bo[/autotag] (17-5) continued her run toward a title shot with a unanimous decision over Brazil’s [autotag]Samara Santos[/autotag] (11-8-1), while Filipino striker [autotag]Lito Adiwang[/autotag] scored a one-punch knockout of Japan’s [autotag]Namiki Kawahara[/autotag] to bounce back into the win column.

Team Lakay’s Adiwang (12-3), who earned his spot on the ONE roster via the promotion’s talent-finding ONE Warrior Series, saw his two-fight win streak come to an end after losing a split decision to Hiroshi Minowa in November 2020. But “The Thunder Kid” returned to action in style and decked Kawahara (7-4-2) with a perfectly timed left hand in the second round to return to winning ways in fine style.

ONE Championship 126 results include:

  • Shinya Aoki def. James Nakashima via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:42
  • Gadzhimurad Abdulaev def. Zebaztian Kadestam via submission (face crank) – Round 1, 2:08
  • Meng Bo def. Samara Santos via unanimous decision
  • Lito Adiwang def. Namiki Kawahara via knockout (punch) – Round 2, 2:02

ONE Championship 120 results, video highlights: John Lineker takes out Kevin Belingon

In his first fight in a year, former UFC standout John Lineker put himself in the ONE Championship title picture with a second-round TKO.

In his first fight in a year, former UFC standout [autotag]John Lineker[/autotag] put himself in the ONE Championship title picture with a second-round TKO.

Lineker (33-9) took out former ONE bantamweight champion [autotag]Kevin Belingon[/autotag] (20-8) with a blistering stoppage worthy of his “Hands of Stone” nickname. Lineker drilled Belingon with a stiff left jab, then came behind it with a right uppercut that put Belingon on the canvas against the fence.

With Belingon covering up, Lineker delivered several quick left hands that forced the referee to jump in for a TKO at the 1:16 mark of the second round. The fight was the ONE Championship 120 main event at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore. The bout took place Oct. 30, but aired on a tape-delay basis Friday.

The win was Lineker’s second straight after moving to ONE from the UFC in 2019 after a loss to Cory Sandhagen. Lineker was in the UFC for 16 fights and went 12-4 as a flyweight and bantamweight. His career there was marked with several instances of weight misses in both divisions.

But as a featherweight with ONE, he now has the stoppage of a former champion to go with his promotional debut – a decision over Muin Gafurov in October 2019.

Belingon dropped his third straight fight. It was his first bout after three straight fights against Bibiano Fernandes. In November 2018, he beat Fernandes with a split decision to win the bantamweight title. But he lost the belt to him in March 2019 when he was disqualified for illegal elbows. When they rematched in October 2019, Fernandes submitted him to retain the belt.

Check out highlights from the main event and co-main event above.

ONE Championship 120 results included:

  • John Lineker def. Kevin Belingon via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 1:16
  • [autotag]Geje Eustaquio[/autotag] def. [autotag]Min Jong Song[/autotag] via unanimous decision
  • [autotag]Murad Ramazanov[/autotag] def. [autotag]Hiroyuki Tetsuka[/autotag] via unanimous decision
  • [autotag]Fan Rong[/autotag] def. [autotag]Yuri Samoes[/autotag] via unanimous decision
  • [autotag]Hiroshi Minowa[/autotag] def. [autotag]Lito Adiwang[/autotag] via split decision

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ONE Championship 107 results: Joshua Pacio not impressed after split-decision win

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.”

Buist bursts into title contention

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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Kingad wins on the cards

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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Adiwang delivers breakout performance

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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Iniong turns to grappling to claim victory

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

  • Champion Joshua Pacio def. Alex Silva via split decision – for strawweight title
  • Pieter Buist def. Eduard Folayang via split decision
  • Danny Kingad def. Xie Wei via unanimous decision
  • [autotag]Shoko Sato[/autotag] def. [autotag]Kwon Won Il[/autotag] via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:05

PRELIMINARY CARD

  • [autotag]Tatsumitsu Wada[/autotag] def.[autotag] Ivanildo Delfino[/autotag] via unanimous decision
  • Lito Adiwang def. Pongsiri Mitsatit via submission (Kimura) – Round 1, 3:02
  • Gina Iniong def. Asha Roka via unanimous decision
  • [autotag]Jenny Huang[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jomary Torres[/autotag] declared no contest (accidental groin strike) – Round 1

‘ONE Championship 107: Fire & Fury’ live results

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)

  • Champion Joshua Pacio vs. Alex Silva – for strawweight title
  • Pieter Buist vs. Eduard Folayang
  • Danny Kingad vs. Xie Wei
  • Kwon Won Il vs. Shoko Sato

PRELIMINARY CARD (5 a.m. ET)

  • Ivanildo Delfino vs. Tatsumitsu Wada
  • [autotag]Lito Adiwang[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Pongsiri Mitsatit[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Gina Iniong[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Asha Roka[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Jenny Huang[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jomary Torres[/autotag]

Joshua Pacio defends 125-pound title vs. Alex Silva in ONE Championship 107 main event

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:

  • Joshua Pacio vs. Alex Silva – for strawweight title
  • Eduard Folayang vs. Ahmed Mujtaba
  • [autotag]Danny Kingad[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Wei Xie[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Won Il Kwon[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Shoko Sato[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Lito Adiwang[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Pongsiri Mitsatit[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Gina Iniong[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Asha Roka[/autotag]
  • [autotag]Jenny Huang[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Jomary Torres[/autotag]

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