Tag: Robin Catalan

ONE Championship 128: Alyona Rassohyna stuns Stamp Fairtex with last-gasp submission

Stamp Fairtex looked to be on her way to a hard-fought decision win against Ukrainian debutant Alyona Rassohyna, but a late guillotine choke forced the Thai starlet to tap with just eight seconds remaining as she suffered her first defeat in MMA. …

[autotag]Stamp Fairtex[/autotag] looked to be on her way to a hard-fought decision win against Ukrainian debutant [autotag]Alyona Rassohyna[/autotag], but a late guillotine choke forced the Thai starlet to tap with just eight seconds remaining as she suffered her first defeat in MMA.

Former ONE atomweight kickboxing and muay Thai champion Fairtex (5-1) faced submission specialist Rassohyna (13-4) in the main event of “ONE Championship 128: Unbreakable III” at Singapore Indoor Stadium, and over the course of their three-round battle showed her evolution as an MMA fighter as she happily scrambled back and forth on the mats with her more seasoned opponent.

Rassohyna’s tactic was clear from the very start, and in Round 1 the Ukrainian was successful in getting the fight to the canvas. But once the action hit the mat, Fairtex surprised Rassohyna with her scrambling ability as she repeatedly denied the debutant in her quest to claim her 11th first-round armbar submission finish.

When the fight was on the feet, it was all Fairtex, as the decorated striker dominated the kickboxing exchanges, but although Rassohyna was able to repeatedly take the action to the canvas, Fairtex’s defensive skills were enough to thwart the Ukrainian, with the Thai fighter even attempting a gogoplata before escaping an armbar attempt and finishing the round with punishing strikes when they returned to the feet.

Round 2 followed a similar pattern, but with Fairtex finding it a little easier to keep the fight standing, as the tide appeared to be turning in her favor through the midway point in the fight. A late body shot even put her opponent on the canvas in the final moments of the round as Fairtex’s striking power appeared to be taking over the fight.

With Rassohyna running out of ideas, and clearly tiring, Fairtex took control of Round 3 as she kept the Ukrainian on the end of her strikes as she scored repeatedly with straight punches and thumping roundhouse kicks to the body. However, with one minute remaining, Rassohyna threw caution to the wind and landed a final takedown as she desperately looked to find a last-gasp submission. Remarkably, that persistence paid off when she caught Fairtex trying to escape and locked up a tight guillotine choke that forced the Thai to tap with just eight seconds of the bout remaining.

Seemingly believing the bout had reached the final bell, Fairtex initially celebrated as referee Olivier Coste stepped in to stop the fight, but that celebration immediately turned to denial and protest as she disputed the experienced official’s call. However, instant replays clearly showed Fairtex had tapped as victory was handed to a tearful Rassohyna, who picked up a huge win on her promotional debut and in the process handed Fairtex her first career defeat in mixed martial arts.

Video: ONE Championship’s Top 10 Knockouts of the Year: Part 2 – Cosmo Alexandre demolishes debuting Sage Northcutt

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 2 of ONE’s official countdown of their Top 10 knockouts of the year, we recap the finishes that occupy spots 6 to 4 on their list, with three more ONE Championship stars joining the list with spectacular KOs.

The latest batch of entrants features two Filipino strawweights, with [autotag]Robin Catalan[/autotag]’s stunning head-kick KO of Gustavo Balart slotting in at No. 4 and [autotag]Jeremy Miado[/autotag]’s finish of China’s Miao Li Tao listed at No. 6. But perhaps the most notable addition to the list is that of [autotag]Cosmo Alexandre[/autotag] at No. 5.

The Brazilian kickboxer, known as “Good Boy”, had previously competed in ONE’s striking-only league ONE Super Series against the world’s top kickboxers and Muay Thai fighters, but he also had a 7-1 MMA record (including a 5-1 record in Bellator) from earlier in his career. And the power striker switched back to MMA to welcome former UFC prospect [autotag]Sage Northcutt[/autotag] to the ONE Championship ring at “ONE: Enter The Dragon” back in May, and handed the young Texan a brutal beating as he finished “Super” Sage in devastating fashion in just 29 seconds.

Northcutt’s first career knockout loss left him with facial fractures that saw him undergo nine hours of surgery. But the always-upbeat 23-year-old was in typically good spirits afterwards, saying: “My terminator face is not too shabby. ‘I’ll be back!'”

Recap the latest additions to ONE’s Knockouts of the Year list via the video above, or via YouTube here.

ONE Championship’s Knockouts of the Year 2019 – 4-10:

  1. Robin Catalan (vs. Gustavo Balart)
  2. Cosmo Alexandre (vs. Sage Northcutt)
  3. Jeremy Miado (vs. Miao Li Tao)
  4. Niu Kang Kang (vs. Sunoto)
  5. Saygid Guseyn Arslanaliev (vs. Amir Khan)
  6. Yuya Wakamatsu (vs. Geje Eustaquio)
  7. Thanh Le (vs. Yusup Saadulaev)