Tag: Sovannahry Em

ONE Championship 127: Mauro Cerilli bounces back with TKO victory in Singapore

Italian heavyweight contender Mauro Cerilli bounced back into the win column with a second-round finish at ONE Championship 127.

Former Cage Warriors heavyweight champion [autotag]Mauro Cerilli[/autotag] bounced back into the win column in the main event of ONE Championship 127 in Singapore to move one step closer to a heavyweight title rematch with Brandon Vera.

Cerilli lost out to Vera via first-round knockout in his first title challenge back at ONE Championship 85 in November 2018. He bounced back with a victory over Alain Ngalani, but fell to another defeat as he was outpointed by Arjan Bhullar at “ONE Championship: Century – Part 2” in October 2019.

But, after taking more than a year away from the cage, “The Hammer” returned in fine form to snap [autotag]Abdulbasir Vagabov[/autotag]’s 10-fight winning streak and push himself back into the heavyweight title conversation.

Vagabov pushed the pace from the opening bell as he chased the backpedaling Cerilli around the cage, with the Italian throwing the occasional one-two combination to give the Russian contender a moment’s pause.

Vagabov continued his forward pressure, but Cerilli ensured that the Russian’s winging punches connected with nothing but air as he kept out of punching range, then connected with occasional counter-strikes of his own. After struggling to make an impact with his strikes, Vagabov then turned to his wrestling, but his takedown attempts late in the round were well defended by the big Italian.

After a frustrating first round, Vagabov started Round 2 noticeably slower and Cerilli took full advantage in the opening seconds as he stepped into range and slammed a powerful kick to the Vagabov’s left hamstring. The impact of the shot forced the Russian down to his hands and knees and Cerilli moved in and unloaded a trio of clean left hands to his grounded opponent before referee Olivier Coste dived in to stop the bout at the 26-second mark.

Sovannahry Em thinks you might want to tune in early at ONE Championship 105

If Sovannahry Em is right, Friday’s ONE Championship 105 card might be starting off with a few fireworks.

If [autotag]Sovannahry Em[/autotag] is right, Friday’s ONE Championship 105 card might be starting off with a few fireworks.

Em (3-0) takes on fellow undefeated women’s flyweight prospect Rayane Bastos (3-0) on the prelims of the event, which stream live on Facebook and Twitter from Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The main card follows on B/R Live.

Em has had a chance to scout her Brazilian opponent and believes the styles could produce for an entertaining matchup.

“I think that her strength is that she’s tough.” Em said of her opponent. “She’s not too bothered about getting hit, and when she does get hit, she actually comes back with big counters.

“I think the fact she’s OK with being hit may be a liability because I like to hit, too. I don’t know how much my opponent can take.”

With the nickname “Savage Buddha,” Em has earned all three of her professional wins to date via first-round stoppage. Meanwhile, Bastos has gone the distance on more than one occasion, and she also holds a submission win to her credit, as well. Em said she knows she must be prepared for a number of different scenarios.

“I know she’s a tough fighter,” Em said. “She’s also a striker, but she’s also savvy on the ground, so I’ve just been preparing to go against someone who’s strong and tough on the feet with her hands and kicks but also someone that might be able to look for submissions.”

Of course, being prepared for multiple scenarios is one thing. Expecting them is something totally different, and Em believes Bastos is going to want to put on a show in the night’s first fight.

“I think it’s going to be an exciting fight because stylistically, she seems to be more of a muay Thai style striker, and I’m more of a Western boxing, so it should be fun, in that regard,” Em said.

To hear more from Em, check out the video above, courtesy of ONE Championship.