Kongsuk Comes From Behind Against Petsukumvit, Huo Dominates Karimi At ONE Friday Fights 53
ONE Championship kept the good times rolling inside Bangkok, Thailand’s Lumpinee Boxing Stadium on Friday, February 23.
The legendary venue was lit up with incredible martial arts action as ONE Friday Fights 53 showcased 13 bouts of kickboxing, Muay Thai, and MMA that featured an array of world-class talent.
Hard-fought battles and thrilling KOs filled the card to ensure this latest edition of ONE’s weekly series was hailed as a classic.
Here’s a recap of every strike and submission that went down in Asia primetime.
Kongsuk Roars Back In Round Three To See Off Petsukumvit
Petsukumvit Boi Bangna found early success against Kongsuk Fairtex in their flyweight Muay Thai thriller, but his foe stormed back in the third round to steal the win.
Petsukumvit shot rounds of attacks at the two-time Lumpinee Stadium Muay Thai World Champion’s frame and stayed strong in the clinch to earn a knockdown off a flurry of knees to the midsection in round one.
The An Sukhumvit striker brought the same tempo in the second round, but his power seemed to wane when Kongsuk started firing away with his striking artillery. The Fairtex Training Center affiliate found his footing from there and continued to bring the heat to Petsukumvit in the final stanza.
A barrage of strikes crumbled the two-time Rajadamnern Stadium Muay Thai World Champion early on, and Kongsuk secured the unanimous decision win with a stiffening left jab with seconds left in the frame, pushing his professional slate to 63-17-5.
Mongkolkaew Back On Form With Decision Win Over Denkriangkrai
Mongkolkaew Sor Sommai delivered a strong performance to get back to winning ways against Denkriangkrai Singha Mawynn.
The Sor Sommai athlete controlled extended portions of their 130-pound catchweight Muay Thai encounter, finding a home for his hard right hand throughout round one.
Mongkolkaew added more elbows and clinch work to his output from the second frame on, and he countered his rival’s southpaw straights with scything shots.
Denkriangkrai tried to bring the heat with his powerful left in the final frame but couldn’t land the money shot as his energy faded. This allowed Mongkolkaew to cruise to a unanimous decision victory and move his impressive record to 153-42-2 in the end.
Brazil Holds On To Best Chalie In Three-Round War
Brazil Aekmuangnon edged out Chalie Singha Mawynn in strawweight Muay Thai action, but he had to overcome a late rally to leave with the unanimous decision win.
The confident 18-year-old took the initiative in the opening round, teeing off on the head of Chalie and sending him to the mats with perfect elbows just before the bell.
Brazil continued his aggressive showing in the second frame and swarmed his foe with huge strikes. Chalie endured the barrage, though, and attempted to find a way through his Thai compatriot’s unrelenting attacks.
He then managed to turn the fight on its head in the final frame by connecting with punishing kicks, elbows, and ferocious right hands. But Brazil stayed on his feet, and his overall output was enough for the judges to hand him the unanimous decision victory, which moved his record to 42-9.
Sunday Storms Back To Score Second-Round KO Against Petchainart
Sunday Boomdeksean’s promotional debut wasn’t the easiest, but the Thai star showed his true potential by finishing Petchainart Sitkumnunneng in the second round of their 120.4-pound catchweight Muay Thai battle.
The opening frame saw Petchainart take the lead thanks to blistering body and head combinations paired with elbows and knees that left his countryman bloodied up.
That aggression clearly sparked a fire in Sunday, as he came out with guns blazing in round two. His thunderous combos forced Petchainart against the ropes, and from there, he battered him with heavy rights and lefts to force the referee to intervene.
The win came for the Boomdeksean star at 0:59 of the second stanza, moving his professional slate to 66-15-2 overall.
Payakkiri Edges Past Ganchai Via Split Decision
Payakkiri Misakawan’s output across three rounds saw him edge out Ganchai Jitmuangnon by split decision in their hotly anticipated rematch.
Both warriors canceled each other’s attacks in the opening frame of the strawweight Muay Thai affair, but the Misakawan star brought the action to his foe throughout the following six minutes.
He used his left-right combinations to great success and threaded past Ganchai’s resolute defense with pinpoint accuracy. The latter had his fair share of attacks, but Payakkiri’s movement forced him to miss more than he landed.
Payakkiri then put in a solid showing in the third frame to convince two of the three judges at ringside to award him the win, and his resume moved to 51-15 as a result.
Mahesuan’s Pressure Pays Off With Third-Round TKO Of Pet
Mahesuan Aekmuangnon‘s constant pressure helped him find a third-round finish against Pet Fairtex in their atomweight Muay Thai matchup.
The 23-year-old pressed his Thai compatriot with a relentless pace from the opening bell, walking him down and peppering him with punches.
Pet absorbed the attacks and fired back at the start of round two, but, undeterred, Mahesuan continued his charge.
That aggression finally paid off in the third round. With Pet wearing the intensity of the battle, Mahesuan swarmed with punches to earn a TKO at 2:30 and push his record to 77-17.
Huo Gets Back To Winning Ways By Blitzing Karimi
After falling to a two-fight skid recently, Huo Xiaolong returned to the win column in destructive fashion against Majid Karimi when they collided in strawweight kickboxing action.
Huo controlled the early going and forced Karimi to fight in the pocket. This allowed the Chinese striker to counter his man at will, and he dropped him to the mats with 30 seconds left in the first frame.
Karimi came out guns blazing in the second round, looking to find a way back into the fight. But his enthusiasm caused him to lose focus, and he found himself on the ground again.
Huo knew the finish was on from there, and he sent Karimi down for good with a ruthless right hand at 2:30 of round two.
The 28-year-old star moved to 33-9 overall with the impressive win.
Demirkapu Shuts Buakhiao’s Lights Off In Under A Minute
Deniz Demirkapu needed only 59 seconds to see off Buakhiao Por Paoin and secure a debut win in their 138-pound catchweight Muay Thai battle.
The 23-year-old charged his rival at a blistering pace, switching targets from skull to body behind his explosive fists, which gave Buakhiao little room for reaction.
When the Thai decided to deploy a high guard to shell himself from Demirkapu’s hands, the Turkish-Morrocan snuck in a piercing front kick to the midsection that switched his opponent’s lights off in an instant.
The win came at 0:59 of the opening frame and upped Demirkapu’s slate to 14-3.
Samingdam Takes Win Over Seksan In Flyweight Thriller
You could barely slide a sheet of paper between Samingdam Looksuanmuaythai and Seksan Fairtex in their epic flyweight Muay Thai battle, but it was the former who came out on top.
The Thai pair stood toe-to-toe and exchanged heavy punches for three rounds, but Samingdam always looked a step ahead.
Working behind a stiff jab, the Looksuan athlete combined his boxing with kicks, knees, and elbows to rack up a lead thanks to his more varied work.
Seksan stayed in his rival’s face with heavy hooks and uppercuts, but it was Samingdam who claimed the unanimous decision win from the judges, extending his record to 41-6.
Oorzhak Goes 3-0 In ONE With Unanimous Decision Against Ali
Chayan Oorzhak made it three in a row by securing a unanimous decision win over Babar Ali in their flyweight MMA outing.
Oorzhak’s grappling prowess was evident early on, as he shut out Ali’s clinch game and takedown attempts to gain top position. From there, the Russian-Mongolian star dropped a barrage of strikes on his downed foe.
He ramped up the pressure in the second round, which left Ali with little choice but to try and take him to the ground. But Oorzhak continuously stumped the telegraph shots to remain in control.
Ali fought back in the final frame and managed to put his foe on the back foot. But it didn’t take long for Oorzhak to bring the fight back into his control, and he got the nod from all three judges in the end.
The IdeaJJ Team standout moved to 8-2 and 3-0 in ONE with the win.
Sat Finishes Askarov For Second Straight Highlight-Reel Win
Nachyn Sat scored another finish in his featherweight MMA contest against Tural Askarov to stay unbeaten in ONE Championship.
The Mongolian-Russian athlete didn’t have an easy route to victory, though, as he found himself on the wrong end of the action after Askarov took things to the ground in an exchange of kicks.
Despite being on his back and at the mercy of his Azerbaijani foe’s heavy strikes, Sat connected with heavy elbows from the bottom, which soon presented him a chance to zero in and secure a match-winning triangle choke at 3:51 of round one.
Sat moved to 2-0 with another highlight-reel finish and 6-2 in his career overall.
Worapon Takes Nod In Tough Battle With Kasahara
Worapon Sor Dechapan earned an exciting unanimous decision win over Hiroki Kasahara in their 142-pound catchweight Muay Thai contest.
Worapon controlled the action with his kicks in round one, as the pair felt one another out, but Kasahara came to life with heavy leg strikes and punches to the body in round two.
The Thai star wasn’t done yet, though. He found another gear in the final frame and blasted his rival with thudding elbows in close quarters that he paired with heavy punches.
Kasahara never backed down, but Worapon’s weapons at range and in the clinch saw him take his second consecutive ONE Friday Fights win when the bout came to a close.
BM Thwarts Hirai In Three-Round Punch-Up
BM Fairtex kicked off the evening in style by eking out a unanimous decision win in an absolute barnburner with Masatoshi Hirai.
The Thai star hunted for a finish right from the start of the 122-pound catchweight Muay Thai bout, hitting Hirai with multiple combinations in the first 60 seconds. But his Japanese adversary struck back to even up the output in round one.
BM immediately took the center of the ring in the second frame and responded to Hirai’s pressure with a litany of right hands and knee combinations to control the pace.
That dominance continued into the final frame, and the 20-year-old walked away with a first win in ONE and his 26th career victory as a result.
