ONE Championship will host their final live event of the year on Friday, presenting “Winter Warriors” from the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore. The card, which is set to be headlined by kickboxers Regian Eersel and Islam Murtazaev, will also include the final fight from the ONE Atomweight Grand Prix.
Follow along throughout the day for live updates on the card.
Click here to read a quick preview of the show.
Quick Results:
Main Card (7:30AM EST / 8:30PM SGT) (Bleacher Report App / Youtube)
Bout 1: Yuya Wakamatsu def. Hu Yong via Decision, Unanimous (MMA Bout)
Bout 2: Marcus Buchecha def. Kang Ji Won via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1) (MMA Bout)
Bout 3: Dagi Arslanaliev def. Timofey Nastyukhin via TKO, Strikes (RD 3) (MMA Bout)
Bout 4: Hiroki Akimoto def. Qiu Jianliang via Decision, Unanimous (Kickboxing Bout)
Live Coverage:
Bout 6: Regian Eersel vs. Islam Murtazaev (ONE Kickboxing Lightweight Championship) (170 lbs)
Eersel Secures Close Split Decision Win Against Murtazaev To Defend Kickboxing Belt
Regian Eersel had a tough fight to retain his ONE kickboxing belt in Friday’s main event, going five rounds against Islam Murtazaev for a split decision victory.
Eersel’s win came after a come from behind performance against Murtazaev.
The challenger had a strong opening two rounds, out-landing the slow-starting champion. Eersel stepped on the gas in the later rounds of the fight, walking Murtazaev down with strikes and showing an aggression in his style that wasn’t displayed in previous rounds. This uptick in striking from Eersel secured him a win on two scorecards in the end.
Murtazaev was given a yellow card in the final round due to catching the kicks of Eersel in numerous instances.
Eersel has now defended his belt three times since claiming it in 2019. He fought earlier in the year, defeating Mustapha Haida on scorecards.
Eersel was critical of his performance afterward.
“This wasn’t my best fight. It is what it is, I got a win. That’s what’s important,” said Eersel in his post-fight interview.
The bout was Murtazaev’s debut in ONE Championship.
Bout 5: Stamp Fairtex (7-1) vs. Ritu Phogat (7-1) (ONE Atomweight Grand Prix Finals) (115 lbs)
Stamp Wins Atomweight Grand Prix With Second-Round Submission Against Phogat
Stamp Fairtex showed her grappling skills in the grand final of the ONE Atomweight Grand Prix, submitting Ritu Phogat in the second round with an armbar.
Stamp searched for a submissions early in the second round after being taken down by the wrestler Phogat. After trying for a triangle choke, Stamp applied an armbar to finish the fight.
The first round saw Phogat put Stamp against the cage while trying for takedowns.
The win earned Stamp her third victory in just four months, and secured her a future title fight against current champ Angela Lee.
Stamp won in the opening round of the tournament against Alyona Rassohyna, avenging a loss she took at the start of the year. She the picked up a spot in the finals last month by defeating short-notice opponent Julie Mezabarba.
Phogat’s first round of the bracket saw her defeat Meng Bo. She was also given a fill-in opponent for the semi-finals, beating Jenelyn Olsim in November.
Bout 4: Qiu Jianliang vs. Hiroki Akimoto (145 lbs) (Kickboxing Bout)
Akimoto Spoils ONE Debut of Qiu, Picks Up Close Decision Win
Hiroki Akimoto defeated ONE newcomer Qiu Jianliang on Friday, beating him via unanimous decision under kickboxing rules after a close three-round battle on the feet.
Akimoto was able to out-land Jianliang early in the fight, getting the lead through two rounds. Qiu upped his pace later in the fight, although the lead attained by Akimoto early on secured him a victory.
Akimoto now holds a four-fight winning streak in kickboxing. Before this fight, he had won two bouts against Zhang ChengLong via decision.
Qiu’s debut in the promotion was highly anticipated, as he entered on a long winning streak from the past few years. The bout was also Qiu’s first appearance in over a year.
Bout 3: Timofey Nastyukhin (14-5) vs. Dagi Arslanaliev (8-2) (170 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Arslanaliev Earns Bloody Win Over Nastyukhin In Return
Dagi Arslanaliev scored a brutal win in his return, damaging Timofey Nastyukhin with strikes before earning a third-round stoppage victory.
The fight was paused twice in the first round, as strikes from Arslanaliev caused damage to the face of Nastyukhin and made him bleed a significant amount.
Damage from Arslanaliev continued in the second round, as he took Nastyukhin down and scored with ground and pound shots.
A combination of shots including a right cross punch eventually dropped Nastyukhin in the final round, causing the referee to step in and end the fight.
Both fighters were coming off a recent loss to Christian Lee.
Nastuykhin lost a title fight earlier this year, getting stopped in the first round by Lee in a title fight.
Arslanaliev was making his first appearance since 2019.
Bout 2: Kang Ji Won (5-0) vs. Marcus Buchecha (1-0) (265 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Buchecha Hands Won First Loss With Quick Submission
Grappling ace Marcus Bucheca handed Kang Ji Won his first pro loss on Friday, submitting him in the first round with a rear naked choke.
Buchecha got the fight into his wheelhouse early, scoring a double leg takedown in the first minute. After landing punches from half guard, Buchecha took the back of Kang for a rear naked choke attempt. While the submission didn’t ever slide under the chin of Kang, it caused a tap to end the fight.
Buchecha, a decorated Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu grappler of over a decade, won his MMA debut earlier this year against Anderson “Braddock” Silva.
Kang entered Friday with an undefeated record of five first-round stoppage wins. This included two wins in ONE earlier this year, defeating Amir Aliakbari and Mehdi Barghi.
Bout 1: Hu Yong (7-2) vs. Yuya Wakamatsu (14-4) (135 lbs) (MMA Bout)
Wakamatsu Moves Win Streak To Five Following Dominant Win
Yuya Wakamatsu had a dominant three-round performance to open Friday’s main card, going three rounds against Hu Yong for a decision win.
Wakamatsu showcased a fair amount of striking and wrestling in his fight. On the feet, Wakamatsu was able to land a series of leg kicks and cause visible damage to the face of Hu with right cross punches.
Wakamatsu scored numerous takedowns in the bout, earning him numerous minutes of ground control by the end.
Wakamatsu is now on a strong five-fight winning streak. His last loss was back in 2019, when former UFC Flyweight Champion Demetrious Johnson beat him.
Following his win, Wakamatsu called out current 135-pound champ Adriano Moraes.
Hu won his first flagship ONE bout earlier this year, defeating Yodkaikaew Fairtex in March.
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