Regian Eersel had a hard-fought kickboxing title fight on Friday night, going five rounds against Arian Sadikovic for a unanimous decision win.
Eersel retained his ONE Kickboxing Lightweight Championship (170 lbs) in the tough decision that saw him hurt in an early round. The fight headlined ONE 156, which took place at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore.
Eersel had to battle past an early knockdown to win the fight.
Eersel opened the fight with a solid opening round, being much more active with combinations than Sadikovic.
Sadikovic started the second round with much more aggression. He stunned Eersel with a flying knee, earning him a brutal knockdown. Eersel was able to recover from this shot and remain on his feet for the rest of the fight.
Sadikovic kept a high output of strikes in the third round, but his activity slowly faded as the fight progressed. Eersel continued to piece together shots in the later rounds of the fight, earning him enough rounds to walk away with the decision win.
Eersel has now defended his ONE kickboxing belt four times since earning it in 2019. He defended the belt twice last year, defeating Mustapha Haida and Islam Muartazaev on scorecards.
Sadikovic, a former GLORY Kickboxing fighter, was given the title fight after winning his ONE debut against Haida last year.
Sundell Goes Five Rounds Against Buntan To Earn Muay Thai Championship
Smilla Sundell became the first-ever ONE Muay Thai Strawweight Champion on Friday night, going five rounds against Jackie Buntan to win via unanimous decision.
Sundell won the five-round bout by pressuring Buntan throughout. With a height and reach advantage, Sundell pushed forward with a high volume of shots that overwhelmed Buntan.
The damage to Buntan showed by the end of the fight, including large swelling around her left eye.
Buntan was able to counter with her own shots at times during the combined 15-minutes of action, but it became clear by the end that she was not the more dominant fighter in the bout.
Sundell was given the title shot after winning her ONE debut earlier this year, stopping Diandra Martin in the third round of a bout with strikes.
Buntan had a longer three-fight winning streak in the promotion from 2021. This included a win over Wondergirl Fairtex and Daniela Lopez.
Brooks Submits Masunyane Early To Keep Run Going
Jarred Brooks scored a quick win to keep his climb up the 125-pound division going, handing Bokang Masunyane his first pro loss with a rear naked choke submission.
Brooks mounted the back of Masunyane with the choke attempt in the final minute of the first round. Brooks kept with the choke as the fighters went to the ground. The fight was eventually stopped after Masunyane with unconscious due to the hold.
Brooks has now scored three wins since joining ONE last year. His previous victories came against notable names Lito Adiwang and Hiroba Minowa. Like he did after his previous win, Brooks called for a title shot on Friday night.
Masunyane had a flawless record of eight wins before Friday. This included a 37-second finish against Rene Catalan in 2020.
Harrison Prevails From Five Knockdown Round
Liam Harrison had a hectic one-round comeback against Muanthai PK.Saenchaimuaythaigym, battling back from being knocked down to drop him three times and win.
Harrison was knocked down twice to start the round. He was first floored by a head kick that Muangthai landed in the first minute. Immediately after the fight resumed, he was dropped again – this time by a left cross.
Harrison then made a comeback that saw him finish Muangthai due to a three-knockdown rule. In three consecutive instances, Harrison landed a series of hook punches to the head that got Muangthai to the canvas.
The hectic outcome is now Harrison’s second consecutive first-round finish win in ONE. His prior bout was all the way back in early 2020.
Song Submits Chen For Second ONE Victory
Song Min Jong picked up a submission win against Chen Rui, catching him in the second round with a rear naked choke.
Song scored a takedown in the fourth minute of the round. After going into side control, Song took the back of Chen. From this position he attempted a choke, eventually flattening Chen out before the fight was stopped.
Song has now won two of his three fights on flagship ONE cards. Song’s previous fight saw him hand Tial Thang his first pro loss.
Chen was coming off a win that he earned over Mark Abelardo in February.
Williams Takes Decision Win Against Kawahara
Danial Williams kept his strong run going in the first fight of Friday’s main card, scoring a unanimous decision win against Namiki Kawahara.
The striking of Williams was what mainly scored him the win on Friday night. He was more accurate throughout the fight and landed the more damaging shots.
Williams most notably dropped Kawahara in the second round with a clean overhand right.
Williams now has two consecutive wins in ONE. His previous appearance saw him stop Dejdamrong Sor. Amnuaysirichoke with strikes in February.
Kawahara lost his ONE debut last year, stepping in on short notice to fight Lito Adiwang.
The Rest of the Card
Gustavo Balart picked up a big win in the final prelim, defeating Yosuke Saruta via unanimous decision after a three-round battle on the feet.
After scoring a knockdown in the second round, Andrei Stoica walked away with a split decision victory against Giannis Stoforidis in a kickboxing bout.
Former GLORY Champion Anissa Meksen won her first ONE Muay Thai bout on Friday, out-landing Marie Ruumet for a unanimous decision victory.
Windson Ramos used his grappling skills to defeat Woo Sung Hoon via unanimous decision in his ONE debut. Woo was coming off an 18-second victory against Yodkaikaev Fairtex from earlier this year.
Dayane Souza scored a finish win against former ONE title challenger Ayaka Miura, as Miura seemingly suffered a shoulder injury during a striking exchange in the second round.
Abraao Amorim picked up a second-round finish win in his first ONE appearance, throwing a steady pace of ground and pound shots to finish Park Dae Sung.
Jin Tae Ho won his ONE Championship debut early on Friday night, submitting Agilan Thani with a kimura.
Mikey Musumeci prevailed in a grappling exhibition against Masakazu Imanari, catching him with a rear naked choke after a close leg lock battle on the ground.
Keanu Subba spent the majority of a three-round MMA fight against James Yang searching for takedowns, earning him a unanimous decision win in the end. The result gave Yang his first pro loss.
Quick Results
Main Card (8:30AM EDT / 8:30PM SGT) (Youtube)
Bout 15: Regian Eersel def. Arian Sadikovic via Decision, Unanimous (ONE Kickboxing Lightweight Championship) (170 lbs)
Bout 14: Smilla Sundell def. Jackie Buntan via Decision, Unanimous (ONE Muay Thai Strawweight Championship) (125 lbs)
Bout 13: Jarred Brooks def. Bokang Masunyane via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1) (MMA Bout)
Bout 12: Liam Harrison def. Muangthai PK.Saenchaimuaythaigym via TKO, Strikes (RD 1) (Muay Thai Bout)
Bout 11: Song Min Jong def. Chen Rui via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 2) (MMA Bout)
Bout 10: Danial Williams def. Namiki Kawahara via Decision, Unanimous (MMA Bout)
Preliminary Card (4:30AM EDT / 4:30PM SGT) (Youtube)
Bout 9: Gustavo Balart def. Yosuke Saruta via Decision, Unanimous (MMA Bout)
Bout 8: Andrei Stoica def. Giannis Stoforidis via Decision, Split (Kickboxing Bout)
Bout 7: Anissa Meksen def. Marie Ruumet via Decision, Unanimous (Muay Thai Bout)
Bout 6: Windson Ramos def. Woo Sung Hoon via Decision, Unanimous (MMA Bout)
Bout 5: Dayane Souza def. Ayaka Miura via TKO, Injury (RD 2) (MMA Bout)
Bout 4: Abraao Amorim def. Park Dae Sung via TKO, Strikes (RD 2) (MMA Bout)
Bout 3: Jin Tae Ho def. Agilan Thani via Submission, Kimura (RD 1) (MMA Bout)
Bout 2: Mikey Musumeci def. Masakazu Imanari via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (Grappling Bout)
Bout 1: Keanu Subba def. James Yang via Decision, Unanimous (MMA Bout)
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