Demetrious Johnson avenged the sole finish loss of his pro career on Friday night, scoring a highlight reel victory over Adriano Moraes to become the new ONE 135-pound MMA champion.
Johnson’s win headlined ONE Championship’s debut on Amazon Prime Video this weekend. The event, which took place Saturday from the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore, aired during prime-time hours for U.S. viewers on Friday night.
Johnson landed a slick striking combination to finish Moraes in the fourth round. He visibly stunned Moraes with an overhand right, then followed up with a flying knee that knocked Moraes out.
The finish put an end to an incredibly close title fight. Moraes succeeded early in the contest, landing strikes and getting Johnson to the ground. Johnson seemed to slowly gain momentum as the fight progressed and went into deep waters.
Johnson was facing Moraes for the second time. He lost a title fight to him in 2021, suffering a second-round finish defeat in April 2021.
“This was the first time I was like ‘I need this one [loss] back,'” said Johnson, reflecting on his motivations for this fight.
The result put an end to Moraes’ third run as champion. His current reign started in 2019, and saw him defend his belt twice before dropping it this weekend.
Nong-O Stops Harrison Early To Keep Dominant Run Alive
Nong-O Gaiyanghadao’s dominant run as ONE’s 145-pound Muay Thai champion continued in Friday’s co-main event, stopping Liam Harrison in the first round.
Nong-O needed just one knockdown to defeat Harrison in the title fight. He dropped Harrison with a hard kick to his lead leg. Harrison was seemingly hurt by this shot, not moving his leg while seated and not being able to stand up in time to keep the fight going.
Nong-O has now defended his belt an impressive six times since first earning it in 2019. His prior title bout came in March, when he beat Felipe Lobo via third-round stoppage.
Harrison was given a title fight after making his return earlier this year, stopping Muangthai P.K.Saenchaimuaythaigym in the first round of a bout.
Panpayak Advances To Grand Prix Finals
Panpayak Jitmuangnon secured his grand final spot in ONE Chanmpionship’s 135-pound grand prix in emphatic fashion on Friday night, stopping Savvas Michael in the second round with a head kick.
Panpayak landed the head kick clean just 10 seconds into the second frame, causing the referee to end the fight. This sudden finish came after a close first-round that saw both fighters get some shots in.
The matchup between Panpayak and Michael was made after their original fights fell through. Panpayak was originally scheduled to face Sherzod Kabutov in a tournament alternate, and Michael was booked to meet Rodtang Jitmuangnon.
Panpayak is now set to face Superlek Kiatmoo9 in the grand finals of the tournament. Superlek won earlier on the card, defeating Walter Goncalves to secure the grand final position.
Undefeated Buchecha Submits Grishenko Early
Grappling ace Marcus Buchecha made quick work of Kirill Grishenko as part of the main card on Friday, submitting him in the second minute with a heel hook.
Buchecha shot for a takedown a minute into the fight against Grishenko. While he landed on his back after the attempt, Buchecha was still able to grab a leg of Grishenko to secure a heel hook, forcing a tap.
Buchecha now has a flawless MMA record of four wins. His previous fight was in June, when he stopped Simon Carson with ground and pound shots.
Grishenko was coming off a finish loss against Anatoly Malykhin.
Following his win, an emotional Buchecha said that he recently lost a close friend. He said that he decided to remain on this weekend’s card because his late friend would want him to.
“These past three weeks [were] the hardest time of my life,” said Buchecha in his post-fight interview. “I lost my closest friend … I was training and crying every single day.”
Aliakbari Finishes Cerilli For First ONE Win
Amir Aliakbari snapped a losing streak at heavyweight to open the evening, earning a second-round ground and pound finish over Mauro Cerilli.
While Cerilli started the second round strong, Aliakbari gained control of things with a takedown. He later started to land with strikes on the feet, causing the referee to eventually step in and end the fight.
Aliakbari nearly stopped the fight a round earlier, moving into a crucifix position and scoring a series of punches that caused visible damage to Cerilli’s face.
Aliakbari broke a two-fight skid with the win this weekend, and scored his first victory since joining ONE. Both of his previous fights saw him get stopped within a round.
Aliakbari scored a win in ONE last year, stopping Abdulbasir Vagabov in the second round with punches.
The Rest of the Card
Superlek Kiatmoo9 needed just more than a minute to score a victory in ONE’s Muay Thai division, dropping Walter Goncalves early with a right hand. The victory advanced Superlek into the finals of ONE’s 135-pound tournament.
Diandra Martin picked up her first ONE win on the prelims, competing for a fast-paced three rounds against Amber Kitchen for a unanimous decision win.
Itsuki Hirata bounced back from her sole pro loss on Friday night, going the distance against Lin Heqin for a decision victory.
Former champion Zebaztian Kadestam started the night with a bang, knocking out Iuri Lapicus in the first round with an uppercut. The fight was Lapicus’ third consecutive fight without a win.
Quick Results
Main Card (10:00PM EDT / 10:00AM SGT) (Amazon Prime Video)
Bout 9: Demetrious Johnson def. Adriano Moraes via TKO, Strikes (RD 4, 3:50) (ONE MMA Flyweight Championship) (135 lbs)
Bout 8: Nong-O Gaiyanghadao def. Liam Harrison via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 2:10) (ONE Muay Thai Bantamweight Championship) (145 lbs)
Bout 7: Panpayak Jitmuangnon def. Savvas Michael (RD 2, 0:10) (ONE 135-lb Muay Thai Grand Prix Semi-Final Bout
Bout 6: Marcus Buchecha def. Kirill Grishenko via Submission, Heel Hook (RD 1, 1:04) (MMA Bout)
Bout 5: Amir Aliakbari def. Mauro Cerilli via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 4:02) (MMA Bout)
Lead Card (8:00PM EDT / 8:00AM SGT) (Amazon Prime Video)
Bout 4: Superlek Kiatmoo9 def. Walter Goncalves via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 1:35) (ONE 135-lb Muay Thai Grand Prix Semi-Final Bout)
Bout 3: Diandra Martin def. Amber Kitchen via Decision, Unanimous (Muay Thai Bout)
Bout 2: Itsuki Hirata def. Lin Heqin via Decision, Unanimous (MMA Bout)
Bout 1: Zebaztian Kadestam def. Iuri Lapicus via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 0:57) (MMA Bout)
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