Xiong Jing Nan prevailed in her trilogy bout against Angela Lee, winning via unanimous decision in their title fight on Friday night.
The fight headlined ONE on Prime Video 2, which took place from the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore.
Xiong defended her 125-pound ONE Championship title against Lee in a fight that saw her win off early damage.
Xiong had an incredibly successful opening round that almost earned her a finish victory. She scored two different knockdowns in the frame, hurting Lee with a right cross in the first instance and a left hook in the other.
She also remained dominant with ground and pound following both knockdowns, nearly making referee Herb Dean step in at one point to wave off the fight.
Lee surprisingly made a comeback in the next round, beginning to connect with her own striking against Xiong despite consuming large amounts of damage before. Lee continued to lead in striking exchanges in the later rounds of the fight.
However, the striking that Lee scored past the first round never had Xiong in trouble like what happened to her in the opening frame. This would warrant a win for Lee in most MMA promotions. However, since ONE Championship judges its fights as a whole and not under a 10-point must system, Xiong was able to pick up a win.
Controversy occurred after the fight, as ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong claimed he disagreed with the fight’s decision.
“I don’t agree with the judges’ decision. I asked to look at the scorecards, which will be released soon,” said Sityodtong during the event’s post-fight press conference.
Xiong defended her strawweight belt for the seventh time in this appearance. This makes her the most dominant current champion in ONE, having defended her belt more times than any other fighter in the promotion.
“I want to dedicate this performance to the people who truly understand me. I want to thank my team, thank my fans. Thank you,” said Xiong in her post-fight interview.
The fight stopped Lee’s second attempt at becoming a two-division champion in ONE.
Lee previously challenged for Xiong’s belt in 2019 but was finished in the fifth round of a fight back then.
Lee avenged her first loss to Xiong later in 2019, submitting in a title fight down at the 115-pound weight class. The score in the rivalry between these fighters was even heading into Friday.
Musumeci Becomes First ONE Grappling Champion
Mikey Musumeci became the first-ever ONE grappling champion in Friday’s co-main event, defeating Cleber Sousa to earn the promotion’s 135-pound title.
Musumeci earned a decision win against Sousa after neither fighter was able to earn a submission through 10 minutes of action.
Musumeci spent almost all of the bout on his back searching for a leg lock. He was always on the attack against Sousa but was never able to go deep with a submission attempt.
The fight was Musumeci’s second appearance in ONE. His prior bout saw him score a rear naked choke submission victory over Masakazu Imanari.
Sousa, a decorated grappler, was appearing in the promotion for the first time in his career.
Stamp Bounces Back With Striking-Heavy Performance
Stamp Fairtex returned to the win column on Friday’s main card, using her striking to earn a unanimous decision victory against Jihin Radzuan.
While Radzuan had ground control at times during the fight and even looked for an armbar late, Stamp’s success with striking was much more important and subsequently earned her the win.
Stamp pieced Radzuan up on the feet in all three rounds. In ground positions, Stamp would remain active with punches, even when not in a dominant position.
Stamp’s biggest moment came in the opening seconds of the third round when she dropped Radzuan with a clean left hook. Stamp tried to finish the fight in a ground and pound position, although that was not able to happen.
Stamp was appearing for the first time since losing a title fight to Angela Lee in March.
Radzuan entered the card on a three-fight winning streak, including a performance that gave Itsuki Hirata her sole pro loss currently.
Freymanov Stops Former Champ Nguyen In The First
Ilya Freymanov’s first ONE appearance saw him put away former champion Martin Nguyen in the first round with strikes.
A close striking battle suddenly started to go the way of Freymanov, as he dropped Nguyen with a combination of a knee to the head and a right cross.
Freymanov then finished the fight with ground and pound strikes, scoring with punches and knees to Nguyen.
Freymanov’s record is now 11 wins through 13 fights. His last four bouts have all come via finish due to punches in the first or second rounds.
Nguyen was aiming to ride the momentum of a win against Kirill Gorobets, which remains his only successful performance since he lost his 155-pound belt to Thanh Le in 2020.
Undefeated Amir Finishes Nastyukhin In ONE Debut
Halil Amir had a big performance in his ONE debut, putting away Timofey Nastyukhin in the second round of their bout.
Amir cracked Nastyukhin with an overhand right early in the second round. He dropped him again with more punches just moments later and kept with ground and pound punches until the fight was stopped.
The fight moved Amir’s pro record to a flawless eight wins. Most of his fights have come via finish from 2019 to 2022.
Nastyukhin has now suffered three consecutive finish losses in ONE. Prior bouts in the current skid came in 2021, losing a title fight to Christian Lee and also dropping a fight to Saygid Guseyn Arslanaliev.
The Rest of the Card
Marat Grigorian prevailed in a short-notice fight against Tayfun Ozcan, winning under kickboxing rules after three rounds. This matchup was made after both fighters lost their previous opponents this week. Ozcan was notably expected to appear in a title fight against Superbon Singha Mawynn.
Oh Ho Taek won his ONE debut in a low-output fight against Ryogo Takahashi, beating him in a split decision. The referee was critical of how active the fighters were in the fight, giving out two yellow cards during the bout.
Anissa Meksen had a stellar three-round Muay Thai performance against promotional newcomer Daokongfah Banchamek, walking away with a unanimous decision victory in the end.
Rade Opacic picked up a finish win to open the card, landing a left hook and right cross to drop Giannis Stoforidis and end their bout in the second round.
Quick Results
Main Card (10:00PM EDT / 10:00AM SGT) (Prime Video)
Bout 9: Xiong Jing Nan def. Angela Lee via Decision, Unanimous (ONE MMA Strawweight Championship) (125 lbs)
Bout 8: Mikey Musumeci def. Cleber Sousa via Decision, Unanimous (ONE Grappling Flyweight Championship) (135 lbs)
Bout 7: Stamp Fairtex def. Jihin Radzuan via Decision, Unanimous (MMA Bout)
Bout 6: Illya Freymanov def. Martin Nguyen via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 3:33) (MMA Bout)
Bout 5: Halil Amir def. Timofey Nasyukhin via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 0:58) (MMA Bout)
Lead Card (8:00PM EDT / 8:00AM SGT) (Prime Video)
Bout 4: Marat Grigorian def. Tayfun Ozcan via Decision, Unanimous (Kickboxing Bout)
Bout 3: Oh Ho Taek def. Ryogo Takahashi via Decision, Split (MMA Bout)
Bout 2: Anissa Meksen def. Daokongfah Banchamek via Decision, Unanimous (Muay Thai Bout)
Bout 1: Rade Opacic def. Giannis Stoforidis via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 1:52) (Kickboxing Bout)
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