SUMMARY
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Joshua “Passion” Pacio (19-3) successfully retained his ONE Championship strawweight crown as he wrapped up the trilogy against “The Ninja“ Yosuke Saruta (21-10-3) with an impressive first-round knockout in ONE: Revolution on Friday, September 24, at Singapore Indoor Stadium.
The 25-year old, the lone Filipino titleholder in ONE, remained sharp despite waiting for more than a year and a half to see action back in the cage.
Pacio punished Saruta’s low kick and connected a right-hand counter, followed by a barrage of heavy punches, in the opening round to seal the final chapter of his rivalry against the Japanese challenger.
“I’ve been out for one year and eight months and it’s been hard,” Pacio said after the fight. “But I’m ready and I’m here to stay as champion.”
Pacio lost his title when he faced Saruta for the first time back in 2019. But the Filipino immediately bounced back and regained his title by knocking out the Japanese in their rematch.
The Team Lakay torchbearer has won his last four fights, including victories over Alex Silva and fellow Filipino fighter Rene Catalan. His last title defense happened in front of a Filipino crowd in January 2020.
Meanwhile, Pacio’s teammate Lito “Thunder Kid” Adiwang (13-3) also extended his win streak as he picked up a convincing unanimous decision win against the Mongolian “Wolf of the Grassland” Hexigetu (9-4).
Despite the lackluster bout, Adiwang did not disappoint and provided outstanding highlights with his airborne strikes. The “Thunder Kid” got Hexigetu’s attention in the opening round with his well-timed flying knee.
“I visualized that flying knee,” Adiwang said. “I know once it lands, that would’ve been a very beautiful KO, but sadly, it didn’t go well.”
The pace, however, never turned up in the following rounds as Adiwang kept his distance, while Hexigetu threw nothing but three illegal strikes which led to two yellow cards and a purse deduction.
“[The illegal strikes] were frustrating and they got me off my game,” said Adiwang. “It’s different when you’re there because you’re trying to wait for the perfect timing to explode. But the low blows got me distracted. Looking back, I know I can do better than that.”
Adiwang and Hexigetu were supposed to meet last January, but the Mongolian had to withdraw from the card. This was Adiwang’s first bout since contracting COVID-19 last April.
With his victory, Adiwang has won his last two fights since his controversial loss against Koha Minowa last year. Meanwhile, Hexigetu saw his three-match win streak end.
Earlier, Filipino fighter Roel “Akiyama” Rosauro (5-4) found himself on the receiving end of a knockout finish as American fighter James Yang picked up a second-round technical knockout victory in his pro MMA debut.
Yang dominated all throughout the fight and controlled the 32-year-old Cebuano with his superior grappling. Rosauro, though, showed extreme resilience in the opening round and slipped off a tight choke attempt of Yang.
But Rosauro threw nothing but a missed right hand in the second round before Yang brought the fight to the canvas and finished the bout with some brutal ground and pound.
In the main event, Korean challenger Rae Yoon Ok (16-3) continued to impress as he pulled off an upset victory to steal the ONE lightweight title from 23-year old Christian “The Warrior” Lee (15-4).
Despite being rocked in the third round, Ok’s striking in the championship rounds paved the way to his third straight win in 2021.
Full results
- Lightweight World Championship – Ok Rae Yoon (KOR) def. Christian Lee (SIN/USA) via unanimous decision
- Bantamweight Kickboxing World Championship – Capitan (THA) def. Mehdi Zatout (ALG) via unanimous decision
- Strawweight World Championship – Joshua Pacio (PHI) defeats Yosuke Saruta (JPN) via first-round TKO (3:38)
- Featherweight – Kim Jae Woong (KOR) defeats Martin Nguyen (AUS/VIE) via first-round KO (3:15)
- Heavyweight – Anatoly Malykhin (IRN) defeats Amir Aliakbari (RUS) via first-round KO (2:57)
- Atomweight – Victoria Lee (SIN/USA) def. Victoria Souza (BRA) via second-round TKO (3:58)
- Strawweight – Lito Adiwang (PHI) def. Hexigetu (CHN) via unanimous decision
- Flyweight muay thai – Taiki Naito (JPN) def. Petchdam (THA) via split decision
- Heavyweight – Marcus Almeida (BRA) def. Anderson Silva (BRA) via first-round submission (2:55, north-south choke)
- Bantamweight Kickboxing – Petchtanong (THA) def. Zhang Chenglong (CHN) via unanimous decision
- Featherweight – James Yang (USA) def. Roel Rosauro (PHI) via second-round TKO (2:00)
– Rappler.com
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