ONE Championship Dreams of Gold: Results and Highlights

Ilias Ennahachi Knocks Out Petchdam to Take the Flyweight Kickboxing Title

ONE Championship Dreams of Glory took place at Bangkok’s Impact Arena on Friday evening, delivering an intense night of Kickboxing, Muay Thai and MMA.  The evening featured a title fight for the Kickboxing Flyweight belt as well as the two semi-finals of the Featherweight Kickboxing Grand Prix.  Strangely for an event where the three most important bouts of the night were kickboxing, ONE Championship put up a cage rather than a ring.

In the main event, Dutch Kickboxer Ilias Ennahachi knocked out hometown hero Petchdam ‘Baby Shark’ Petchyindee Academy to claim the Flyweight Kickboxing Belt.  Round One was a measured start for both men and could have been called either way.  In Round Two, Ennahachi picked up the pace with some ferocious combinations on the Thai fighter.  The Third Round saw Ennahachi unleash a barrage of shots to Petchdam’s body and head, who eventually succumbed and could not continue.  A very impressive ONE Championship debut for the Dutch striker!

In the first semi-final of the Featherweight Kickboxing Grand Prix, Georgio Petrosyan showed again why he is widely considered the best Kickboxer in the world with a first round knock out over Thailand’s Smokin’ Jo Nattawut.  A straight left hook in Round One was all it took to floor the Thai fighter for a KO victory.

In the second semi-final, France’s Samy Sana and Russia’s Dzhabar Askerov went the distance, but it was Sana who dominated throughout.  Sana controlled the pace and direction of the fight using his reach advantage effectively.  After three rounds, Sana took the majority decision.

Sana and Petrosyan will fight in the Grand Prix Final for the $1,000,000 prize pot in Tokyo in October.

In an MMA bout, former Strawweight champion and Evolve MMA fighter Alex Silva broke his three bout losing streak with a win over Steefer Rahardian.  In round one, The Brazilian showed off his grappling prowess, taking the fight to the ground and dominating the Indonesian throughout the fight.  In round two, Silva again got the takedown taking Rahardian’s back before finishing him with an impressive belly down arm bar with seconds to spare.

The evening also saw the two sport champion Stamp Fairtex launch her bid to add the Atomweight MMA belt to her Muay Thai and Kickboxing titles.  Having had only one previous MMA bout, it was unclear how the Thai fighter would fare against the more experienced Asha Roka.  Stamp put any concerns to rest by securing victory with a rear naked choke in round three.  Stamp showed she has some ground game, but her opponent Roka is better known for her boxing record than her MMA skills.  There is a long round for Stamp to travel in the Women’s Atomweight division yet!

Vietnamese – American fighter Thanh Le improved his record to 10-2 with an impressive first round KO over veteran Japanese figher Kotetsu Boku.  Boku never troubled Le and it only took 2 minutes for Le to put the lights out for Boku.  Le is an impressive all-rounder with a Taekwando background and BJJ Brown Belt.  He is definately a future top contender in the stacked Featherweight division.

Fight of the night must go to the bout between Cambodia’s Chan Rothana and Cuba’s Gustavo Balart.  Standing at 4′ 11, the Cuban olympic wrestler must be the shortest MMA fighter in any promotion.  Balart pushed the pace throughout all three rounds securing multiple takedowns and taking the fight to the ground.  Rothana used his height and reach to out-strike the Cuban, but Balart showed he has a granite chin seemingly unfazed by the Cambodian’s attempts to stop him.  After three rounds, Balart’s team seemed confident in victory, but the judges saw it otherwise and gave a unanimous decision to Rothana.

Full results

  • ONE Flyweight Kickboxing World Championship bout: Ilias Ennahachi defeats Petchdam Petchyindee Academy by Knockout (KO) at 0:59 minutes of round 3
  • ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Grand Prix Semi-Final bout: Giorgio Petrosyan defeats Jo Nattawut by Knockout (KO) at 2:50 minutes of round 1
  • Mixed Martial Arts Women’s Atomweight bout: Stamp Fairtex defeats Asha Roka by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 1:29 minutes of round 3
  • ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Grand Prix Semi-Final bout: Samy Sana defeats Dzhabar Askerov by Majority Decision (MD) after 3 rounds
  • Mixed Martial Arts Strawweight bout: Alex Silva defeats Stefer Rahardian by Submission (Armbar) at 4:55 minutes of round 2
  • Muay Thai Bantamweight bout: Muangthai PK.Saenchaimuaythaigym defeats Kenta Yamada by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 3 rounds
  • Mixed Martial Arts Featherweight bout: Thanh Le defeats Kotetsu Boku by Knockout (KO) at 1:28 minutes of round 1
  • Muay Thai Flyweight bout: Lerdsila Phuket Top Team defeats Savvas Michael by Technical Knockout (TKO) at 0:29 minutes of round 2
  • Mixed Martial Arts Bantamweight bout: Yusup Saadulaev defeats Dae Hwan Kim by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 3 rounds
  • Mixed Martial Arts Flyweight bout: Chan Rothana defeats Gustavo Balart by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 3 rounds
  • Muay Thai Catchweight bout: Bangpleenoi Petchyindee Academy defeats Liam Nolan by Majority Decision (MD) after 3 rounds
  • Mixed Martial Arts Strawweight bout: Ryuto Sawada defeats Aziz Calim by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 1:09 minutes of round 1
  • Muay Thai Bantamweight bout: Alaverdi Ramazanov defeats Ognjen Topic by Technical Knockout (TKO) at 2:25 minutes of round 1
  • Mixed Martial Arts Bantamweight bout: Zhao Zhi Kang defeats Paul Lumihi by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 4:08 minutes of round 2

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by Sam Vickery - Aug 16, 2019

by Sam Vickery - Aug 17, 2019

Martial arts fan and writer based in Singapore

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