Bibiano Fernandes Submits Andrew Leone to Remain ONE Bantamweight World Champion
PLUS: ADRIANO MORAES
REGAINS THE UNDISPUTED ONE FLYWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP WITH VICTORY OVER
KAIRAT AKHMETOV
ALSO: TIMOFEY
NASTYUKHIN DEFEATS KOJI ANDO BY UNANIMOUS DECISION
The largest sports media property in
Asian history, ONE Championship™ (ONE), returned to the glamorous entertainment
capital of Asia with another evening of authentic world-class martial arts
action. The Cotai Arena at The Venetian Macao played host to ONE: KINGS &
CONQUERORS, featuring the absolute best in local and international martial arts
talent. In the main event, Bibiano Fernandes remained the most dominant world
champion in ONE Championship history by toppling American Andrew Leone. In the
co-main event, Adriano Moraes overcame a spirited performance from Kairat
Akhmetov to become the undisputed ONE Flyweight World Champion.
Defending ONE
Bantamweight World Champion Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes made quick work of
Andrew Leone, submitting the American challenger with a rear-naked choke in the
first frame of the much-awaited championship clash. It was the beginning of the
end for Leone when Fernandes hammered a knee to the midsection that slumped his
opponent to the mat. The 37-year-old Brazilian authored the final sequence by
latching on the match-ending submission, keeping the prestigious gold-plated
strap securely fastened around his waist. With the impressive victory over
Leone, Fernandes has set an unprecedented ONE Championship record of seven
successful title defenses, remaining unbeaten in the promotion.
Bibiano Fernandes, ONE Bantamweight
World Champion, stated: “I feel great. I feel great, thank you Macao for having
me. Thank you for my family in Canada and my family in Brazil who are watching
me right now. I am here to stay. I welcome all challenges. I want to say thank
you to Chatri [Sityodtong] and Matt Hume. I’m happy with ONE Championship. I
want to continue fighting. Whoever I have to fight, I will accept. I am always
ready!”
In the co-main event, Adriano “Mikinho”
Moraes of Brazil defeated Kairat Akhmetov of Kazakhstan via five-round
unanimous decision to become the sole owner of the ONE Flyweight World
Championship. Moraes, who previously held the interim title, controlled the
majority of the action with his grappling while defending champion Akhmetov
tried his best to fend off the Brazilian’s advances with his wrestling. On the
feet, Moraes got the better of the exchanges and landed the harder blows. All
three judges scored the bout in favor of Moraes, who unifies the flyweight
titles to become the undisputed king of the division.
Adriano Moraes, ONE Flyweight World
Champion, stated: “I’m not surprised [with the victory]. Thank you very much,
one more time, for the opportunity, ONE Championship. I want to thank my coach,
my family and my friends. I’m very grateful.”
Hard-hitting Russian
featherweight Timofey Nastyukhin and former world title challenger Koji “The
Commander” Ando of Japan figured in an incredibly tactical three-round matchup,
with Nastyukhin coming away with a well-earned unanimous decision victory.
After Ando nullified most of the action using his feints and pacing, Nastyukhin
turned up the pressure in the second half of the contest, consistently landing
the more telling blows. Both competitors unloaded their best offense in the
final minute of the third round. All three judges saw the bout in favor of
Nastyukhin.
Top lightweight
contender Shannon “OneShin” Wiratchai made quick work of India’s Rajinder Singh
Meena, winning by knockout just moments into a scheduled three-round bout. The
Bangkok Fight Lab mainstay authored one of his quickest finishes yet, landing a
right knee flush to Meena’s head from the clinch. Referee Olivier Coste wasted
no time in calling a halt to the contest once he realized Meena was completely
out of it. The end came officially at 29 seconds of round number one, and is
the fastest finish of Wiratchai’s career.
Undefeated Japanese veteran Hayato
Suzuki made a successful ONE Championship promotional debut, thwarting former
title challenger Joshua Pacio of the Philippines to win by first round
submission. After Pacio missed slightly on a spinning back kick attempt, Suzuki
capitalized by taking his back and dragging the Filipino to the ground.
Although Pacio valiantly fought off Suzuki’s submission attempts, it was only a
matter of time before the bout-ending sequence played out. In the end, Suzuki
notched his first victory in the ONE Championship cage via rear naked choke,
forcing the younger Pacio to tap out.
In a heated
featherweight showdown between two top contenders, Kotetsu “No Face” Boku of
Japan posted a thrilling technical knockout victory over Eric “The Natural”
Kelly of Baguio City, Philippines, utilizing his exceptional boxing skill.
Although Kelly was able to score on a couple of knockdowns by way of a
monstrous right hand, Boku was never fazed and kept putting the pressure on the
Filipino stalwart. In the third round, Boku took Kelly’s back and pounded on
his opponent to earn the finish.
Highly-touted Chinese
prospect “Rock Man” Chen Lei notched his sixth-straight triumph in his young
professional martial arts career by submitting Malaysian standout Saiful “The
Vampire” Merican in the third round. Leaning on his superb grappling pedigree,
Chen overwhelmed with his takedowns and sustained sturdy top control on the
canvas. Chen got the job done by compelling Merican to wave the white flag with
a wrenching armbar in the last round of their three-round bantamweight
collision.
Jomary Torres of the
Philippines overcame insurmountable odds to mark the first blemish in the
professional record of Thai martial arts superstar Rika “Tinydoll” Ishige.
Torres had to endure the initial onslaught from Ishige, who wasted no time in
taking her Filipina opponent to the ground, nearly scoring a submission finish
via armbar. In the second round, Torres pulled off a gutsy rally, wobbling
Ishige with lashing right hands. After dropping Ishige with another quick right
cross, Torres followed Ishige to the mat and fastened a rear-naked choke to
force the tap.
Leandro “Brodinho”
Issa of Brazil made a triumphant return to ONE Championship by stopping Finnish
martial artist Toni “Dynamite” Tauru inside of two rounds. Carrying his
dominant momentum from the first round to the second, Issa staggered the former
world title challenger with a left hook-right straight combination and drove
him to the mat with a high-impact slam. On the ground, Issa zapped Tauru with
big blows to force seasoned referee Yuji Shimada to step in and call a halt to
the contest.
Magomed Idrisov of
Russia kept his unblemished professional record intact at the expense of
Herbert “The Blaze” Burns of Brazil, defeating the ONE Championship veteran in
his promotional debut. Idrisov made sure to leave a lasting impression in his
first outing under the ONE Championship banner, connecting on crisp
combinations in the stand-up trade, while denying all of Burns’ takedown
attempts. In the end, Idrisov’s masterful performance proved enough to earn him
the undivided nod from the three judges at cageside.
Marcin Prachnio of
Poland continued his winning roll inside the ONE Championship cage as he
thwarted Brazilian submission specialist Gilberto “Giba” Galvao via first-round
knockout. Prachnio, who had to brush off a hard overhand left from Galvao in
the opening moments of the first frame, was able to sneak in a clean left
straight to the chin of his opponent. As Galvao dropped to the canvas, Prachnio
capitalized on the opportunity and pummeled his counterpart with ground strikes
to secure the victory.
A tactical
three-round middleweight bout served as the curtain-raiser contest for ONE:
KINGS & CONQUERORS as Leandro Ataides of Brazil collided with Polish
combatant Michal Pasternak in a battle of former world title contenders. With
both men seeking to vie for gold once more, Ataides and Pasternak employed
efficient strategies from bell to bell. Ataides utilized his speed and power to
connect on a handful of thudding strikes on Pasternak, who responded with solid
hooks, defending well against takedown attempts. After going back-and-forth for
three rounds, Ataides was declared the victor by way of unanimous decision.
Official results for ONE: KINGS & CONQUERORS
ONE Bantamweight World Championship bout: Bibiano Fernandes defeats
Andrew Leone by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 1:47 minutes of round 1
ONE Flyweight World Championship bout: Adriano Moraes defeats Kairat
Akhmetov by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 5 rounds
Lightweight bout: Timofey Nastyukhin defeats Koji Ando by Unanimous
Decision (UD) after 3 rounds
Catchweight bout: Shannon Wiratchai defeats Rajinder Singh Meena by
Knockout at 0:29 minutes of round 1
Strawweight bout: Hayato Suzuki defeats Joshua Pacio by Submission (Rear
Naked Choke) at 3:17 minutes of round 1
Featherweight bout: Kotetsu Boku defeats Eric Kelly by TKO (Strikes) at 3:27
minutes of round 3
Bantamweight bout: Chen Lei defeats Saiful Merican by Submission
(Armbar) at 3:58 minutes of round 3
Atomweight bout: Jomary Torres defeats Rika Ishige by Submission (Rear
Naked Choke) at 1:58 minutes of round 2
Bantamweight bout: Leandro Issa defeats Toni Tauru by TKO (Strikes) at 1:36
minutes of round 2
Featherweight bout: Magomed Idrisov defeats Herbert Burns by Unanimous
Decision (UD) after 3 rounds
Middleweight bout: Marcin Prachnio defeats Gilberto Galvao by Knockout
at 1:23 minutes of round 1
Middleweight bout: Leandro Ataides defeats Michal Pasternak by Unanimous
Decision (UD) after 3 rounds
In case you missed
the action log on to www.onefc.com/livestream for the full replay of
the fights at only US $9.99.
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Championship, please visit www.onefc.com, follow us on Twitter and
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