 |
Martin Nguyen proudly displays his ONE Featherweight and Lightweight belts in front of a packed Mall of Asia Arena, Friday night. He shocked erstwhile champion Eduard 'Landslide' Folayang in round 2 of their cross-division title showdown at the ONE: Legends of the World event. [Photo by: Mike Romero]
|
By M.A. Mañez
PASAY–One Featherweight kingpin Martin Nguyen shocked the Mall of Asia Arena as he decked cold erstwhile Lightweight kingpin Eduard ‘Landslide’ Folayang at One: Legends of the World, Friday night.
Though
both fighters appeared to be on even terms, Folayang had most of the advantage,
using his strength and unleashing serious blows to Nguyen.
But it
was Nguyen, who had the last laugh as he threw out a vicious counter right hook
smack to the cheek of ‘Landslide’,
forcing referee Olivier Coste to call it a halt with 2:40 remaining in round 2.
“Last
year, I set my goals,” he explained. “I said to myself, ‘This year, I want to
rematch Marat [Gafurov], take the belt off of him, and become a two-division
champion.’”
Folayang,
meanwhile, was wheeled out of the arena causing him not to attend the
post-fight conference with the media.
The
immaculate knockout shocked the packed crowd, who had cheered their fellow
countrymen all evening, and were hoping to round off a spectacular night with a
hometown victory.
In the co-main event, Adriano ‘Mikinho’ Moraes struck lightning as he
choked out Danny Kingad for the ONE Flyweight belt, successfully defending it
in the process.
Kingad appeared
to have the advantage on the champion, showcasing his wushu skills for most of
the first round before getting tangled out by Moraes’ signature jiujitsu moves.
The fight was called off with only 15 seconds left in the very first round.
“This
night was amazing for me,” he said in a post-match. “Danny, you have a big
future, but now is my time.” He added.
In other
bouts, Kevin Belingon made sure he will please the Filipino crowd with his
wide-open unanimous decision over South Korean Kevin Chung.
Chung
took matters with his floor mastery but Belingon trapped the former with his
ground-and-pound prowess, flooring his opponent for most of the match.
In more
undercard fights before, Alex Silva survived a game yet sluggish Hayato Suzuki
via armbar in the opening stanza; Reece McLaren making short work of Anatpong
Bunrad and Zhao Zhikang sending Thai Rithy to submission.
Full
Results:
Prelims:
Peng
Xue Wen over Phat Soda (K.O., R1, 2:17)
Xie
Chao over Kelvin Ong (Cuts, R1, 1:48)
Joshua
Pacio over Roy Doliguez (K.O., R2, 0:38)
Gina
Iniong over Priscila Lumbangaol (Strikes, R2, 2:11)
Main Events:
Zhao
Zhikang over Thai Rithy (Submission, R1, 1:45)
Reece
McLaren over Anatpong Bunrad (Choke, R1, 4:52)
Alex Silva over Hayato Suzuki (Armbar, R1, 1:23)
Kevin Belingon
over Kevin Chung (Unanimous Decision)
Adriano
Moraes over Danny Kingad (Submission, R1, 4:45)
Martin
Nguyen over Eduard Folayang (K.O., R2, 2:20)
Follow him on Twitter: @MAManez_DPH16
.jpg)
