Danny Kingad back with a bang, snaps Eko Saputra's winning streak

Danny Kingad nearly finished submission expert Eko Roni Saputra with a rear naked choke! ONE Championship

By Ivan Saldajeno

MANILA—Danny Kingad is back!

The Filipino mixed martial arts star returned with a bang after dominating Eko Roni Saputra at ONE on Prime Video 7 on Saturday at the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok.

Kingad, who fought for the first time in 14 months, beat Saputra at his own game as he applied the lessons Team Lakay got from grappling legend Shinya Aoki in the match.

Aware that all of Saputra's last seven matches, all ending in wins, ended by Round 1, Kingad quickly slowed him down right at the get-go with a takedown.

Despite Saputra's ground game prowess, he struggled to get out of Kingad's grappling, although he somehow connected with his strikes late in Round 1 and even early into Round 2.

However, it was all Kingad afterward, delivering the crisper blows, including a spinning fist that staggered Saputra a bit, and even coming close to a rear naked choke submission with less than a minute left in Round 3.

Following the unanimous decision win, Kingad moved up to 15-3 while keeping his number three rank in the flyweight division intact.

Saputra fell to 7-2, losing for the first time since dropping his pro debut in 2019.

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