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ONE: HEAVY HITTERS set the tone for 2022 with an outstanding eight-bout card stay from the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Friday, 14 January.
Followers have been handled to 6 highlight-reel finishes earlier than “The Panda” Xiong Jing Nan and Ayaka Miura capped off the night with a five-round tilt for the ONE Strawweight World Title.
Each athlete who stepped contained in the Circle made their mark, however a few of these impressions have been not possible to disregard. With that in thoughts, listed below are three massive takeaways from our first occasion of the 12 months.
#1 Tawanchai’s Emphatic Assertion
Tawanchai PK.Saenchai Muaythaigym hit the scene like a fireball in 2021, scoring a gorgeous head kick knockout in his ONE debut. Nonetheless, the blaze was doused considerably after an in depth split-decision loss in his second look.
At ONE: HEAVY HITTERS, Tawanchai stoked the embers and revived the warmth. He defeated #1-ranked bantamweight Muay Thai contender Saemapetch Fairtex with fascinating ease, proving that he’s one of many brightest rising stars to observe transferring ahead.
Following the conflict, Tawanchai introduced that he’ll be transferring as much as featherweight, the place he already feels prepared for a World Title shot.
And after his dazzling first-round knockout of Saemapetch, everybody within the division needs to be frightened, together with featherweight Muay Thai king Petchmorakot Petchyindee Academy
#2 Izagakhmaev Backs Up The Hype
It’s troublesome for any fighter to enter the Circle for the primary time, nevertheless it’s even tougher when surrounded by immense hype that provides stress to carry out at a excessive stage.
Nonetheless, Saygid Izagakhmaev made it look simple.
The protege of MMA legend Khabib Nurmagomedov submitted former ONE Welterweight World Title challenger James Nakashima of their light-weight combined martial arts conflict, showing calm and picked up as if he was a veteran of the promotion.
The proficient Russian first examined himself within the hanging division earlier than taking management of the struggle by using his world-class grappling. In the end, his dominant management from the highest led to a head and arm triangle choke early within the second spherical.
The debuting phenom was fired up, and he referred to as out a pair of legends in Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki and Eddie “The Underground King” Alvarez in his post-fight interview.
It’s clear that Izagakhmaev is formidable – however he’s additionally the actual deal. The light-weight division undoubtedly took discover of a brand new drive inside its ranks on Friday evening.
#3 We’re Excited For 3 Extra Rounds Of Supergirl-Vandaryeva
The tightly-contested strawweight Muay Thai battle between Supergirl and Ekaterina “Barbie” Vandaryeva left many in entrance of the screens and behind the scenes calling for a rematch.
And it seems like that’s precisely what’s going to occur within the close to future.
Following Supergirl’s cut up choice win, ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong awarded “Barbie” a US$50,000 efficiency bonus. He additionally expressed his dissatisfaction with the end result and acknowledged {that a} rematch is so as.
A second assembly will definitely be one to observe.
Teen sensation Supergirl will look to show that her victory at ONE: HEAVY HITTERS was no fluke, whereas the veteran Belarusian can look at the components that prevented her from scoring a end on Friday – after which come again even stronger.
Learn extra: ONE: HEAVY HITTERS – Full Outcomes For Each Struggle
