The main event of One Fight Night 23 featured the interim One Championship lightweight mixed martial arts title, but there was no winner.
The five-round main event featured South Korea’s Le Yun-Ok facing Turkey’s Alibeg Rasoulov, who was ineligible for the title after failing to clear the weight limit. Ok (17-4) started the bout calmly, landing kicks from the outside and sneaking elbows when clinched, but as the rounds progressed, Rasoulov (14-0) began to control the pace and position. In the second round, Ok began to land a successful jab and then landed a knee to the body from the inside. The Turkish fighter began to slow down in the third round but continued to push forward, creating shining moments with his dirty boxing.
Despite the exhausting nature of the bout, a deciding round was necessary as Rasoulov continued to move forward and stay active. The overweight fighter controlled the attritional battle and had success in clinches close to the ropes. Both men were exhausted by the fifth round, but neither man stopped attacking.
The interim title remained vacant after five rounds of the bout, with Rasoulof winning by unanimous decision.
Carillo defeats Fairtex
The semi-main event featured top-ranked bantamweight Muay Thai contenders Nico Carillo and Saemapetch Fairtex.
Early on, Carillo used his height to break down Fairtex with punches from the outside. A knee strike hurt the Thai fighter late in the first round. Fairtex had some success with leg kicks in the second round, but a sudden knockdown by his Scottish opponent turned the tide. A well-timed left hook knocked Fairtex down again, and Carillo kept up the pressure until Fairtex weakened.
After three knockdowns in the round, the bout was stopped at 2 minutes and 3 seconds into the second round, and Carrillo demanded a title fight.
Ruotolo dominates Chen
The only submission grappling match of the night pitted 21-year-old grappling sensation Tai Ruotolo against the even younger 19-year-old Joseph Chen.
Both fighters struggled to take the other to the ground in the clinch for the first three minutes, with Ruotolo managing to land a trip. Chen quickly got to his feet, however, and the two were largely at a stalemate until the American scored a double leg takedown. Chen’s butterfly guard was effective, and Ruotolo struggled to break through it. Both fighters tried to apply leg locks to no avail, and the two grappled until the 10-minute limit.
In the end, the judges praised Ruotolo’s work highly and he was declared the unanimous winner.
Grishenko dominates Kang
Heavyweight mixed martial artist Kirill Grishenko kept his title hopes alive against Jiwon Kang.
Grishenko (6-2) kept Kang (7-3) in the clinch and against the ropes for most of the first round after getting some distance with kicks to the body. The Belarusian peppered “The Mighty Warrior” with jabs in the second round and took complete control of the action in the stands. The South Korean tried to come forward more in the final five minutes, only to be met with strikes from Grishenko, who showed little signs of tiring after three rounds.
Grishenko won by unanimous decision, improving his record in the promotion to 3-2.
Kouyate defeats Lessay
Featherweight Muay Thai prospect Luke Lessay suffered another setback at Banpara Kouyate.
In the opening rounds, the American took his time against Kouyate, whose quick punches cut Lessay around his left eye. Kouyate kept his momentum going, taking Lessay down early in the second round and keeping his distance with powerful kicks. The 28-year-old became more aggressive in the final round, taking Lessay down with an uppercut from Kouyate. Lessay got up, staggered and was unable to continue, so the bout was stopped.
The bout officially ended at 2 minutes and 8 seconds into the third round.
Prime Video Early ONE 23 Results:
In a bantamweight MMA fight, Tatsumitsu Wada (24-12-2, 1 no kick) won a close decision over Wei Shi (18-6). Woravit Madabram got revenge on fellow Muay Thai fighter Ali Sardoev with a spectacular head kick knockout in the second round. In the first MMA fight of the night, Isao Minowa (14-5) out-handled Jeremy Miad (12-8) to win by split decision. Ellis Bada Barbosa knocked down Alif Sor Dechaphan in a 125-pound Muay Thai fight to win by split decision. Heavyweight Muay Thai favorite Umar Cain quickly finished off Mamadou Kamara with a series of punches at 2 minutes and 8 seconds into the first round. In the opening bout of the 151-pound Muay Thai bout, Alexei Bariko knocked out Stefan Kolody with a perfect left hook at 2 minutes, 41 seconds into the first round.
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