ONE Championship: Zamboanga earns title shot; Banario back to winning ways
ONE Championship (ONE) held a special closed-door event at the Singapore Indoor Stadium for ONE: KING OF THE JUNGLE. The main event saw United States’ Janet “JT” Todd put together an extraordinary performance, stunning now former two-sport ONE World Champion Stamp Fairtex to capture the ONE Atomweight Kickboxing World Title.
The two women had met previously under Muay Thai rules, but tonight, it was the punching accuracy of Todd that led her to victory. Todd opened the bout with a massive first round, connecting on the quicker, more impactful blows. Stamp turned the tide in the second and third rounds, closing the gap on the scorecards. Behind beautiful boxing combinations, Todd scored on a myriad of straight punches and hooks that found their mark. In the end, all three judges scored the bout in favor of Todd to win by split decision.
In the co-main event of the evening, reigning ONE Strawweight Kickboxing World Champion Sam-A Gaiyanghadao of Thailand added another belt to his collection after defeating Australia’s Rocky Ogden to capture the inaugural ONE Strawweight Muay Thai World Championship. The legendary Thai veteran was the quicker and more powerful man as the contest wore on. Although the first few rounds were closely competitive and tactical, Sam-A turned up the aggression in rounds four and five, punishing his young opponent with fast and powerful kicks and boxing combinations. All three judges scored the bout in favor of Sam-A, who makes history as the first ever male two-sport ONE World Champion.
ONE Warrior Series Contract Winner Kimihiro Eto of Japan easily scored the biggest victory of his career when he put former ONE World Title challenger Amir Khan of Singapore to sleep within the first few minutes of the opening round. The Japanese stalwart impressed with his grappling skill, as he effortlessly cancelled out Khan’s dangerous striking.
Japanese-Korean mixed martial arts legend Yoshihiro “Sexy Yama” Akiyama powered through an early flurry from Egypt’s Sherif “The Shark” Mohamed to win by first round knockout. Mohamed railed off wild haymakers from the opening bell, forcing Akiyama to backpedal and box from distance.
In a clash of top female strawweights, former ONE World Title challenger and Singaporean boxing champion Tiffany “No Chill” Teo overcame a spirited effort from highly-regarded Ayaka Miura of Japan, winning by technical knockout in the third round. Miura flashed moments of brilliance in the first round, attacking with her 3rd Degree Judo Black Belt skills while hunting for her trademark scarf hold submissions.
The Philippines’ Denice “The Menace Fairtex” Zamboanga battered top contender Mei “V.V” Yamaguchi of Japan for the majority of the three-round atomweight contest to win by unanimous decision. Zamboanga was accurate and powerful, connecting on a volley of explosive boxing combinations. Shortly after, Mitch Chilson announced that Zamboanga had earned herself a shot at the ONE Women’s Atomweight World Championship currently held by Angela Lee.
The United States’ Troy “Pretty Boy” Worthen kept his professional record perfect with a tremendous performance against ONE Warrior Series Contract Winner Mark “Tyson” Fairtex Abelardo of New Zealand and the Philippines. Worthen negated Abelardo’s early onslaught with good footwork and savvy defense. Across three whole rounds, Worthen controlled a game but outclassed Abelardo en route to a hard-earned unanimous decision victory.
Former ONE Featherweight World Champion Honorio “The Rock” Banario of the Philippines returned to the featherweight division to take on Thailand’s Shannon “OneShin” Wiratchai, figuring in a close split decision victory. The two former lightweights went to war over three full rounds, meeting each other at the center of the ONE Circle with their best offense.
Official results for ONE: KING OF THE JUNGLE
- ONE Atomweight Kickboxing World Championship: Janet Todd defeats Stamp Fairtex by Split Decision (SD) after 5 rounds
- ONE Strawweight Muay Thai World Championship: Sam-A Gaiyanghadao defeats Rocky Ogden by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 5 rounds
- Mixed Martial Arts Lightweight: Kimihiro Eto defeats Amir Khan by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 1:39 minutes of round 1
- Mixed Martial Arts Welterweight: Yoshihiro Akiyama defeats Sherif Mohamed by Knockout (KO) at 3:04 minutes of round 1
- Mixed Martial Arts Strawweight: Tiffany Teo defeats Ayaka Miura by TKO (Strikes) at 4:45 minutes of round 3
- Mixed Martial Arts Atomweight: Denice Zamboanga defeats Mei Yamaguchi by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 3 rounds
- Mixed Martial Arts Bantamweight: Troy Worthen defeats Mark Fairtex Abelardo by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 3 rounds
- Mixed Martial Arts Featherweight: Honorio Banario defeats Shannon Wiratchai by Split Decision (SD) after 3 rounds
- Mixed Martial Arts Atomweight: Ritu Phogat defeats Wu Chiao Chen by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 3 rounds
- Mixed Martial Arts Welterweight: Murad Ramazanov defeats Bae Myung Ho by TKO (Strikes) at 4:53 minutes of round 1
- Mixed Martial Arts Bantamweight: Jeff Chan defeats Radeem Rahman by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 2:00 minutes of round 2
