The 51st edition of ONE Championship’s Friday Fights took place today in Bangkok with Rambolek Chor Ajalaboon taking on Soner Sen in a bantamweight Muay Thai main event. Rambolek was the first athlete to receive a six-figure deal following the ONE Friday Fights series and he backed it up with a unanimous decision victory as the 20-year old’s record moved to 3-2.
It was a strong performance from Rambolek, but he was tested throughout by Sen. Within the first 40 seconds of the fight, he hit Sen with a strong right kick to the head but the Turkish fighter answered back throwing combinations and catching his opponent. Rambolek continued going to use the strength of his right leg, landing multiple kicks across all levels.
Round two started in the same fashion, Sen throwing multiple combinations with his hands whilst Rambolek continued to look to land a heavy blow with his legs. It didn’t all go the Thai fighters way in the second round, as he attempted a kick to the body he was caught with a spinning backfist to the body which knocked him off balance and Sen had the first knockdown of the fight. The round finished with both fights swinging away in the corner hoping to land the knockout blow.
The final round kicked off in similar vein, both fighters throwing combinations hoping to drop their opponent. Sen was pushing the tempo and forcing Rambolek into the corner as he unloaded his shots. They were both going shot for shot and landing with Rambolek unleashing some devastating kicks to hurt Sen and knock him back to the edge of the ring. Sen was now on the back foot, trying to distance himself from those deadly kicks.
In the final minute of the fight, Rambolek was letting his kicks go with Sen looking to clinch as his energy had clearly been sapped. All three judges scored in favour of Rambolek as he continued to master his craft and put on a show in the Friday Fights’ events.
It was a 12 fight card for all in attendance and those watching across the globe to enjoy. Englishman George Jarvis defeated Iraqi fighter Mustafa Al Tekreeti by split decision as he moved to 1-1 in his fledgling ONE career.
Potentially the highlight of the night came in the catchweight Muay Thai bout between Wanpadej Looksuan and Petphadan Jitmuangnon. Wanpadej looked to be losing the fight before unleashing an overhand right flush to the face of his opponent in the final seconds, knocking him out.
Two more fights in the same weight class went the distance. Peyman Zolfaghari won by unanimous decision over Petnamkhong Mongkolpet whilst in an all-Thailand fight, Punmongkol Sor Mongkolkarnchang took home the split decision win against Jomjai Naksugym.
Junior Fairtex at just 18-years old was too much for her much experienced opponent Angela Chang in an atomweight Muay Thai fight. Junior was tenacious throughout and having cut Chang within the first minute of the fight there was no turning back as she won by unanimous decision.
Avatar PK Saenchai overcame Antar Kacem for his fourth straight victory following a ferocious third round knockout. Having caught Kacem’s kick, Avatar caught him with a right-hand before ending the fight with a left knee to the head of his opponent.
Morocco’s Mohammed Boutasaa showed off his Matrix-like ducking skills to avoid the heavy kicks of Dmitry Changelia on his way to a split decision victory.
A catchweight MMA bout between Ivan Parshikov and Kazakbai Tilenov saw the latter win in the final round by TKO. The referee called an end to the fight just 10 seconds into the final round as Tilenov gained top control and was too strong for Parshikov.
The only submission of the event came in the featherweight MMA fight with Adilet Alimbek Uulu securing the second-round victory over Cho Gyu Jun.
In the first two fights of the evening, Temirlan Bekmurzaev defeated Masahito Okuyama by unanimous decision in a catchweight Kickboxing bout. Tomoki Sato also won by unanimous decision in his victory over Chusuan Chumaroonfarm.
The next event in the ONE Championship is Fight Night 19, which sees the UK’s own two-sport king Jonathan Haggerty look to defend his bantamweight Muay Thai World Championship belt against Brazilian Felipe Lobo at the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok on Friday 16th February. Also on the card is a rematch between Saemapetch Fairtex and Mohamed Younes Rabah, with the winner having a potential World Title shot on the line in the bantamweight Muay Thai division.
Will Moxon Sports 