Singapore, September 30: Tawanchai PK.Saenchai stunned Petchmorakot Petchyindee to win the ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Championship in the headliner of ONE 161: Petchmorakot vs. Tawanchai, which took place the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore on Thursday (September 29).
The event highlighted what makes ONE Championship the most exciting martial arts organization in the world as it featured a main event that will live on as one of the best Muay Thai fights of the year.
Tawanchai took on Petchmorakot for the latter's ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Title and after five rounds came out victorious. It wasn't easy for the young Thai, but his in-ring smarts pushed him to a unanimous decision win.
In the ONE Heavyweight Kickboxing World Grand Prix semifinals, which served as the co-main event, Roman Kryklia put on an astonishing first-round demolition of Guto Inocente to secure his place in the finale.
Kryklia first dropped Inocente with a hard straight right punch only to land a flush head kick right as the action resumed to bring the contest to a close and pocket a US$50,000 bonus in the process.
The other ONE Heavyweight Kickboxing Grand Prix semifinal saw an aggressive Iraj Azizpour defeat Bruno Chaves. Azizpour dominated from start to finish to solidify his place in the Grand Prix final, where he'll meet his great adversary in Kryklia.
Also on the main card, Indian wrestling sensation Ritu Phogat suffered a first-round submission loss to Tiffany Teo in a women's Atomweight bout. This was Phogat's comeback bout after her appearance last December.
Plus, Saygid Izagakhmaev claimed a decision win over Zhang Lipeng in a lightweight bout after Oumar Kane claimed a second-round TKO win over Batradz Gazzaev in the main card opener.
Meanwhile, the lead card featured three muay thai bouts with Alaverdi Ramazanov, Sangmanee PK.Saenchai and Ferrari Fairtex claiming decision wins, while Ali Foladi knocked out Matheus Felipe in the first round of a middleweight MMA bout.
In the highlight on the lead card, Rodrigo Marello put on a record-breaking performance at ONE 161 when he tapped out Ruslan Bagdasarian in just 15 seconds of round one with an ankle lock. The finish was the fastest in ONE submission grappling history, and it earned Marello a US$50,000 bonus as well.
ONE 161 Results
Main Card
• ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Championship: Tawanchai PK.Saenchai defeated Petchmorakot Petchyindee via unanimous decision
• ONE Heavyweight Kickboxing World Grand Prix Semifinals: Roman Kryklia defeated Guto Inocente via TKO at 0:52 of round one
• ONE Heavyweight Kickboxing World Grand Prix Semifinals: Iraj Azizpour defeated Bruno Chaves via unanimous decision
• Lightweight Bout: Saygid Izagakhmaev defeated Zhang Lipeng via unanimous decision
• Women's Atomweight Bout: Tiffany Teo defeated Ritu Phogat via submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:52 of round one
• Heavyweight Bout: Oumar Kane defeated Batradz Gazzaev via TKO at 2:15 of round two
Lead Card
• Bantamweight Muay Thai Bout: Alaverdi Ramazanov defeated Capitan Petchyindee via split decision
• Bantamweight Muay Thai Bout: Sangmanee PK.Saenchai defeated Zhang Chenglong via split decision
• Featherweight Muay Thai Bout: Ferrari Fairtex defeated Han Zi Hao via unanimous decision
• Bantamweight Submission Grappling Bout: Rodrigo Marello defeated Ruslan Bagdasarian via submission (ankle lock) at 0:15 of round one
• Middleweight Bout: Ali Foladi defeated Matheus Felipe via knockout of 4:20 of round one