ONE Championship: Spirit of a Warrior Results

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Aung La N Sang returns at ONE Championship: Spirit of a Warrior
Aung La N Sang Credit: ONE Championship

‘The Burmese Python’ Aung La N Sang returned to action at ONE Championship on Friday, putting his middleweight title on the line in another big show in his native Myanmar.

ONE Championship was back in action on Friday, June 29, bright and early for those of us in the west. Going down from Yangon, Myanmar, the card was topped by ONE’s dual-weight champ Aung La N Sang (middleweight and light heavyweight) defending his 185lb title against Japan’s Ken Hasegawa. Sang has become nothing short of a mega-star in his home country, and has quickly grown into one of ONE’s biggest assets.

In the co-main event, meanwhile, Brazil’s Leandro Issa continued his second run with the promotion. Issa (15–6) went 3-1 in the company from 2011 to 2013, before departing for the UFC. There, he went 2-3, capturing wins over Jumabieke Tuerxun and Ulka Sasaki. A pair of losses to Iuri Alcântara and Taylor Lapilus facilitated his exit from the UFC in 2016. Issa then returned to ONE, winning both of his fights since his return last year.

Opposite Issa will be Guam’s Roman Alvarez. ‘Sonic Boom’ is 6-1 as a pro, and will be making his ONE Championship debut at Spirit of a Warrior.

Check below for full results and highlights from the night’s action at ONE Championship: Spirit of a Warrior!

The card-opening kickboxing bout between Matthew Semper and Elliot Compton saw Semper dance his way to the cage. He wasn’t dancing for long, however. A first round knockdown by Compton set the tone, and he would capture a decision victory over the American Semper.

Mite Yine, meanwhile, turned opponent Saw Darwait into ground beef via ground n’ pound in the opening round of their flyweight fight. The action started fast and furious, and never really slowed until the ref ruled Darwait was no longer defending himself.

After the opening fight of the main card saw Kritsada Kongsrichai get past Jeremy Miado by unanimous decision, China’s Chen Lei took the cage against Qais Jasoor. This spirited contest saw ‘Rock Man’ absolutely pumped as he headed to the ONE cage. And for good reason. Lei wound up in a spirited, sometimes exhausting fight with Jasoor. At one point Jasoor actually laid down and rested his head against the fence between rounds, spent. Early in the third, Lei would score the TKO, keeping his undefeated record intact as he moved to a perfect 5-0.

Jumping ahead to the co-main event, the debuting Roman Alvarez went big early! He dropped Leandro Issa with a punch, and went in for the kill. However, when he couldn’t find the finish, he was suddenly trapped in Issa’s world. The Brazilian was able to lock in an arm-triangle choke, and in less than ninety seconds into round one, the finish was in the books!

It was the main event, however, that stole the show. In a five round war, challenger Ken Hasegawa showed his heart, proving to be one of Aung La N Sang’s toughest tests to date. With the middleweight title on the line, Hasegawa went toe-to-toe with the champion. Aung La launched his trademark kicks in the opening minutes, but it was Hasegawa who landed the most significant kick early, landing to the face of the champ. The Myanmar hero answered back, slipping through Hasegawa’s guard with right hands at times. Yet early on, Hasegawa had the higher output, and in the second Aung La N Sang found himself backed up, covering up.

Showing the heart of a champion, however, Aung La battled back. In the third, Hasegawa was beginning to tire. N Sang was working the body, landing knees and uppercuts. The champion would slip in this round, opening up an opportunity for Hasegawa to get into side control. However, Aung La N Sang quickly scrambled to safety. He finished the round by opening up a nasty cut on Hasegawa under the eye that would swell and juice throughout the remaining rounds.

Both men were exhausted in the fourth round, but there was no quit in either. A punch landed by the champion saw Ken Hasegawa fall forward, almost face-planting as much out of exhaustion as the impact of the blow. Aung La followed him to the ground, where the ‘Burmese Python’ looked to wrap him up in a choke. However, Hasegawa managed to scramble free and make it back up! Hasegawa initiated a clinch along the cage as the round wore on, looking for a rest. Yet he’d finish the round on his knees with Aung La N Sang trying to find a way to finish, only for time to run down.

The fifth and final round saw the champion, buoyed by a thunderous crowd, finding a second wind. He threw, but missed, with a spinning back elbow. Another spinning kick connected, but not flush, with his opponent’s mid-section. Finally Aung La N Sang hit the mark with his hands, and Hasegawa, who had never been knocked out, was wobbled. One final blow, and the champion had the fifth round knockout!

ONE Championship: Spirit of a Warrior Results:

Aung La N Sang def. Ken Hasegawa by knockout, Round 5, 3:13 – to retain the ONE middleweight world championship
Leandro Issa def. Roman Alvarez by submission (arm-triangle choke), Round 1, 1:26
Sorgraw Petchyindee Academy def Samy Sana by unanimous decision – ONE Super Series Kickboxing
Sagetdao Petpayathai def. Ma Jia Wen by unanimous decision
Tetsuya Yamada def Rafael Nunes by TKO (doctor’s stoppage), Round 2, 4:05
Chen Lei def. Ahmad Qais Jasoor by TKO, Round 3, 1:27
Kritsada Kongsrichai def. Jeremy Miado by unanimous decision

Preliminary Card Results:

Tukkatatong Petpayathai def. Mehdi Zatout by unanimous decision – ONE Super Series Kickboxing
Mite Yine def. Saw Darwait by TKO, Round 1, 2:48
Elliot Compton def. Matthew Semper by unanimous decision – ONE Super Series Kickboxing

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