ONE Championship: Spirit of a Warrior delivered and then some, with a thrilling five-round war between Aung La N Sang and Ken Hasegawa that saw the champ find the finish in the fifth.
Every now and then a fight comes along that reminds you why you became such a fan of MMA in the first place. ONE Championship: Spirit of a Warrior had one of those. The main event war between dual-weight champ Aung La N Sang and Ken Hasegawa was a battle of heart vs. determination. Hasegawa had never been knocked out. The champ was incredibly durable himself.
And so, for the better part of five rounds, the pair threw caution to the wind, and slugged it out. Both men ate some heavy, heavy shots. The champ took a kick to the face early. The challenger seemed to have the upper hand in the first two rounds. Yet Aung La N Sang battled back. Hasegawa began to tire. Then, in the fifth and final round, the champ found a second wind. He launched one final assault. Catching Hasegawa with a punch, he captured the victory, as the challenger crashed to the canvas.
Aung La N Sang knocks out Ken Hasegawa in the fifth round of an EPIC clash to retain his ONE Middleweight World Championship! #SpiritOfAWarrior #Yangon #MartialArts pic.twitter.com/ooadNEoaui
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) June 29, 2018
Aung La N Sang retained his middleweight title on Friday in Yangon, Myanmar, but that was only half the story. The real story was the blossoming of a star for the Asian promotion. ‘The Burmese Python’ has become must-see TV. A true headliner.
The world's greatest ring entrance. Nothing like it. Entire stadium singing Aung La N Sang's entrance song and 1 in every 3 people in a country of 54 million watching live on TV. Insane! @ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/CzDAmcsHuL
— MichaelSchiavello PM (@SchiavelloVOICE) June 30, 2018
There was plenty of other action on the ONE Championship: Spirit of a Warrior card on Friday. Even a little controversy, which saw the bout between Ma Jia Wen and Sagetdao Petpayathai reviewed. Originally a decision win for Petpayathai, the result was overturned, and Wen ruled the winner.
ONE Championship has conducted an official review of the controversial bout between Ma Jia Wen and Sagetdao Petpayathai at ONE: SPIRIT OF A WARRIOR. The decision has been formally overturned by the ONE Competition Committee and Ma Jia Wen is now declared the rightful winner. pic.twitter.com/8po2uwFJ1z
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) June 30, 2018
Check below for a gallery of all the highlights from ONE Championship: Spirit of a Warrior, courtesy of ONE!
