ONE Championship: Pursuit of Power Results

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Staff
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Agilan Thani topped the ONE Championship: Pursuit of Power card
Agilan Thani vs. Amitesh Chaubey Credit: ONE Championship

A busy weekend in MMA kicked off Friday with ONE Championship: Pursuit of Power, where a pair of key welterweight scraps were scheduled.

Live from the Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, ONE Championsip returned to action Friday with Pursuit of Power. The Asian mixed martial arts powerhouse brought with it a key welterweight scrap in the main event. Both Agillan Thani and Zebaztian Kadestam had previously challenged for gold against Ben Askren. Both, of course, had fallen short. Yet with the American wrestler’s retirement, there was an opening in the weight class, and a win by either man would push them closer to another shot at the title.

Another former Askren opponent also featured prominently on the Pursuit of Power card. Luis Santos, the only man not defeated by Askren (their bout ended in a No Contest after an eye poke left Santos unable to continue) was set to face American Tyler McGuire. With Askren retired, the vacant title was the goal, and it was possible that the winners of either of the night’s pivotal welterweight contests could go on to challenge for the belt.

Check back come fight time (7AM ET for those in the west) for highlights, results, and a brief recap of the night’s action!)

A late addition to the card saw ONE Warrior series vet Dae Sung Park of Korea score a unanimous decision win over Trestle Tan. Park, who turned pro in 2013, improved to 7-2 with the win. He previously competed for ROAD FC.

Opening up the main card, Ariel Sexton and Japan’s Kota Shimoishi battled for two full rounds, a battle punctuated by some heavy elbows and a near-finish at the end of the second for Sexton. Then, in the third, he put it away with an incredible submission, ruled an Amerikana, but given Sexton had a key lock as well, it was basically a double submission that Shimoishi was unable to escape.

The submissions continued when Keanu Subba trapped China’s Chao Xie in an arm-bar for what seemed like ages, trapping a leg as well and preventing Xie from escaping. That sealed the first round finish for Subba, with the Chinese fighter forced to tap.

After a brief foray into ONE Super Series kickboxing that saw Sergej Maslobojev victorious, former Pancrase champ Kazuki Tokudome took to the cage to meet Narantungalag Jadamba at featherweight. Jadamba was dropped by a right hand early in the second round, but battled back, turning the tables on Tokudome later in the round with a knockdown of his own. From there, he unleashed ground n’ pound, but couldn’t end the affair by the end of the round. Neither man was able to find the finish in the third, but Narantungalag Jadamba controlled the action and took a unanimous decision when all was said and done.

Something of an upset went down next, as American Tyler McGuire made a big debut in ONE, taking a unanimous decision against Luis Santos in an effort punctuated by some heavy knee attacks and excellent grappling exchanges.

In the main event, Zebaztian Kadestam was able to kick the leg out from under Agilan Thani early. Thani fired back with overhand rights and leg kicks of his own. A takedown followed for Thani, to the roar of the crowd; Kadestam however powered right back up. They battled it out to the second, where Kadestam worked his jab while Thani stalked him. Kadestam worked in a spinning back fist attack, while Thani broke out some combinations led with kicks that were increasingly effective. Thani would let a big head kick fly towards the end of the frame, but at the end of two, it was anyone’s fight.

The Swedish fighter came out aggressive to start the third, and landed a spinning back kick early on Agilan Thani. Thani changed levels for a takedown only to be stuffed. Kadestam then landed a high knee. He backed Thani up to the cage, forcing him to cover up. A left hook then dropped Thani! The ref rushed in then held up, apparently changing his mind. Thani made it to his feet only to eat a number of elbows before another knockdown finished him off! That absolutely silenced the crowd.

ONE Championship: Pursuit of Power Main Card Results:

Zebaztian Kadestam def. Agilan Thani by TKO, Roudn 3, 1:56
Jo Nattawut def. Yohann Drai by knockout, Round 1, 2:59 – ONE Super Series Muay Thai
Tyler McGuire def. Luís Santos by unanimous decision
Narantungalag Jadamba def. Kazuki Tokudome by unanimous decision
Sergej Maslobojev def. Florent Kaouachi by unanimous decision – ONE Super Series Kickboxing
Keanu Subba def. Chao Xie by submission (arm-bar), Round 1, 3:31
Ariel Sexton def. Kota Shimoishi by submission (Amerikana), Round 3, 0:44

Preliminary Card Results:

Kai Wen Li def Emilio Urrutia by TKO, Round 3, 1:22
Jihin Najihin def. Priscilla Gaol by unanimous decision
Petchdam Kaiyanghadao def. Josh Tonna by knockout, Round 2, 1:11 – ONE Super Series Muay Thai
Dae Sung Park def. Trestle Tan by unanimous decision

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