The current best pound-for-pound kickboxer in the world, Chingiz Allazov, looked to notch the first defense of his ONE featherweight belt against #2 contender Marat Grigorian at ONE Fight Night 13.
The two had fought twice before, both times in 2013, with the first bout being a no-contest due to a foul and the second being a decision win for Grigorian. In the ten years between bouts both fighters had changed massively. Allazov’s grand prix finale victory over Sitthichai and then his title-winning performance against former #1 pound-for-pound kickboxer Superbon catapulted him to international superstardom. Although Chingiz, a Georgian-born fighter who trains out of Belarus, was the favorite going into the bout, everyone watching knew that the punishing power possessed by each fighter could end the fight at absolutely any time.
Chingiz opened by constantly lashing out with kicks, keeping Grigorian off of him. Marat looked to do what he did in their last fight, ten years ago, by pressing forward and smothering Allazov. Chingiz used lateral movement and fancy footwork to stay off the ropes as much as possible but sometimes found himself cornered. He landed multiple good shots to the body and in general kept a higher pace than Marat. The variety of his shots was high and he often pretended to reset before launching his way back into range with another surprisingly quick attack. Grigorian could hardly land a punch in the first round whereas Chingiz landed knees, punches, and kicks to great effect. Still, at the end of the round the Georgian was breathing heavy, which is perhaps just what Marat wanted.
The gameplan seemed the same at the start of the second round for each, though early on Marat did corner him once and force a big pocket exchange where each man landed. Other than that it was all Allazov. He landed hooks while exiting out the side door, darted in from far out of range with step-in knees that caught the chin, and generally tuned up Grigorian for much of the round until the Armenian cornered Chingiz again two minutes into the round to land some monster shots to the body and head. Maybe Allazov was slowing, or maybe Marat was just being more aggressive. The champion did not wilt from periods such as that and kept up his impossibly high work-rate after that still, seemingly putting him ahead 20-18 on the scorecards. Grigorian’s corner agreed with that assessment.
The third round saw Chingiz decide to go forward a bit more early on, walking forward behind a combination that showed he could force Marat backwards. Still, the dynamic was much the same as the first two rounds. The dancing movement of Chingiz Allazov made Grigorian look almost silly at points, and when Marat did land the champ just smiled back at him. The gap did seem to close in this round as Allazov did not put out the same insane output – though it was still high – and had fewer massive shots land. It still seemed that the champion had won another round, though this one was close enough that that could feasibly not be the case.
The championship rounds began with Chingiz fighting back like a tiger when cornered by Grigorian, wading forward with a combo to get off the ropes. He found himself cornered more and more in this round though; Marat’s gameplan was beginning to work and the champion was beginning to slow down. The jab of Grigorian constantly stabbed out at the champ, measuring distance even when it missed. The dancing of Allazov still gave Marat trouble landing big blows, though with forty seconds left in the round he landed a good right hand to the body followed by one to the head when the champ was cornered. Just like the third round, this one was closer than the first two, though there was no guarantees that Marat had won either of them.
The final round began after Marat Grigorian’s team told him he needed a knockout to win and he went for it with all he had. The Armenian unloaded on Allazov early in the round but Chingiz was able to survive and dance his way out of danger every time it looked like it might get bad for him. He was clearly more tired than he had been a few rounds before, but anyone would be after putting out such insane output. And by no means was Allazov resting on his laurels despite his constant retreating footwork. He put out good offense in this round on the same level as the last two, despite taking more damage than previously. Grigorian landed a head kick that glanced off the head of Allazov and when he cornered the champion he unloaded with hooks to the body and head. The final seconds saw a wild trade where Allazov landed a spinning backfist, only to absorb a big combination right before the bell.
After a high-paced striking battle both men raised their hands, playing to the crowd and judges. Allazov jumped up on the ropes, anticipating that he would receive the decision. When the scorecards were read all three judges gave the victory, and thus the belt, to Chingiz Allazov. The pound-for-pound king still reigned in his weight class and over the whole sport.
Official Result: Chingiz Allazov def. Marat Grigorian by Unanimous Decision
