A featherweight kickboxing trilogy match for the interim title between Superbon Singha Mawynn and Marat Grigorian headlined ONE Friday Fights 58.
Superbon lost their first match back in 2018 but won by decision last time they fought. In that last fight he was still the ONE champ, but would lose his belt to Chingiz Allazov one fight later. With Allazov, the world’s best kickboxer, having a dispute with ONE, the interim title fight was made. Superbon won his last kickboxing fight by amazing head kick knockout, but lost when he challenged Tawanchai for the Muay Thai title at 155-lbs. Marat’s last performance saw him beat all-time great Sittichai by decision. As two of the best kickboxers in the world, the fight was highly anticipated around the globe.
Marat came right out of the gate with aggression, matching down Superbon. As one of the most durable and cardiovascular kickboxers in the world, putting the pace on his opponents is how he often wins. Superbon’s kicks worked well but Grigorian kicked more than usual, also. Marat’s uppercut landed a few times clean, but Superbon’s knees did as well. The round was close.
Round two was close as well, but Superbon seemed to take a lead. His intercepting knees constantly caught Marat in the torso while the Armenian came forward. His famous kicks constantly slammed into the side of Grigorian as well. Although Marat was right in his face and landed many punches himself, the legs of the Thai did the most damage in the round. Grigorian threw leg kicks still, but his teeps from the first round were less present.
Marat kept trying to walk down Superbon in round three and had success with the hands to start the round, as well as showing better kick defense. After the first minute Superbon got on the front foot increasingly often, and his step-up knees and round kicks began to go to work again. Superbon landed one of his famous head kicks at the end of the round, but only caught Marat with the toes, not the full power of the kick.
The championship rounds started with a similar dynamic to the others. Marat had trouble finding the head of Superbon at first but after the first minute began to find his mark more and more, mixing up punches to the body for the first time in the fight. As the round went on he only grew in power and notched his first clear round in the fight.
The score may have been tied, two rounds apiece, going into the final round. Superbon started with good kicks but received a hard warning from the referee for clinching. Still, his teep kicks were a big tool for keeping the space, helping him start the fifth round better than the fourth. Grigorian found his mark midway through the round with the hands but the knees and kicks of Superbon were doing more damage. The constant forward march of Grigorian made it hard for Superbon to not clinch, nothing he did deterred Marat, only stopped the pressure for a moment. The final seconds saw the pair swing to the bell, to the appreciation of the crowd.
Due to so many close rounds, nobody could be sure who won. When the scorecards were announced, it was unanimous for Superbon Singha Mawynn, who regained a piece of his world title. It will be one of the biggest fights of the year whenever he rematches Allazov, seeking revenge for his only knockout loss in the last five years, and only loss in kickboxing since the first time he faced Marat.
The new interim champion declared his intention to still become double champ, meaning he will need to fight and beat the last two men to beat him, Chingiz Allazov and Tawanchai PK.Saenchai.
Official Result: Superbon Singha Mawynn def. Marat Grigorian by Unanimous Decision
Full results available HERE.
