But outside of Kane, who steamrolled a clearly outmatched Patrick Schmid, it was a rough night for the promotion’s biggest stars.

Alvarez, in particular, was the center of controversy after landing multiple illegal strikes to the back of opponent Iuri Lapicus’ head. While “The Underground King” protested that the blows were legal, replay showed that they were not. Lapicus was taken to hospital, and was stable, but the damage was done. A rough start to ONE’s tenure on TNT. Alvarez was handed a red card and DQ’d.

Adriano Moraes vs. Demetrious Johnson was a better fight — especially if you were Moraes. The Brazilian flyweight champ, with a noticeable size advantage over “Mighty Mouse,” cracked Johhnson in the second round. After Johnson went down, Moraes caught him with a knee on the way up. Illegal under the Unified Rules of MMA, perfectly legal under ONE’s ruleset. Johnson, for the first time in his illustrious career, was stopped. As were his chances of a second major title.

In the end, it was Rodtang who stole the show. Western audiences may not know or case about Rodtang Jitmuangnon, but he absolutely pieced up Daniel Williams in the evening’s Muay Thai main event. A solid way to end the night.

Highlights from ONE on TNT 1 as well as full results can be found below.

ONE on TNT 1 Full Results

Main Card

Rodtang Jitmuangnon def. Danial Williams by unanimous decision – Muay Thai, non-title catchweight bout
Adriano Moraes (c) def. Demetrious Johnson by knockout, Round 2, 2:24 – for the ONE flyweight championship
Eddie Alvarez vs. Iuri Lapicus ends in No Contest (DQ – illegal strikes), Round 1, 0:58

Preliminary Card

Raimond Magomedaliev def. Tyler McGuire by unanimous decision
Enriko Kehl def. Chingiz Allazov by split decision – kickboxing
Oumar Kane def. Patrick Schmid by TKO, Round 1, 1:48

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“During the fight, I had my own doubts, but my cornerman told me that the first and second round, I won,” he told media outlets during a virtual press scrum following the event. “So it made me more confident to go into the third round and finish up and do what I can do.”

The fight didn’t quite play out the way Magomedaliev (8-1) expected. “I was expecting some more attacks, more wrestling, but he didn’t surprise me in that sense. So I’m happy that I won.”

If Raimond Magomedaliev sounded a little unhappy with his own performance, it was because “In my head, I had my plan, and I was very confident to finish him in the first round. But because of my physical conditioning, it was really hard to [fight] according to my plan.” Conditioning aside, taking home a unanimous decision win over a former title challenger on ONE’s biggest card of the year to date is no small feat.

It could also lead to a shot at gold, something Magomedaliev would welcome. “If the organization decides to put that fight [together], I would be happy to do that.”

Watch the full ONE on TNT 1 post-fight press scrum with Raimond Magomedaliev above.

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Following the bout, Kane (3-0) explained that he had “prepared for the fight in Dubai,” bringing his team with him. “People came from Senegal, and we prepared everything in Dubai,” he said, thanking coaches and training partners for making the trip while speaking via translator at a virtual post-fight press conference.

Then, Barghi fell out due to a positive COVID-19 test, revealed Kane. “I accepted to fight with anyone I have in front of me. I’m ready to fight, I’m here for that.”

As to his performance on Wednesday, it was hard from an outsider perspective to find flaws. Still, the heavyweight, now 3-0 as a professional, feels he could have done more. “We can do something better than what we have done today. We can do better,” he insisted. “I have prepared the fight greater than what we have seen.”

Asked whether ONE heavyweight champ Brandon Vera could be next, Kane replied that “I don’t care about the person in front of me. I accept any fighter. I have no problem with the fighter, I can meet anyone you put in front of me. I don’t care about the athlete in front of me.”

Vera has Indo-Canadian Arjan Bhullar up next, but it feels like a title shot for Oumar Kane isn’t far off.

Watch the full ONE on TNT 1 virtual post-fight press scrum with Oumar Kane, a.k.a. “Reug Reug,” above.

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“It’s frustrating. I watched the fight about four or five times and saw the exchange that took me out of the fight,” Johnson (30-4-1) said following the bout, speaking in a virtual media scrum. If you compete in the sport long enough, added Johnson, “it’s bound to happen. Do I want it to happen? Absolutely not.”

Still, seeing Johnson, one of the best of all time, lose to the lesser-known but clearly talented Adriano Moraes was likely a shock to some. The end came after Johnson ate a heavy punch, which led to what he referred to as a slip. From there, “[Moraes] had me on the ground, I was going for an underhook, and he just blasted me in the face with a knee. That’s all she wrote.”

That sort of knee would not have been legal in Johnson’s old home in the UFC. It’s the sort of knee, or close to it, that got Petr Yan disqualified against Aljamain Sterling earlier this year. But under the ONE Championship ruleset, knees to opponents who would be considered grounded under the Unified Rules of MMA are acceptable. And Johnson is just fine with that.

“I like these rules. It’s the progression of a fight. I went down on my back, I was coming up with an underhook, Adriano had me posted, he blasted me with a knee, it’s done,” he stated. “I don’t get any more concussions, it’s just done.”

“It ended the fight. I wasn’t stalling one bit, I was trying to get up and fight and I got blasted with a knee. My first fight in ONE Championship I did it to Yuya Wakamatsu and ended up getting the finish,” Johnson continued. As he sees it, the rule is all about allowing the fight to progress naturally, and bringing about the end if need be. “If Adriano wasn’t able to land the knee, yes I still would have been in the fight, but he would have had to do something totally different.”

While Johnson didn’t specify, that “something totally different” could no doubt have been equally damaging.

In any case, “I’m totally content,” the former UFC champ said following the loss. “I’m not like ‘that rule should be taken out.’ That’s what the rule was, Adriano used it to his advantage, and I was on the other end of the stick.”

Watch the full ONE on TNT 1 post-fight virtual media scrum with Demetrious Johnson above.

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Alvarez, a former Bellator MMA and UFC lightweight champion, saw his night end early, disqualified due to illegal blows to the back of the head of opponent Iuri Lapicus. The American fighter immediately protested the call; Lapicus, for his part, didn’t get much of a say, leaving the cage inside the Singapore Indoor Stadium on a stretcher.

“It was a bad call on the referee’s side,” Alvarez said after watching the fight, speaking at a virtual post-fight press conference. “The American media is in uproar right now, and so are the American fans.”

While some no doubt were, others sided with the fallen Lapicus. To be clear, the initial strikes were legal, but once Lapicus had turned his head, it appeared a few illegal blows got through. Alvarez, however, believes he has grounds for an appeal. “I’m going to respectfully ask [ONE Championship] to look back at the video, and reverse the call.”

ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong has already done so, however. And his statement doesn’t jibe with what Alvarez saw.

Hear Chatri's thoughts on Alvarez vs. Lapicus, including an update on Iuri's condition 🙏 @yodchatri @Ealvarezfight #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship #ONEonTNT pic.twitter.com/qt6OODsQlQ

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) April 8, 2021

“Eddie, the problem is, there were four or five illegal blows. I reviewed it three times,” stated Sityodtong, adding that he knew Alvarez “didn’t mean to do it.”

During Wednesday’s ONE broadcast on TNT, there appeared to be some confusion as to whether the fight would end in a DQ or a No Contest, even after Alvarez was handed a red card. In the end, it will be a loss for Eddie Alvarez, but he clarified the scene in the cage post-fight.

“The referee came to me and said ‘don’t worry, take a deep breath, I’ll take care of it.’ Basically saying, ‘nothing funny’s going to happen here,'” he recalled.

Alvarez recognized that both he and the ref were in the heat of the moment. But still, he added, “whoever made that call, it was a bad call. And that’s fine. That’s totally fine. People make bad calls all the time in sports. Emotions run high, fights are split seconds,” he observed. “Literally you have split seconds to make a decision. No problem. Let’s do the right thing. Let’s do the right thing. That’s it.”

Based on Sityodtong’s statement, Alvarez’s wish to have the loss overturned will not be granted. To the credit of “The Underground King,” his main concern following the bout was the well-bring of his opponent. According to Sityodtong, he’s in stable condition. The loss, meanwhile, dropped Alvarez’s record to 30-8, with one No Contest.

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After losing his UFC flyweight title in a close split decision with Henry Cejudo in 2018, Johnson, widely considered one of the best fighters of all time, left the UFC in a widely-publicized “trade” with ONE Championship for Ben Askren. The deal seemed like a bargain for ONE: Askren had been retired. Johnson was the best lower-weight fighter on the planet. And he fought like it when he arrived in ONE, going on to win the promotion’s flyweight grand prix.

That tournament win, complete with oversized belt, punched Johnson’s ticket to a title fight with champ Adriano Moraes. And at ONE on TNT 1 on Wednesday, after a year of pandemic-induced delays, their showdown finally arrived.

Johnson found some adversity in the opening round. After some back-and-forth early, Moraes was able to get the upper hand on the ground, getting on top of “Mighty Mouse.” Eventually, Moraes settled into Johnson’s guard, looking to pass, while Johnson threw a few strikes, including an elbow, from the bottom.

Moraes’ size advantage, however, one of the bigger questions heading into the fight, seemed to have announced itself early.

Round two saw an exchange of kicks, and plenty of back-and-forth on the feet. Johnson fluidly switched stances, employed feints, and gave Moraes all sorts of different looks. But the champion never seemed to be in much trouble. And when he caught Johnson with a right hand, it was the begging of the end. Johnson went down. On the way up, he ate a nasty knee — one that would have been illegal in Johnson’s old home in the UFC, but which was perfectly legal under the ONE Championship ruleset.

That was it. Johnson’s title hopes, hopes for a second belt, were dashed. With Eddie Alvarez suffering a DQ loss earlier in the night, it was a rough outing for the American contingent at ONE on TNT 1. Instead of a title, it was the first stoppage loss of his career for Johnson. And the biggest win yet for Moraes.

Official result: Adriano Moraes (c) def. Demetrious Johnson by knockout, Round 2, 2:24

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Alvarez, after all, was a proven performer. After a dominant performance from heavyweight standout Ourmar Kane earlier in the evening, opening up the prelims, it was the lightweight division’s turn to shine. Alvarez, the former UFC and Bellator MMA lightweight champ, was looking to build on his first win in the promotion, which came against Eduard Folayang in August 2019. His opponent, Iuri Lapicus, had come up short against Christian Lee in a shot at the title — and was looking to get right back in the mix with a win over the veteran “Underground King.”

Fireworks were bound to happen. And they did, right before the fight fizzled.

It was Alvarez who opted to fall back on his wrestling early Wednesday night. After a bit of back and forth, Alvarez shot in, took Lapicus down, and tied up his legs. Eddie began delivering some heavy strikes, only for Lapicus to turn his head, resulting in several blows hitting the back of the skull. Lapicus was clearly hurt, and when his head fell back, Alvarez landed a few hammer fists to the face. The problem being, the ref called the blows illegal, halting the action.

With Lapicus unable to continue, Alvarez was handed a red card, resulting in a disqualification, and a no contest loss for Eddie. Lapicus, meanwhile, exited the cage on a stetcher.

Following the bout, a clearly emotional Alvarez apologized for the fouls, while saying that he had attempted to turn his opponent’s head into a legal position. “I’m doing my best in here. I’m praying for Iuri right now.”

Official Result: Iuri Lapicus def. Eddie Alvarez by DQ – illegal strikes, Round 1, 0:58

Update 11:30PM ET: while Wednesday’s broadcast stated the fight was a no contest, ONE’s official website lists the fight as a loss for Alvarez.

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ONE on TNT 1 boasted both a flyweight title fight, the return of former UFC and Bellator champ Eddie Alvarez, and an appearance from ONE flyweight Muay Thai champ Rodtang Jitmuangnon, taking on short-notice replacement fighter Danial Williams, stepping in for Jacob Smith.

All eyes would be on Johnson, a popular pick for the Greatest of All Time, as he took on ONE flyweight champ Adriano Moraes, looking for a second major title after a historic UFC run. Johnson had already won the ONE flyweight grand prix, and the undisputed title would be the icing on the cake.

The event was ONE’s big debut on TNT, and really, how often do you get a free fight card with a Mighty Mouse title fight and Eddie Alvarez? And for those who tuned in early for the prelims, there was former welterweight title challenger Tyler McGuire taking on Raimond Magomedaliev, plus Senegalese wrestling sensation Oumar Kane, otherwise known as “Reug Reug.”

ONE on TNT 1 kicks off at 8:30PM ET, with the main card going live at 10PM. Full results can be found below. Where available, the official live stream is above.

ONE on TNT 1 Full Results

Main Card

Rodtang Jitmuangnon def. Danial Williams by unanimous decision – Muay Thai, non-title catchweight bout
Adriano Moraes (c) def. Demetrious Johnson by knockout, Round 2, 2:24 – for the ONE flyweight championship
Eddie Alvarez vs. Iuri Lapicus ends in No Contest (DQ – illegal strikes), Round 1, 0:58

Preliminary Card

Raimond Magomedaliev def. Tyler McGuire by unanimous decision
Enriko Kehl def. Chingiz Allazov by split decision – kickboxing
Oumar Kane def. Patrick Schmid by TKO, Round 1, 1:48

The post ONE on TNT 1 Live Stream and Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

In January of last year, he submitted Joey Pierotti via guillotine choke. He then ended the year in December with a knockout of Edson Marques.

Magomedaliev will be facing fellow prospect Tyler McGuire, who also has only lost once. McGuire is former welterweight title challenger and a win over him may set him up for a title shot of his own.

At a ONE on TNT 1 media day scrum this week, he was asked if a win over McGuire would warrant a shot at the title. Magomedaliev simply said, “I think [so], yeah.”

The Russian fighter doesn’t like to give predictions for his fights, however.

“Well, to be frank with you, I never think about this [fight predictions], I always enter the cage and it always depends on the situation during the fight,” Magomedaliev said. “But what I can try and do is to finish ahead of schedule, so that is my goal.”

Magomedaliev did say to get ready for a “really good show.” With a potential title shot on the line, it’s probably safe to take him at his word.

Watch the full ONE on TNT 1 media day interview with Raimond Magomedaliev above. ONE on TNT 1 takes place this Wednesday, April 7, with the main card live on TNT starting at 10PM ET.

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Lapicus (14-1) recalled during this week’s media day that “Eddie is someone that I’ve been watching since I was a kid.” Lapicus still remembers those fights, noting that “I’ve known [Alvarez for] a long time. I’ve also been studying his matches, studying his style and strategy.”

That should give Lapicus, whose only loss as a pro came to Christian Lee for the ONE lightweight title last year, some idea of what to expect from “The Underground King” come Wednesday. And while some may believe that Avarez’s best days are behind him, as he’s now years removed from his Bellator and UFC championship reigns, Lapicus feels that Alvarez is “on the same calibre, because all his experience is something he does not lose. So he’s still the same Eddie Alvarez.”

Lapicus himself has been somewhat overlooked heading into ONE on TNT 1. That’s to be expected: the Moldovan, fighting out of Italy, competed mainly in Italy prior to joining ONE Championship. “Of course I’ve been overlooked, because I don’t have the same experience. I’m probably not his level, mainly due to the fact that I don’t have his experience,” Lapicus pointed out. “But what I’m going to do is try to prove my value in the ONE ring.”

If he can do that, Iuri Lapicus could quickly find himself en route to another title shot.

Watch the full ONE on TNT 1 media day interview with Iuri Lapicus above. ONE on TNT 1 takes place this Wednesday, April 7, with the main card live on TNT starting at 10PM ET.

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