High Fives: Disastrous Debuts, Devastating Knees and Ferocious Flurries
Fight fans enjoyed a real treat during the weekend of May 3-5 and
not just because the
Ultimate Fighting Championship and Bellator
MMA were on the schedule. There were some emphatic finishes at
One
Championship “For Honor” on Friday in Jakarta, Indonesia, while
there were a pair of exciting clashes at Legacy
Fighting Alliance 65 in Vail, Colorado.
DISASTROUS DEBUT … One
Championship was headlined by a welterweight showdown pitting
Japanese promotional debutant Yushin Okami
opposite Kyrgyzstan’s Kiamrian
Abbasov. Okami impressed with effective striking early on, and
late in the first frame, he enjoyed a period of sustained control
on the mat. In Round 2, however, Abbasov responded to an Okami jab
with a looping right cross that dropped the former UFC title
contender to his back. Abbasov followed him to the canvas and
dished out ground-and-pound until the referee halted the beatdown
1:10 into the middle stanza. Abbasov moved to 21-4, while Okami
slipped to 35-13.
FEROCIOUS FLURRY … One Championship “For Honor” featured a bantamweight clash between South Korea’s Dae Hwan Kim and China’s Jumayi Ayideng. Initially, both men embraced a patient approach on the feet, as they looked to find their range. However, cerebral beginnings gave way to a frenetic brawl that saw the two rivals throw heavy leather at each other. After dazing his adversary with strikes, Kim unleashed a flurry of punches against the cage. After one final uppercut from Kim, the referee stepped in at the 4:11 mark of Round 1. The technical knockout improved Kim to 15-4-1, while Ayideng fell to 12-5-1.
SLICK ARMBAR … The Legacy Fighting Alliance main event paired Brandon Royval with UFC veteran Joby Sanchez. In the opening stages, Royval impressed with his versatile striking. Later in the first round, Royval was on his back, with Sanchez in his guard working for a brabo choke. Having successfully defended the submission attempt, Royval pivoted to his right and grabbed hold of his opponent’s right arm while at the same time hooking his left leg. From there, he rolled into the fight-ending armbar, which elicited the tap from Sanchez at the 3:17 mark of Round 1. With the fifth submission win of his career, Royval moved to 9-4. Sanchez slipped to 12-5.
THUNDEROUS KNOCKOUT … Brazil’s Joanderson Sa de Brito met America’s Jose Mariscal in a featherweight showcase at LFA 65. This short-lived scrap was fought at a frenetic pace, with both pugilists looking to end the fight early. After partially landing with a right high roundhouse kick, the Brazilian immediately followed with a three-punch combination, the volley culminating in a left hook to the head that sent Mariscal plummeting to the floor. After some ensuing hammerfists on the ground, the referee jumped in 44 seconds into Round 1. Brito rose to 11-2-1, while Mariscal dipped to 7-4.
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DEVASTATING KNEE … Vietnamese-American Thanh Le made
his One Championship debut against Yusup
Saadulaev in a featherweight tilt. The second stanza was in its
infancy when Saadulaev shot for a double-leg takedown. Lee
countered with a right knee that landed flush on the Russian’s head
and sent him tumbling backward and unconscious to the canvas. The
official time of the knockout was 12 seconds into Round 2. The
emphatic finish saw Lee up his record to 9-2, while Saadulaev
dipped to 17-5-1.
FEROCIOUS FLURRY … One Championship “For Honor” featured a bantamweight clash between South Korea’s Dae Hwan Kim and China’s Jumayi Ayideng. Initially, both men embraced a patient approach on the feet, as they looked to find their range. However, cerebral beginnings gave way to a frenetic brawl that saw the two rivals throw heavy leather at each other. After dazing his adversary with strikes, Kim unleashed a flurry of punches against the cage. After one final uppercut from Kim, the referee stepped in at the 4:11 mark of Round 1. The technical knockout improved Kim to 15-4-1, while Ayideng fell to 12-5-1.
Brandon Royval armbars Joby Sanchez #LFA65 pic.twitter.com/ZdtxDL8Vot
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) May 4, 2019
SLICK ARMBAR … The Legacy Fighting Alliance main event paired Brandon Royval with UFC veteran Joby Sanchez. In the opening stages, Royval impressed with his versatile striking. Later in the first round, Royval was on his back, with Sanchez in his guard working for a brabo choke. Having successfully defended the submission attempt, Royval pivoted to his right and grabbed hold of his opponent’s right arm while at the same time hooking his left leg. From there, he rolled into the fight-ending armbar, which elicited the tap from Sanchez at the 3:17 mark of Round 1. With the fifth submission win of his career, Royval moved to 9-4. Sanchez slipped to 12-5.
THUNDEROUS KNOCKOUT … Brazil’s Joanderson Sa de Brito met America’s Jose Mariscal in a featherweight showcase at LFA 65. This short-lived scrap was fought at a frenetic pace, with both pugilists looking to end the fight early. After partially landing with a right high roundhouse kick, the Brazilian immediately followed with a three-punch combination, the volley culminating in a left hook to the head that sent Mariscal plummeting to the floor. After some ensuing hammerfists on the ground, the referee jumped in 44 seconds into Round 1. Brito rose to 11-2-1, while Mariscal dipped to 7-4.
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