ONE Fight Night 17ONE Fight Night 17 was a pure muay
thai affair, featuring eight bouts of the martial art and set in
its chief temple, the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok. It also
served as validation for more such cards, as an amazing 7 of the 8
contests featured knockouts, most of which were sensational. And
the only fight which went to the judges was not only the fight of
the night but a candidate for fight of the year in any combat
sport.

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In the main event, the inaugural ONE muay thai heavyweight crown
was at stake. On one side was the tough Australian striker Alex
Roberts. On the other was the formidable Roman
Kryklia, already the ONE kickboxing heavyweight champion. The
first round was a back-and-forth, full-blooded affair. Kryklia
scored a solid knockdown with a right cross, but Roberts came on
strong near the end of the frame, hurting the 6′ 6” Ukrainian with
a string of blows that included punches, knees and elbows. However,
fans expecting a longer contest would be sorely disappointed. Both
Roberts and Kryklia threw right hands that missed at close range in
the pocket, but Kryklia quickly followed it up with an immaculate
left hook that kissed Roberts‘ chin. The Australian collapsed in a
heap to the canvas and Kryklia became the first ONE muay thai
heavyweight champion, as well as a ruler in two different combat
disciplines.

In the co-main, Thailand’s Nattawut
Somkhun faced America’s Luke
Lessei, an imposing six-footer at lightweight, and the result
was one of the most incredible striking spectacles of the year.
Somkhun repeatedly landed quick strikes against Lessei, who,
despite his height, didn’t fight tall and would wade forward.
However, Lessei was incredibly tough and starting in the second
round, began landing hellacious bombs of his own. What was already
a fantastic contest then coalesced into a magical third round that
was right up there with some of the most exciting wars that either
Justin
Gaethje or Michael
Chandler have been involved with, with the crowd losing their
minds. Lessei likely won the final frame, but Somkhun prevailed by
unanimous decision in one of the most exciting fights in any combat
sport in 2023.

Saemapetch
Fairtex met talented prospect Mohamed
Younes Rabah of Algeria, who was undefeated in muay thai. Early
on, Rabah dropped Fairtex with a right cross and landed an illegal
knee to his foe’s skull for good measure. The referee missed it and
the fight continued, with Rabah knocking out Fairtex with several
more blistering right crosses late in the opening stanza.

Russia’s Dmitry
Menshikov faced Morocco’s Mouchine
Chafi at welterweight in an absolute lunatic affair. Both men
traded big strikes and Menshikov was credited with an early
knockdown after Chafi partially slipped, much to the Moroccan’s
chagrin. Eager to get it back, Chafi unleashed an endless stream of
punches, with Menshikov desperately covering up. Many, however,
were getting through, and the Russian looked hurt at times.
However, Chafi was too overambitious with his offense and Menshikov
took advantage ruthlessly, obliterating his foe with a monstrous
left hook that left Chafi a crumpled, unconscious mess on the
canvas at 1:59 of the first. It was possibly the best knockout of
the night, and not for lack of competition.

Walter
Goncalves of Brazil was the No. 2 ranked contender in ONE’s
bantamweight muay thai division and a big favorite against
England’s Jacob
Smith. However, Smith was undeterred, and what ensued was a
one-round war between the two. After Smith scored with an elbow
upstairs and then an absolutely perfect knee to the solar plexus,
Goncalves fell to the mat and was unable to beat the 10-count.

Seventeen-year-old phenom Johan
Ghazali needed just 36 seconds to clobber Edgar
Tabares, finishing him with a series of punches in the
corner.

Nguyen
Tran Duy Nhat missed weight for the 135-pound bantamweight
contest by a large amount, coming in at 139.75 pounds to Denis
Puric’s 134.25. However, the unfair advantage aided him little,
as Puric battered him from pillar to post, finally finishing his
foe off at at 1:35 of the second with a blistering left hook.

Kicking off the card, Thongpoon
PK Saenchai met Ellis
Badr Barbosa. Saenchai was in control early, but Barbosa turned
the fight around with a thunderous elbow to the temple late in
Round 2 that dropped his foe. Saenchai beat the count but soon
succumbed in the third frame, being stopped at 2:21 to a body
punch.

IMAK ADMIN

By IMAK ADMIN

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