Marat Grigorian avoids a monumental upset,
coming back in Round 2 to KO Ivan Kondratev! @MaratGrigorian
#ONEBigBang
#WeAreONE
#ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/grbNp2N9po— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship)
December 4, 2020
One Championship returned to the Singapore
Indoor Stadium for its final live event of the year titled “Big
Bang.”
In the main event of this massively restructured card, Marat
Grigorian locked horns with Ivan Kondratev in a kickboxing contest
at featherweight. The fight was close to being a major shocker as
Kondratev dropped Grigorian with a nasty left hook in the opening
frame. Grigorian gathered himself, and found the key to open
Kondratev’s defense, landing a vicious liver punch in the next
round that folded his opponent in half. The official stoppage time
indicated 1:52 into the second stanza.
Has Garry Tonon earned a shot at Thanh Le?
@Garry_Tonon
@ThanhLeMMA
#ONEBigBang
#WeAreONE
#ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/RvPTCyg4sl— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship)
December 4, 2020
The co-main event saw grappling ace Garry Tonon
(6-0) taking on Koyomi
Matsushima (12-5) in a contest that determined the hierarchy of
One’s 155-pound division. The opening stanza saw Tonon dominating
his opponent on the canvas, as “The Lion Killer” took Matsushima’s
back and threatened with multiple rear-naked choke attempts. Only
Matsushima’s resilience allowed the Japanese fighter to survive
enough to see the second round.
In the second stanza, the American fighter controlled his opponent
on the canvas for most of the time, keeping Matsushima in
unorthodox positions. Right before the end of the round, Matsushima
retaliated with some heavy shots, including a knee to the head of
Tonon. The third round saw a slower pace, as the fighters engaged
from time to time with a few punches. At the end of the fight, the
judges’ scorecards rewarded Tonon with a unanimous decision
victory. In the post-fight interview, Tonon threw down the gauntlet
to challenge Thanh Le, the
current champion of his division.
Elsewhere, Murat Aygun overcame Anderson “Braddock” Silva via
decision in a 205-pound kickboxing affair. Renowned kickboxer
Andy
Souwer upended Zhang Chunyu via decision at the end of a
barnburner at featherweight. Earlier that night, Bokang
Masunyane (8-0) blitzed Rene
Catalan (6-4, 1 NC) with a well-timed head kick that put
Catalan down in just 37 seconds into the first round. In a pair of
tilts in One’s atomweight division, Hayatun
Jihin Radzuan (6-2) defeated Bi Nguyen
(5-6) via unanimous decision, and Ritu Phogat
(4-0) smashed Jomary
Torres (4-5, 1 NC) with a barrage of elbows at 3:55 of Round 1.