One Championship ended its year with a
pre-recorded event that saw many Team Lakay standouts take on
fighters from all over the world.
In the
“Winter Warriors 2” main event, Kairat
Akhmetov upended Danny
Kingad (14-3, 10-3 One) after three rounds of combat. One-time
flyweight titleholder Akhmetov (25-2, 6-2 One) made the most out of
the very first kick thrown by Kingad, taking Kingad down
immediately. From there, “The Kazakh” kept heavy pressure while
landing shots and control time for practically the entire round.
The Team Lakay representative may not have gotten up in the first
round, but he managed to get off some offense in Round 2 as he
staved off relentless takedown efforts from Akhmetov. Eventually,
Akhmedov did get “The King” down on his back, where he again
reigned in top position until the round concluded.
The all-grappling attack of Akhmetov appeared to fatigue him going
into the third frame, and Kingad took advantage of this by landing
at will on the feet. The Filipino fighter even looked to shake his
opponent up as he landed, but he instead settled for clinching
against the fence rather than searching for a finish. Before long,
Akhmetov drew upon his energy reserves to secure another takedown,
where he ended the round and fight on top of his foe, scoring with
a slow but effective bombardment of punches. Ultimately, all three
cageside judges saw it in favor of the fighter out of Kazakhstan.
The contest was announced as title eliminator for Adriano
Moraes’ belt, but Akhmetov instead called out Demetrious
Johnson in his post-fight interview. “The Kazakh” will ride a
four-bout winning streak in his next assignment.
Kwon Won Il FOLDS Kevin Belingon with a
picture-perfect liver shot to score the TKO!
#WeAreONE
#ONEChampionship#ONEWinterWarriors2
| How To Watch: https://t.co/TP1EQ96v6z pic.twitter.com/TK4xWrSv7P— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship)
December 17, 2021
The co-headliner featured a One bantamweight battle between
Kwon
Won Il and Team Lakay’s Kevin
Belingon. Former kingpin Belingon (20-9, 11-9 One) looked good
in the first half of Round 1, showcasing his trademark spinning
attacks to decent effect. Il (10-3, 6-3 One) kept his composure and
forced his opponent to fight off his back foot, applying as much
pressure as possible to prevent the Team Lakay fighter from getting
off his most devastating strikes. In the second frame, Il caught
Belingon with a devastating liver shot that immediately silenced
“The Silencer.” The official time indicated 52 seconds.
Earlier on the card, one-time middleweight titleholder Vitaly
Bigdash (11-2, 4-2 One) submitted Fan Rong
(14-3, 2-2 One) with a guillotine choke 41 seconds into the third
frame; Murad
Ramazanov (11-0, 3-0 One) outwrestled former divisional
champion Zebaztian
Kadestam (12-7, 4-4 One) en route to a unanimous decision in
their One welterweight clash; Brave Combat Federation alum and Team
Lakay ensign Stephen
Loman handed Yusup
Saadulaev an emphatic defeat after putting “Maestro” away with
punches at the 4:09 mark of Round 1; Team Lakay up-and-comer
Jhanlo
Mark Sangiao (4-0, 1-0 One) scored his first victory under
One’s banner by tapping Paulus
Lumihi (7-6, 0-5 One) via rear-naked choke in 101 seconds;
ex-Glory kickboxer Arian
Sadikovic outpointed Mustapha
Haida via unanimous decision in their lightweight kickboxing
affair; in One’s bantamweight division, Fabricio
Andrade (6-2, 3-0 One) scored his fifth consecutive victory by
stopping Li
Kai Wen (10-5, 9-3 One) with punches at 4:41 of Round 1.
In the first fight on the bill, former WBC muay Thai titleholder
Joseph
Lasiri spoiled Asahi
Shinagawa’s promotional debut with a punch and knee combination
that stopped the contest at the 2:05 mark of the first round.