Phetjeeja OrMeekhun Unifies 115-Pound Kickboxing Title at ONE Fight Night 20

By Martial Arts Videos March 9, 2024
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Thai star Phetjeeja
OrMeekhun unified the ONE
Championship atomweight kickboxing title with a five-round
unanimous decision win over Janet Todd
in the
ONE Fight Night 20 main event at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in
Bangkok.

Phetjeeja and Todd headlined a nine-fight, all-female card to
celebrate International Women’s Day and left it all in the ring.
Todd, who entered as the reigning champion, hadn’t fought in over a
year, while Phetjeeja, the interim champion, stayed busy with five
wins during that span.

Phetjeeja’s activity showed early as the 22-year-old’s timing led
the way. Todd looked to lead and land hard, but Phetjeeja made it
difficult with her movement and counters. Todd found success in
close range but didn’t have an answer on the outside.

The fight remained competitive throughout all five rounds, until
Phetjeeja put the definitive cap on her performance with a
knockdown in the final 40 seconds. Todd hopped up immediately, but
she knew she was beat. Following the decision, the 38-year-old
former champion confirmed her heartfelt retirement from
fighting.

In the co-main event, atomweight muay thai champion Allycia
Hellen Rodrigues retained her belt against Spain’s Cristina
Morales. Morales pushed the pace early and arguably won the
first two rounds.

As Rodrigues settled into the fight, the Brazilian’s body work wore
down the challenger. Morales kept her guard high and exposed
herself to attacks on the liver. Rodrigues either led or finished
nearly every combination with a body shot and backed Morales
up.

Rodrigues nearly put Morales away in the fourth round after landing
a thudding left hook under the ribs. Morales retreated and rode out
the storm until the fifth frame, where she fought her hardest since
the bout’s opening minutes. Morales’ strong start and finish
weren’t enough, however, as Rodrigues’ dominance through the middle
of the fight helped her retain by unanimous decision.

With the win, Rodrigues bounced back from her loss to strawweight
muay thai queen Smilla
Sundell. Riding the momentum, the champion called out
three-sport star Stamp
Fairtex to a muay thai championship showdown.

Former strawweight muay thai title challenger Jackie
Buntan stayed on the path to another title shot with a
unanimous decision win over Italy’s Martine
Michieletto. Buntan and Michieletto slugged it out for three
rounds, but Bunton’s power bloodied and backed up the taller woman.
Heading into the third round, presumably tied on the cards,
Bunton’s power and forward pressure backed Michieletto back to the
ropes and left a lasting impact on the judges.

Unbeaten prospect Chihiro
Sawada picked up the biggest win of her career against Jihin
Radzuan. Radzuan had her moments throughout the fight and
nearly closed the show early with a triangle choke in the opening
period. Once Sawada escaped, she did everything in her power to
sway the judges back to her side. Sawada threw heavy combinations,
charged forward and finished her double-leg attempts. By outworking
the more experienced foe for long stretches, Sawada (7-0-1) stayed
in the win column.

Ekaterina
Vandaryeva entered her strawweight muay thai showdown with
unbeaten Polish sensation Martyna
Kierczynska looking to snap a four-fight skid. Kierczynska was
confident after a second-round knockout over Nat
Jaroonsak, but the more experienced Vandaryeva flustered
her.



Vandaryeva slowed the aggressive prospect in the clinch before
dropping her with a short right-hand counter in the second.
Kierczynska walked forward but couldn’t trap the 33-year-old and
lost her first professional bout by unanimous decision.

Yu Yau
Pui announced herself on the big stage with a win over WBC
flyweight muay thai champion Lara
Fernandez in a 118.5-pound catchweight bout. Pui put on a
hellacious pace that put the champion on her backfoot all
night.

Fernandez fought valiantly, and her punches swelled her foe’s eyes
and forehead. Pui was unfazed by the power, however, and wore down
Fernandez with her foot on the gas and routinely got the best of
her in exchanges. The three-round barnburner was one of the card’s
highlights, as a new potential star emerged.

Noelle
Grandjean (5-1) bounced back from her first career loss by
dominating Brazil’s Victoria
Souza en route to a unanimous decision win. Grandjean dropped
Souza early and nearly forced referee Herb Dean to
stop the fight, but Souza held on to see the second round. Souza’s
(7-2) toughness was on display, but she was beaten to the punch
often and overpowered on the ground. With the victory, Granjean
snapped Souza’s two-fight win streak.

Mayssa
Bastos is one of the most dominant grapplers in jiu-jitsu, but
she met her match against Japan’s Kanae
Yamada. Bastos looked to counter the aggressive Yamada
throughout their 10-minute atomweight submission grappling match
but couldn’t find a deep hold. Threatening Yamada’s legs and taking
her back, however, helped sway the judges and win a unanimous
decision.

With the win, Bastos — the 2023 International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Federation roosterweight champ — has won her last 27 of 28
matches.

Israel’s Shir Cohen
kicked off the card with a second-round TKO finish over Bulgaria’s
Teodora
Kirilova. Kiralova tried to establish her teep and use height
and reach to keep Cohen at bay, but the ONE debutant walked her
down with overhand rights.

Once Cohen opened a cut above Kiralova’s right eye, the 23-year-old
stalked her to the ropes and staggered her with another crushing
right. With Kiralova’s legs gone, Cohen only needed 2:27 of the
second round before referee Olivier Coste ended the beating.

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