The king kept his crown.
Demetrious
Johnson successfully defended the undisputed One
Championship flyweight title with a unanimous decision over
rival Adriano
Moraes in the
ONE on Prime Video 10 headliner on Friday at the 1stBank Center
in Broomfield, Colorado. All three cageside judges sided with
“Mighty Mouse,” who closed his trilogy against Moraes (20-5, 11-5
ONE) with a 2-1 advantage.
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Johnson (25-4-1, 5-1 ONE) pressured the Brazilian from the outset
and forced him into one tactical error after another. Moraes
engaged the AMC Pankration export in the clinch—an area in which
Johnson has always excelled—for much of the 25-minute battle,
choosing to swim against the current over the path of least
resistance. Johnson tore into his body with knees, snuck in
repeated short elbows to the head and mixed in some frustrating
shoulder strikes to the face. Moraes never changed gears and walked
away empty-handed as a result.
Now 36, Johnson has won 18 of his past 20 bouts.
Meanwhile, the incomparable Rodtang
Jitmuangnon kept his stranglehold on the ONE flyweight muay
thai championship, as he knocked out Edgar
Tabares with
an elbow strike in the second round of their co-main event. Tabares
checked out 94 seconds into Round 2.
Jitmuangnon tested the waters with leg kicks, push kicks, a sneaky
jab and occasional left hooks to the body in the first round, then
turned up the heat. He backed Tabares to the fence, crowded him at
close range and countered a spinning attack with a concussive elbow
to the face. The challenger fell where he stood and could not get
back to his feet.
It was the 271st victory of Jitmuangnon’s remarkable career and
moved him to 14-0 under the One Championship banner.
Elsewhere, Fairtex Gym star Nong Stamp
wrecked Alyse
Anderson with
a body kick in the second round of their women’s atomweight
feature. Finished for the first time in her nine-fight
career, Anderson (6-3, 1-2 ONE) met her end 2:27 into Round 2.
The 25-year-old Stamp (10-2, 10-2 ONE) worked kicks to the body and
legs throughout the first round, countered a head-and-arm takedown
by scrambling into top position and went about building a lead on
the scorecards. She surprised Anderson early in Round 2 when she
ducked under a punch and jumped to the backpack position, and while
it did not amount to anything of significance, it was just another
instance where Stamp flexed her unflappable confidence. Later, she
lured Anderson into a clinch, broke free into open space and folded
her with a brutal kick to the midsection.
Stamp has posted back-to-back wins since her March 2022 submission
defeat to Angela
Lee.
Further down the card, Zebaztian
Kadestam sprang the upset and did so in spectacular fashion, as
he wiped out former two-division KSW champion Roberto
Soldic with
punches in the second round of their welterweight
showcase. Soldic (20-4, 0-1 ONE) bowed out 45 seconds
into Round 2, suffering his first defeat in more than five
years.
Kadestam (15-7, 7-4 ONE) walked through considerable fire in the
first round, where he absorbed a series of stinging straight lefts
and punishing punching combinations. A cut near his right eye and
bloody nose provided some physical evidence of Soldic’s efforts.
The tide, however, soon turned. Kadestam clipped the UFD Gym export
with a standing elbow early in the middle stanza and gave chase
with punches. He floored Soldic twice with hooks—first with a
right, then with a left—and forced referee Herb Dean to
act.
The 32-year-old Kadestam has rattled off three consecutive
victories, all of them finishes.
Finally, Sage
Northcutt suited up for the first time in nearly four years and
dismissed Ahmed
Mujtaba with
a heel hook in the first round of their lightweight
attraction. Northcutt (12-3, 1-1 ONE) drew the curtain
39 seconds into Round 1, procuring his first win since July 14,
2018.
Mujtaba (9-3, 4-3 ONE) dinged the Team Alpha Male rep with a jab
and forced him to retreat to his back. He trailed Northcutt to the
mat, worked to advance position and left his leg exposed when he
attempted to return to an upright position. It was soon clear he
had wandered into danger. Northcutt caught the heel hook, torqued
on the limb and forced the tapout.
In other action, Mikey
Musumeci retained the ONE submission grappling flyweight title,
as he subdued Osamah
Almarwai with
a rear-naked choke 8:03 into their encounter; Aung La N
Sang (30-13, 15-4 ONE) disposed of Fan Rong (9-4,
2-3 ONE) with
a guillotine choke 48 seconds into the second round of their
middleweight confrontation; Tye Ruotolo
was awarded a unanimous decision against Reinier
de Ridder in a 10-minute middleweight submission grappling
match; Jackie
Buntan put away Diandra
Martin with
a right hook 2:34 into the first round of their 131-pound
catchweight clash contested under muay thai rules;
Kairat
Akhmetov (27-2, 8-2 ONE) laid claim to a unanimous verdict over
Reece
McLaren (16-9, 9-6 ONE) in a three-round flyweight tilt; and
Rae
Yoon Ok (17-4, 4-1 ONE) took a unanimous decision from Lowen
Tynanes (11-2, 7-2 ONE) in a three-round lightweight affair.