Demetrious
Johnson remains quite mighty.
The 36-year-old AMC Pankration cornerstone took the undisputed
One
Championship flyweight title by force, as he struck down
Adriano
Moraes with a straight right hand and follow-up flying knee in
the fourth round of their
ONE on Prime Video 1 headliner on Friday at Singapore Indoor
Stadium in Kallang, Singapore. Johnson (31-4-1, 4-1 ONE) drew the
curtain 3:50 into Round 4.
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Moraes (20-4, 11-4 ONE) frustrated “Mighty Mouse” on the ground for
much of the first two rounds but did not escape unscathed. Johnson
stayed active from the bottom and hacked open a gnarly cut above
the Brazilian’s right eyebrow with a sneaky elbow strike. Momentum
shifted noticeably in Round 3. Johnson pieced together exquisite
combinations, mixed in a backfist at short range and battered his
counterpart’s body with knees from the clinch. He continued to pile
up points in close quarters in the fourth round, moved out into
open space and buckled Moraes with a straight right. The Brazilian
careened towards the fence, where he was met with a perfectly timed
flying knee that ended his title reign. Johnson, 36, has won 17 of
his past 19 bouts.
Gaiyanghadao Kicks Stop Harrison
Nong-O Gaiyanghadao chopped down Liam Harrison with crushing leg
kicks, as he retained his undisputed ONE muay thai bantamweight
championship with a first-round technical knockout in the co-main
event. Unable to get back to his feet, Harrison (90-25) met his end
2:10 into Round 1. Gaiyanghadao (264-54) zeroed in on the Englishman’s base from the
outset and never relented. He pieced together a few one-twos, fired
his jab and tested the water with more than one partially blocked
head kick but never strayed far from his target.
Gaiyanghadao buckled his colorfully-tattooed challenger with some
shin-to-knee contact, then dropped him with a subsequent low kick
that resulted in the stoppage.
Undefeated Almeida Submits Grishenko
American Top Team’s Marcus
Almeida disposed of Kirill
Grishenko with a heel hook in the first round of their
heavyweight feature. Grishenko (5-2, 3-2 ONE) raised the white flag
of surrender 64 seconds into Round 1, as he suffered his second
defeat in as many appearances.
Almeida (4-0, 4-0 ONE) swept the Belarusian off his feet with a
kick to the lower leg, continued to probe for openings on the feet
and made his move on a takedown.
The multiple-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion attacked the
leg, locked in the heel hook and prompted the tapout before
Grishenko knew what hit him.
The 32-year-old Almeida has finished all four of his opponents
inside one round.
Aliakbari Rebounds, Mauls Cerilli
Rizin Fighting Federation veteran Amir
Aliakbari put away former Cage Warriors Fighting Championship
titleholder Mauro
Cerilli with elbows in the second round of their heavyweight
showcase. Cerilli (14-5, 2-3 ONE) succumbed to blows 4:02 into
Round 2.
Aliakbari (11-3, 1-2 ONE) slowly wore down the Italian brute with
repeated takedowns and sustained ground-and-pound for much of the
first round. He advanced to a topside crucifix late in the period,
left Cerilli with significant damage to his face and appeared to be
closing in on a finish when the bell sounded. Aliakbari executed
another takedown in the middle stanza,
progressed to half guard and closed it out with a burst of short
elbow strikes.
The win was Aliakbari’s first since March 2019 and snapped his
two-fight losing streak.
In other action, Superlek Kitmookao (130-29) dispatched Walter
Goncalves (66-8) with a knifing vertical elbow strike 1:35 into
the first round of their flyweight muay thai world grand prix
semifinal; Panpayak Jitmuangon (248-41) wrecked Savvas
Michael (44-5) with a right hook and follow-up head kick 10
seconds into the second round of their flyweight muay thai world
grand prix semifinal; Zebaztian
Kadestam (14-7, 6-4 ONE) cut down Iuri
Lapicus (14-2, 2-2 ONE) with a devastating right uppercut 57
seconds into the first round of their catchweight clash at 189
pounds; Itsuki
Hirata (6-1, 5-1 ONE) laid claim to a unanimous decision over
Heqin
Lin (15-4-1, 2-2 ONE) in a three-round catchweight affair at
119 pounds; and Diandra Martin (11-3) took a unanimous verdict from
Amber Kitchen (18-6) in a three-round muay thai pairing at a
128-pound catchweight.