One Championship returned for its penultimate
event in 2020 with the first part of
One: Collision Course, which went down at the Singapore Indoor
Stadium in Kallang, Singapore, on Dec. 18.
What a way to finish!
#ONECollisionCourse
#WeAreONE
#ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/uyGveU7DzJ— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship)
December 18, 2020
In the main event, Roman Kryklia notched his first title defense of
his light heavyweight kickboxing belt at the end of a one-sided
clash with Andrei
Stoica. The Ukrainian champion took advantage of his longer
reach to hit his Romanian opponent with stinging jabs and flying
knees. Stoica attempted several times to answer with his highly
regarded right hook, but Kryklia didn’t fall into the classical
trap of “Mister KO.” In the fifth stanza, Kryklia accidentally
headbutted his adversary, forcing the Romanian athlete to take a
few minutes to recover. When the action resumed, the champion came
close to finishing his opponent, but he could not secure the
stoppage as time expired. After five dominant rounds, all three
judges rewarded Kryklia with a unanimous decision victory.
Nong-O STOPS “The Steel Locomotive” in his
tracks to retain the ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Title!
#ONECollisionCourse
#WeAreONE
#ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/sBLPDzR2P7— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship)
December 18, 2020
The co-main event featured a muay Thai clash for the divisional
championship between Nong-O Gaiyanghadao and Rodlek PK.Saenchai
Muaythaigym. After a tense opening round where they studied one
other from a distance, the fighter started exchanging shots in the
second round. Nong-O used his boxing combinations while Rodlek
aggressively attacked his opponent’s lead leg. Nong-O pressured the
challenger early in Round 3 with some relentless combinations, and
he caught Rodlek with a right hand that sent his opponent crashing
to the canvas. Rodlek was unable to stand up for the count, and the
official time of the stoppage came at 1:12.
In the MMA main attraction, former One titleholder Marat
Gafurov (18-3) narrowly captured a split decision over Lowen
Tynanes (10-1). “Cobra” had to sweat more than usual to take
home the victory, but his notorious wrestling skills helped him
keep Tynanes at bay. The Hawaiian had his moments, especially in
the striking exchanges, but it was not enough to impress the
majority of the judges.
Earlier that night, Yusup
Saadulaev (20-5-1) handed Troy
Worthen (7-1) his first career defeat when he won a decision in
their One’s bantamweight battle; Yodkaikaew
Fairtex (6-2-1) escaped with a split decision over Tatsumitsu
Wada (22-12-2, 1 NC) in a One flyweight clash; and the first
bout on the card saw Wei Xie (6-3)
smash Chan
Rothana (7-4) at 1:39 into the third round of their One
flyweight encounter.