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ONE 159 just concluded and it was absolutely phenomenal from top to bottom. The main event delivered in spades as ONE's dominant double-champ Reinier de Ridder came through in typical 'Dutch Knight' fashion: via a slick submission finish.
Against former ONE middleweight world champion Vitaly Bigdash, de Ridder had to weather an early scare by way of a deep guillotine choke.
After somehow surviving a full-on choke from the former world champ, de Ridder methodically grappled and pounded his way to a slick inverted triangle choke finish. The choke was so tight that Bigdash went to sleep in mere seconds:
Early on, after a brief feelout process, de Ridder shot for his trademark bodylock to push Bigdash towards the cage and rough him up. The entry was quite poor as de Ridder walked straight into a guillotine choke by Bigdash. The challenger pulled guard and, at one point, we thought the Dutchman was going to sleep.
After surviving the choke by fighting the hands and releasing his head, de Ridder methodically started hitting his ground-and-pound from the guard. After passing to half guard, 'The Dutch Knight' worked for a Kimura lock.
Bigdash scrambled out and landed on top, but de Ridder smoothly locked in an inverted triangle choke that put the Russian to sleep. The performance earned the double-champ a $50,000 performance bonus from ONE.
Unsurprisingly, de Ridder called for a world title shot at heavyweight, which would be his third weight class to conquer. Something tells us that he might just get it.
History was made at ONE 159 as Janet Todd became a two-sport world champion
In the co-main event of ONE 159, ONE atomweight kickboxing world champion Janet 'JT' Todd made history by winning the interim atomweight Muay Thai world title against promotional debutant Lara Fernandez.
It wasn't an easy task for 'JT' as Fernandez is the reigning WBC Muay Thai flyweight world champion and ISKA super featherweight world champion. The bout was dead-even coming into the final round, where Todd showed her championship mettle by taking the fight to 'Pizza Power'.
The final frame was so dominant that 'JT' was awarded a clear unanimous decision win.
The ONE 159 co-main event was a tale of two contrasting styles. Fernandez got some good licks in by being aggressive early but also swinging wildly. Todd, on the other hand, was more calm and collected, favoring timing and technical mastery to land counter shots.
The first round was tight and could have gone either way. Todd arguably won rounds two and four based on her calculated assault and counter-striking ability. Fernandez may have snatched round three with sheer aggression and volume, at times overwhelming Todd with her swarming, albeit telegraphed strikes.
Then came the fifth round. It wasn't even close. After hearing from her corner that she needed to up the ante, Todd went into overdrive. She wasn't wild or careless, however. 'JT' went on absolute murder mode with her crisp and technical combinations. She eventually wilted the tired Fernandez and busted her up near the end.
With this win at ONE 159, not only did Janet Todd become just the second ONE two-sport world champion, she also punched her ticket to a unification bout with reigning atomweight Muay Thai world champion Allycia Hellen Rodrigues. Now, that's a fight we can't wait to see.
The rest of ONE 159's main card delivered high drama
Elsewhere on the ONE 159 main card, we were treated to some interesting and also heart-stopping bouts.
In the opening fight, Muay-Thai kickboxer-turned-MMA fighter Danial 'Mini T' Williams showed why he might be one of the most exciting strawweights on the roster right now.
Williams absolutely starched China's Zelang Zhaxi with a flush right hand that earned him a $50,000 performance bonus. After his incredible KO win, Williams went back to his Muay Thai roots and challenged newly-crowned ONE strawweight Muay Thai world champion Joseph Lasiri.
A pair of razor-close ONE Super Series bouts were also on the main card of ONE 159. 'The Fighting Rooster' Zhang Peimian edged out the very game Azlanbek Zikreev after suffering two accidental groin shots in an otherwise barnburner of a fight.
Meanwhile, the renowned 'Elbow Zombie' Muangthai PK.Saenchai earned a split decision nod against Vladimir Kuzmin in a back-and-forth bout that could have gone either way.
Lastly, the hands of Jamal Yusupov demolished the always-exciting Jo Nattawut in a featherweight Muay Thai bout that went the distance.
Here are the full event results for ONE 159:
MAIN CARD
- MMA - Middleweight: Reinier de Ridder def. Vitaly Bigdash via Submission (Inverted Triangle) at 3:29 of R1
- Muay Thai - Atomweight: Janet Todd def. Lara Fernandez via Unanimous Decision
- Muay Thai - Bantamweight: Muangthai PK.Saenchai def. Vladimir Kuzmin via Split Decision
- Kickboxing - Strawweight: Zhang Peimian def. Aslanbek Zikreev via Unanimous Decision
- Muay Thai - Featherweight: Jamal Yusupov def. Jo Nattawut via Unanimous Decision
- MMA - Strawweight: Danial Williams def. Zelang Zhaxi via Knockout at 4:20 of R1
LEAD CARD
- Muay Thai - Lightweight: Sinsamut Klinmee def. Liam Nolan via Knockout at 0:05 of R2
- MMA - Lightweight: Marat Gafurov def. Ariel Sexton via TKO at 4:15 of R3
- MMA - Welterweight: Valmir Da Silva def. Jin Tae Ho via Submission (Guillotine) at 4:55 of R2
