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ONE Championship's first live event in Malaysia since the start of the pandemic, ONE 162, had an explosive 3-fight lead card that had all athletes give strong showings. It was the perfect way to build momentum leading up to the explosive main card.
The featured bout saw a classic MMA barnburner between Brazil's Leandro Issa and Russia's Artem Belakh. This classic grappler vs. striker affair had us all sitting at the edge of our seats as both athletes gave their all from start to finish.
The ONE Championship bantamweight bout started with Issa staying on top for most of the first round. The Brazilian went on a relentless assault from the top position, setting Belakh up with various submissions.
In round 2, Issa went back to his wrestling and found good success. Issa at one point had Belakh in a full armbar. The tough Russian showed amazing grit by willing himself through a fully extended armbar to reverse the position, ending the round with ferocious ground-and-pound.
In the beginning of the 3rd and final round, Issa appeared to be gassed and hurt. Belakh poured in the aggression but Issa found a way to keep the fight competitive till the final bell.
The judges saw the fight unanimously in favor of Belakh for his toughness, aggression and relentless pursuit of the finish.
The rest of the lead card of ONE Championship 162
The rest of the lead card of ONE Championship 162 was full of headline-worthy bouts. The opening bout of the night was an MMA clash between judo and wrestling as Kyrgyzstan's Ruslan 'The Snow Leopard' Emilbek Uulu took on judo specialist Ben Wilhelm. The bout was a clash between two different grappling styles.
Uulu used technique and leverage to beat the brute force and power of Wilhelm, scoring an impressive rear-naked choke with just 2 seconds left in the first round.
Next up was a Muay Thai war between former Rodtang opponent Tagir Khalilov and promotional newcomer Denis 'The Bosnian Menace' Puric. Khalilov is known for taking the ONE flyweight Muay Thai world champion Rodtang to the brink. Coming into this bout, the Russian striker was confident he could outfight the ultra-aggressive Puric.
In the opening round, Puric, taking a page from Rodtang, came out guns blazing. 'The Bosnian Menace' dropped Khalilov with a powerful leg kick-left hook combination but the Russian sprung back up like nothing had happened.
Round 2 saw insane action between the two. Both fighters went after each other like it was a world title fight. Puric, however, slowed down in the final minute and Khalilov took advantage and took the round near the end.
Come round 3, the same action continued but with Puric visibly fatigued. The Bosnian, however, was still firing ferociously despite seemingly running on empty. Khalilov took the final round with sheer aggression and ferocity. The fight was unofficially a draw on our cards but Puric took the win, perhaps due to the knockdown in the first round.
Here are the full results of ONE Championship 162's lead card:
- ONE Championship MMA - Bantamweight: Artem Belakh def. Leandro Issa via Unanimous Decision
- ONE Championship Muay Thai - Catchweight (137.5 lbs): Denis Puric def. Tagir Khalilov via Unanimous Decision
- ONE Championship MMA - Welterweight: Ruslan Emilbek Uulu def. Ben Wilhelm via Submission (Rear-naked Choke) at 4:58 of R1
