ONE Fight Night 11 results: Artem Belakh vs. Kwon Won II

ONE Fight Night 11 featured a battle of top-five bantamweights as Russian standout Artem Belakh made his sophomore appearance inside the Circle against South Korea’s Kwon Won Il.

Belakh scored a unanimous decision victory in his promotional debut last October, besting Leandro Issa at ONE 162. Kwon entered the bout 7-4 under the ONE Championship banner and 4-1 in his last five, with the lone loss during that run coming against reigning ONE featherweight world champion Fabricio Andrade.

Stepping into the ring at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium on Friday night, Artem Belakh immediately worked to get Kwon Won Il to the mat, and he did exactly that less than 30 seconds into the opening round.

Once there, Belakh took Kwon’s back, slapped on a body triangle, and proceeded to punish the South Korean. Kwon defended well, preventing Belakh from sinking in a rear-naked choke, but the body triangle kept him from escaping altogether.

With 90 seconds to go, Kwon managed to fight his way back up and create separation that allowed him to return to the center of the ring, where the two men would trade shots through the end of the round.

Round two stayed on the feet as Kwon put his sophisticated striking on full displaying, brilliantly attacking the body. Near the halfway point, Belakh attempted to shoot for a takedown, but Kwon sprawled successfully and kept the fight standing.

With just over a minute to go, Kwon landed a massive right hand that sat Belakh down. Smelling blood in the water, Kwon moved in and delivered a series of ground-and-pound strikes, forcing referee Herb Dean to step in and call for the stoppage.

Official Result: Kwon Won Il def. Artem Belakh via TKO (strikes) at 3:57 of Round 2.

For his highlight-reel-worthy knockout of Artem Belakh, Kwon Won Il scored himself a $50,000 performance bonus from ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong.