The MMA catchweight clash between Danial Williams and Chinese star Banma Duoji was the curtain-opener of the ONE Fight Night 25 card on Saturday night at the legendary Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
Williams looks to return to the win column after losing his last four fights, while Banma wants to record his second win under the promotion in three fights. He previously notched his first ONE Championship win in July 2023 against Walter Goncalves via unanimous decision at ONE Fight Night 12.
See the blow-by-blow action from this MMA bout.
Round 1: Williams opened up with a lead leg kick. Both let go of their hands and exchanged punches in the middle of the ring. Williams continued to attack Banma's lead leg, but Banma responded with solid punches. Both were careful with their attack, but Banma attempted multiple spinning kicks but never landed.
Williams momentarily sat Banma down with a straight right-hand punch, but he popped back immediately and shrugged it off. With two minutes remaining into the round, the Chinese contender initiated the first clinch, and Williams successfully broke it out of the corner. Williams started to move forward in the latter part of the round and landed several clean punches until he knocked Banma down again before the opening round.
Round 2: Both fighters firing leg kicks at the start of the second frame. Banma tried to grab Williams' leg, but he avoided it and tried to swarm him with punches on the ground. Eventually, they decided to go back up on their feet. Williams is becoming more comfortable with his punches and connecting multiple times against Banma. However, the damage is also visible on the Aussie-Thai contender's face after a few exchanges.
At the 1:26 mark of the round, Banma finally secured his first takedown of the match, but Williams immediately went back to his feet to keep the fight standing. Williams continued to press forward, and Banma was happy to be the counter-striker. The round ended with Banma attempting another takedown.
Round 3: At the start of the third round, Williams doubled down on attacking Banma's lead leg and pressed forward. Banma was still waiting for counter-attacks and check punches to add more damage to Williams' face. Banma is finding success at fighting from the long range and makes Williams play catch-up with him.
Less than minutes into the final round, Banma again attempted to take Williams down but was unsuccessful. With under a minute left, Williams felt more urgency to land more punches but was caught in a level change. 'Mini T' defended the takedown again to end the match on the feet.
ONE Fight Night 25 - Danial Williams vs. Banma Duoji official result
Danial Williams has snapped his four-fight losing streak with a convincing unanimous decision victory over China's Banma Duoji in their catchweight MMA bout inside the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, for the first match of the loaded ONE Fight Night 25 card.
'Mini T' was in attack mode throughout the contest and used his immense pressure to force Banma to fight on his back foot. Additionally, Williams successfully defended multiple takedown attempts from 'The Prince' to persuade the judges to give him the nod.
It was his fourth win under the world's largest martial arts organization and he aims to continue this momentum to make another potential run for a world title shot.
Danial Williams defeated Banma Duojia via unanimous decision in their catchweight MMA match.