WATCH: Anton Petrov slices opponent’s forehead open with an elbow in ONE Championship fight

Bulgarian Muay Thai fighter Anton Petrov introduced himself to ONE Championship fans with an impressive technical knockout (cut) victory over Italian Luca Lombardo in his promotional debut in March.

A noted champion in the European Muay Thai circuit prior to joining ONE, the 23-year-old Phuket Fight Club affiliate did not waste much time displaying what he is capable of as a fighter by stopping the also-debuting Lombardo at ONE Friday Fights 10 in Bangkok. .

Anton Petrov was in control of the catchweight contest right from the get-go, steadily catching the kicks of the ‘Sicillian Warrior’ while also closing the distance.

The tack paid huge dividends for the Bulgarian smasher as it allowed him to get close enough late in the opening round to land a solid elbow and slice open the forehead of Luca Lombardo.

Seeing the damage inflicted, the referee immediately moved to stop the fight at the 2:23 mark of the first round.

ONE Championship recently posted a video of the nasty elbow employed by Anton Petrov on Instagram for fight fans to relive.

Watch the video post below:

Unfortunately for Anton Petrov, he would drop to a 50-50 record in ONE Championship in his next fight in June, bowing to Japanese-Thai fighter Beckham Bigwinchampiongym by unanimous decision.

But despite the loss, he still made a good account of himself, going all out and taking Beckham to the limit, underscoring his position as a fighter to contend with in the lightweight Muay Thai class.

Petrov is currently awaiting word on his next fight. But with the way he impressively performed in his first two matches, he should be back battling in the ring in no time.