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Former ONE welterweight world champion Zebaztian Kadestam’s chilling knockout of Iuri Lapicus at ONE on Prime Video 1 this past August came at a hefty price.
The sheer impact of that terrifying uppercut separated the Moldovan fighter from his consciousness. However, it was also a double-edged sword for ‘The Bandit’ as he busted his right hand in the process.
Zebaztian Kadestam was all smiles after sending Lapicus to the shadow realm, but he knew right away that something was off. The 32-year-old was visibly wincing in pain while shaking his compromised hand.
The Swedish slugger recently shared the extent of his injury on social media and confirmed he broke it with that punch.
Be advised, this one’s gnarly sight:
Zebaztian Kadestam even had an interesting reply to the clip, which was shared by ONE Championship.
He wrote:
“Nothing good ever comes from violence.”
‘The Bandit’ did take home a cool $50,000 performance bonus after the fight, so that should help ease the pain a little bit.
The Legacy Gym and Pancreas Gym Sweden product met some resistance from Lapicus early on, as he took him down near the circle wall. But once Kadestam got back on his feet, he used his superior striking to end the Ankos MMA and Team Petrosyan standout’s night early.
After enduring the worst stretch of his career, where he suffered three straight nightmare losses, Kadestam has recorded back-to-back highlight reel-worthy KO victories. Before putting Lapicus to sleep, Kadestam also did the same to Valmir da Silva in less than a round this past March.
If he keeps this up, there's no doubt that Kadestam will be in line for a shot at reclaiming his lost 185-pound throne. Let’s hope his hand heals quickly.
Zebaztian Kadestam will only fight Christian Lee under one condition
‘The Bandit’ is looking like his old ferocious self, and ONE fans appear eager to see who he’ll fight next. In that regard, reigning ONE lightweight world champion Christian Lee is a name that often gets tossed around.
While Zebaztian Kadestam will entertain the idea of exchanging fists with ‘The Warrior’, he wants it to happen with bigger stakes.
He told ONE in a previous interview:
“It’s not a fight that I feel would be necessary for me to welcome him [to welterweight] or anything. If it was for gold, sure. Otherwise, I’m a big fan. So it’s not a fight that I’m looking for.”
A Kadestam vs. Lee matchup does look good on paper. These two possess scary knockout power and a penchant for exciting fights.
