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ONE Championship’s monumental United States debut lived up to the hype and more, as ONE Fight Night 10: Johnson vs Moraes III brought the house down at 1stBank Center in Denver, Colorado.
The 11-fight card showcased martial arts in its purest form, delivering stunning MMA, Muay Thai, and submission grappling matches.
After witnessing a hard-fought battle, hearing Mitch Chilson announcing $50,000 performance bonus winners has become a spectacle in itself.
ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong once again handed out some well-deserved cash incentives after the incredible fireworks display.
Without further ado, here are the five valiant warriors who went home with their pockets full after ONE Fight Night 10.
#5. Sage Northcutt (lightweight MMA)
The returning Sage Northcutt proved that it’s not how you start, but it’s how you finish.
Things looked grim early on in ‘Super Sage’ return fight after four years, as he got tagged by a laser left jab and was taken down by Ahmed Mujtaba.
In a surprising turn of events, the dynamic striker kept calm on the ground and latched on to the Pakestani’s right leg.
Northcutt showcased what he’s been working on all these years, executing a textbook heel-hook.
‘Wolverine’ tried to resist at first but found himself tapping furiously in just under a minute.
Northcutt’s triumphant return was even made sweeter after collecting the first performance bonus of the evening.
#4. Zebaztian Kadestam (welterweight MMA)
A lot of pundits expected the welterweight battle of the evening to not reach the judges’ scorecards, given Roberto Soldic’s fearsome reputation as a KO artist.
However, Zebaztian Kadestam flip the script and made sure he wasn’t the one staring at the arena lights by the end of their match.
After withstanding a round 1 onslaught from ‘Robocop’, ‘The Bandit’ stormed back with a sickening elbow that floored his favored foe.
The former welterweight king dropped Soldic two more times after that sequence, delivering the final nail in the coffin with a ferocious right cross and left hook combo.
After derailing the Soldic hype train, ‘The Bandit’ collected his bounty and may have set himself up for a world title shot at 185 pounds.
#3. Stamp Fairtex (atomweight MMA)
Just like Northcutt and Soldic, Stamp Fairtex weathered some early adversity as well in her own match against the gutsy Alyse Anderson.
‘Lil Savage’ connected hard shots on the feet and at one point even locked in what appeared to be a tight triangle choke.
Stamp, however, wasn’t going to let her new American fans down and unleashed her brutal Muay Thai attacks in round 2.
All it took was one perfectly placed kick to the liver, and Anderson crumbled to the floor in defeat.
Apart from a nifty $50,000 cheque, Stamp also earned herself a date with Ham Seo Hee for the interim atomweight world title.
#2 Mikey Musumeci (flyweight submission grappling)
A true luminary of the grappling arts, Mikey Musumeci was the perfect ambassador for submission grappling in ONE’s US debut.
Undeterred by the challenge of his credentialed opponent Osamah Almarwai, ‘Darth Rigatoni’ did what he does best and performed wizardly transitions and chained his submissions to perfection.
‘Osa’ couldn’t even mount his own offense, as Musumeci kept him guessing and on the defensive all evening.
Musumeci’s technical brilliance was on full display when he took the challenger’s back and even trapped one of his arms for good measure.
That was all she wrote once the American sunk in the choke. We all knew the bonus money was coming as soon as Almarwai waved the white flag.
#1. Rodtang (flyweight Muay Thai)
What’s better than one performance bonus? How about two of those bad boys in one night.
Rodtang Jitnuangnon joined the 100K club on Friday, collecting double the bonus money after sending Edgar Tabares to the shadow realm.
The gutsy Mexican challenger looked sharp in his promotional debut and seemed unfazed by the Thai destroyer right in front of him.
However, ‘The Iron Man’ was hellbent on destruction in his maiden voyage to North America.
After eating a spinning elbow from Tabaers, an incensed Rodtang threw a left hell-bow of his own and stared menacingly at his fallen foe.
Tabares was seeing stars after that and could no longer continue.
Rodtang, who came from humble beginnings in Thailand, received some life-altering money soon after and couldn’t help but give Chatri Sityodtong a hug upon hearing the good news.
