Photo via ONE Championship press release
ONE: Fists of Fury III Results (Eersel Retains Kickboxing Belt)
ONE Championship returned earlier today with ONE: Fists of Fury III from Singapore Indoor Stadium.
The high octane event showcased four MMA bouts and a pair of ONE Super Series contests. This included a high-stakes Muay Thai clash and a collision for the ONE lightweight kickboxing world championship.
ONE: Fists of Fury III
In the main event, reigning ONE lightweight kickboxing king Regian Eersel retained his hardware. He did so via unanimous decision over the #2-ranked contender Mustapha Haida.
After a competitive opening frame, things picked up in the second when Eersel began pressuring Haida. Utilizing his reach advantage to manage the range and discourage offense. Haida looked to stymy that pace but the defending titlist struck with frenetic volume but laser precision.
In the championship rounds, Haida worked the body well when he dug into Eersel’s midsection frequently. Eersel responded with stinging combinations and a variety of flying knees right up until the final bell.
In the end, both warriors were still standing despite an arduous five-round battle with Eersel getting his hand raised.
In the Muay Thai co-feature, ONE atomweight kickboxing world champion/ #2-ranked atomweight Muay Thai contender Janet Todd showed out and outstruck the #4-ranked atomweight Muay Thai contender Alma Juniku.
Both fighters had their moments in the first frame as they chipped away at each other in The Circle. In the second round, Todd showcased her impressive sweet science skills. She dropped Juniku with a clean right hand down the middle. The women went back to trading heavy shots in the final frame but it was Todd who would garner the unanimous decision distinction.
MMA action
Hiroba Minowa earned the biggest W of his young career. He earned a split decision win over former ONE strawweight world champion/ #5-ranked strawweight contender Alex Silva.
The grappling-oriented affair saw Silva threatening with a host of submissions at every position, forcing Minowa to defend. In the third round, Minowa turned the tide by shifting things to a striking battle. He was seemingly racking up more damage and this was what narrowly edged out the win for him on the scorecards.
ONE Warrior Series product Jenelyn Olsim bested #5-ranked women’s strawweight contender Maira Mazar by third-round submission. The mixed martial arts clash saw Olsim showcase her patented Team Lakay wushu skills early on.
She kept Mazar at a distance with purposeful striking combos. Olsim defended well against the subsequent advances from Mazar. In the final frame, Olsim secured a guillotine against the Circle Wall, pulled guard, and forced the tap.
Roshan Mainam scored his third straight submission win in ONE Championship. He forced Aziz Calim to tap in the first frame of their flyweight fight. Calim looked to work the striking to keep Mainam away, but once in close quarters, he promptly took the action to the ground mat. After securing hooks, Mainam sunk in a tight rear-naked choke that wrapped up the pugilistic proceedings.
Hu Yong withstood a fast start from opponent Yodkaikaew Fairtex to earn a unanimous decision. This was the opening bout of ONE: Fists of Fury III.
The first round saw both being offensively minded by traded power shots early. After making a thoughtful adjustment in the second frame, Hu used his wrestling game to pressure cook Yodkaikaew for the remainder of the bout. Ultimately, all three judges saw Hu as the winner of the contest.
Official Results for ONE: Fists of Fury III
Kickboxing – Lightweight: Regian Eersel defeats Mustapha Haida via Unanimous Decision
Muay Thai – Atomweight: Janet Todd defeats Alma Juniku via Unanimous Decision
Mixed Martial Arts – Strawweight: Hiroba Minowa defeats Alex Silva via Split Decision
MMA – Strawweight: Jenelyn Olsim defeats Maira Mazar via Submission GuillotineChoke at 0:41 of Round 3 Mixed
Mixed Martial Arts – Flyweight: Roshan Mainam defeats Aziz Calim via Rear-Naked Choke at 2:45 of Round 1
MMA – Flyweight: Hu Yong defeats Yodkaikaew Fairtex via Unanimous Decision
