Thanh Le Submits Ilya Freymanov to Win ONE Interim Featherweight MMA World Title
ONE Championship (ONE) returned to the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium with another spectacular card. ONE Fight Night 15: Le vs. Freymanov featured two exciting World Title bouts, including a battle for the ONE Interim Featherweight MMA World Title and a showdown for the ONE Strawweight Kickboxing World Title.
ONE Championship, in partnership with leading premium lifestyle and luxury performance brand TUMI, presented the prestigious ONE World Title belt to the World Champions.
In the main event, former undisputed featherweight MMA king Thanh Le swiftly secured the ONE Interim Featherweight MMA World Championship by dispatching #3-ranked contender Ilya Freymanov.
Le’s underrated grappling skills played a pivotal role in the bout. After a brief exchange on the feet, Freymanov attempted to take Le down. In response, The Vietnamese-American rolled into a leg entanglement and quickly secured a heel hook. Despite Freymanov’s efforts to break free, Le maintained a strong grip, ultimately forcing his Russian opponent to tap a little over a minute into the first round.
Following his victory, Le met reigning ONE Featherweight MMA World Champion Tang Kai at the center of the ring, setting the stage for a World Title unification rematch.
In the co-main event, unbeaten Jonathan Di Bella successfully defended the ONE Strawweight Kickboxing World Title in a complete five-round shutdown of Danial Williams. From bell to bell, the defending titleholder looked a step ahead in every exchange, preventing “Mini T” from launching any significant offense while inflicting damage with clean punches and knees to the midsection. Di Bella’s superior skills reflected on the judges’ scorecards, leading him to a well-deserved unanimous decision victory.
ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Champion Tawanchai PK Saenchai scored a massive win over the tough “Smokin” Jo Nattawut in a featherweight kickboxing bout. Throughout the encounter, the Thai megastar bombarded his compatriot with power shots. Despite Nattawut stepping into the matchup on short notice, he put up a valiant effort. Nevertheless, Tawanchai’s relentless forward pressure effectively dictated the pace down the stretch, earning him the unanimous decision.
Mikey Musumeci overcame a bout of food poisoning to defeat Japanese martial arts icon and former ONE Lightweight MMA World Champion Shinya Aoki in an openweight submission grappling contest. The reigning ONE Flyweight Submission Grappling World Champion delivered a near-flawless performance, forcing “Tobikan Judan” to tap out with a painful heel hook. Musumeci wasted no time in taking control, drawing the MMA legend into his guard, where he applied the match-winning submission to extend his unbeaten streak in ONE.
For ONE Fight Night 15, ONE Championship has been proud to partner with Stage Front VIP (global VIP experience partner), Monster Energy (exclusive energy drink partner), TUMI (official premium luggage partner), and Fairtex (official glove partner), featuring branding in-stadium and inside the Circle, custom branded content across broadcast and digital, and more.
Performance bonus winners: Thanh Le (US$50,000), Mikey Musumeci (US$50,000), Zhang Lipeng (US$50,000)
ONE Fight Night 15 Complete Results
Thanh Le defeats Ilya Freymanov via submission (heel hook) at 1:02 of round one to claim the ONE Interim Featherweight MMA World Title
Jonathan Di Bella defeats Danial Williams via unanimous decision to retain the ONE Strawweight Kickboxing World Title
Tawanchai PK Saenchai defeats Jo Nattawut via unanimous decision (kickboxing – featherweight)
Mikey Musumeci defeats Shinya Aoki via submission (heel hook) at 3:05 of round one (submission grappling – openweight)
Joshua Pacio defeats Mansur Malachiev via unanimous decision (MMA – strawweight)
Zhang Lipeng defeats Timofey Nastyukhin via TKO (ground-and-pound) at 3:18 of round one (MMA – lightweight)
Hu Yong defeats Eko Roni Saputra via TKO (punch combo) at 1:03 of round one (MMA – flyweight)
Phetjeeja defeats Celest Hansen via TKO (doctor’s stoppage) at 1:01 of round three (Muay Thai – catchweight 121 lbs)
Hiroyuki Tetsuka defeats Jin Tae Ho via submission (armbar) at 4:45 of round one (MMA – welterweight)
Shakir Al-Tekreeti defeats Bampara Kouyate via unanimous decision (Muay Thai – catchweight 174.5 lbs)
