Working the physique was proving a robust tactic for the Russian as he utilized fixed stress all through the competition, punishing de Ridder with the proper hand and forcing him to retreat again onto the fence.
The Dutchman regarded drained on the finish of the second spherical having absorbed some heavy artillery, and when a takedown was stifled by Malykhin halfway via the third, the Russian was capable of scramble as much as his ft, however de Ridder remained down, exhausted and unable to proceed.
That handed Malykhin a bit of historical past – 26 kilos extra of gold, and a $50,000 bonus besides.
Tang Kai regarded glorious on his return to the cage
Within the co-main occasion, Tang Kai returned to the cage for the primary time in nearly 18 months to retain the ONE featherweight MMA title.
Standing throughout from him in Qatar, was Thanh Le – the person he beat for the title in August 2022, and interim champion heading into the bout.
Nonetheless, a fourth spherical knockout noticed Tang Kai unify the division, and choose up a $50,000 combat bonus.
The primary spherical has began cagily with each males discovering their vary, however selecting up yellow playing cards for inactivity within the course of. Kai pushed the tempo within the second marking Thanh Le and bloodying his nostril with a sequence of correct strikes. Le returned the favour later within the spherical nonetheless, as he discovered his vary and bust open the nostril of his Chinese language opponent.
After the motion of the second, the third stanza was just a little extra edgy, however Cai introduced the warmth within the fourth and dropped his opponent with a giant proper hand earlier than ending issues with a flurry of punches on the bottom.
Within the evening’s different title combat, there was drama and controversy as America’s Jarred Brooks was disqualified in his defence of the ONE strawweight MMA title.
Brooks had began in dominant vogue towards Joshua Pacio from the Philippines, however a vicious slam one minute into the primary spherical noticed Pacio land straight on his head – one thing strictly outlawed in ONE Championship.
Struggle followers had long-awaited this rematch however the early ending resulted in one thing of an anticlimax. Pacio turned the brand new champion because of the DQ – regaining the title he misplaced to Brooks in December 2002.
