Second-ranked strawweight contender Jarred Brooks continued his meteoric rise through the division with a spectacular submission of no. 1-ranked Bokang Masunyane on Friday night in the ONE Championship at the Singapore Stadium.
“The Monkey God” immediately met “Little Giant” at the center of the Circle, locked him up in the clinch, and quickly transitioned to take the back.
From there, the American rode Masunyane’s back with a body triangle in place and then secured a deep rear-naked choke to squeeze the consciousness out of the South African.
The dominant win secured Brooks the next shot at ONE Strawweight World Champion Joshua Pacio.
In the main event, Regian Eersel willed himself through heavy fire, defeating Arian Sadikovic to retain his ONE Lightweight Kickboxing World Title for the fourth time.
Regian Eersel utilized his superior length and athleticism early, punishing the challenger with a plethora of flying knee attacks.
However, Sadikovic dialed up the intensity in round two, knocking “The Immortal” down for the count with a flying knee of his own. The defending World Champion survived and proceeded to dominate rounds three and four behind a steady stream of strikes from the outside.
In the final stanza, it was anybody’s game, but a busier Eersel outworked Sadikovic en route to a hard-earned victory on the scorecards.
With his 19th consecutive win overall, Eersel remained unbeaten in ONE Super Series and took home a US$50,000 performance bonus.
In the co-main event, 17-year-old Swedish phenom Smilla Sundell entered the record books against Filipina-American star Jackie Buntan and became the inaugural ONE Women’s Strawweight Muay Thai World Champion.
Buntan was methodical to start the contest, connecting on sharp counters from range. But the relentless aggression from Sundell quickly took over, as the teen sensation pressed forward behind fast and powerful combinations.
After five rounds, the damage on Buntan’s face was evidence of the “The Hurricane’s” handiwork, and the lanky Swedish fighter scored a clear-cut unanimous decision.
With the victory, Sundell became the youngest ONE World Champion in history and took home a US$50,000 bonus for her effort.
Liam Harrison and Muangthai PK.Saenchai went to war in a ONE Super Series bantamweight Muay Thai contest, and the one-round battle was pandemonium from start to finish. Both men came out guns blazing at the opening bell, but it was Muangthai who took an early lead.
