Turkey’s Alibeg Rasulov claimed the biggest victory of his career to date as he defeated former ONE lightweight MMA champion Ok Rae Yoon in the main event of ONE Fight Night 23, but his victory was a bittersweet one, after his failure to pass his weigh-in day hydration test meant his chance at the interim lightweight title slipped through his fingers.
Rasulov pushed the pace on his South Korean opponent throughout the five-round main event clash at Bangkok’s Lumpinee Boxing Stadium. And, while he was unable to find a finish, there was little doubt over who had won when the bout reached its conclusion.
When the verdict was read, Rasulov was declared the victor, but there was no championship belt for the Turk, who had missed hydration at the official weigh-ins earlier in the week, and was rendered ineligible to win the interim title, which remains vacant as a result.
Carrillo underlines championship credentials
The co-main event saw Scottish Muay Thai star Nico Carrillo further cement his status as the number-one contender in the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai division with a second-round TKO finish of Saemapetch Fairtex.
Carrillo hit the gas from the opening bell and quickly found a home for his strikes, with heavy punches and effective knees scoring well for the Scot early on.
Saemapetch looked to answer in kind, but in the second round he was dropped to the canvas with a big left hook from “The King of the North”.
With the Thai contender clearly hurt, Carrillo pushed the pace and scored two more knockdowns to secure a second-round TKO victory and underline his championship credentials.
“King of the North” authored the finishing sequence in the second round when he floored Saemapetch with a perfectly executed left hook. Carrillo then proceeded to drop his opponent two more times, clinching the emphatic victory by technical knockout.
The night also saw victories for submission grappling ace Tye Ruotolo and heavyweight MMA contender Kirill Grishenko, while the next man to challenge three-division king Anatoly Malykhin, Senegal’s “Reug Reug” Oumar Kane, notched a first-round knockout victory in his kickboxing bout with compatriot Boucher Ketchup.
Barboza edges Aliff thanks to second-round knockdown
There was also a win for England’s Ellis Badr Barboza, who edged a split decision after his bout was decided by the judges following a back-and-forth war with exciting Thai prospect Aliff.
Aliff scored more frequently during the course of the three rounds, but Barboza’s power proved decisive as he dropped the Thai in the second round with a peach of a left hook to earn a 10-8 round.
That meant all three scorecards had the fight even at 28-28 after the three rounds were up. And, with a winner needing to be decided, the judges chose their preferred victor, with Barboza’s knockdown giving him the edge in the eyes of two of the three judges.
ONE Fight Night 23: Official results
- Alibeg Rasulov def. Ok Rae Yoon via unanimous decision – lightweight MMA
- Nico Carrillo def. Saemapetch Fairtex via TKO (three knockdown rule) – Round 2, 2:03 – bantamweight Muay Thai
- Tye Ruotolo def. Jozef Chen via unanimous decision – 186-pound catchweight submission grappling
- Kirill Grishenko def. Kang Ji Won via unanimous decision – heavyweight MMA
- Bampara Kouyate def. Luke Lessei via TKO (punch) – Round 3, 2:08 – featherweight Muay Thai
- Tatsumitsu Wada def. Xie Wei via unanimous decision – flyweight MMA
- Blac Panther def. Ali Saldoev via knockout (head kick) – Round 2, 0:23 – 139.25-pound catchweight Muay Thai
- Hiroba Minowa def. Jeremy Miado via split decision – strawweight MMA
- Ellis Badr Barboza def. Aliff via split decision – 125.75-pound catchweight Muay Thai
- Oumar Kane def. Boucher Ketchup via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 2:08 – heavyweight kickboxing
- Alexey Balyko def. Stefan Korodi via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 2:42 – 151.50-pound catchweight Muay Thai
