Kairat Akhmetov. Photo from ONE Championship
JAKARTA — Kairat Akhmetov narrowly edged Filipino bet Geje Eustaquio in the main event of ONE: Total Victory Saturday at Jakarta Convention Center here.
The former ONE Flyweight Champion bested the Team Lakay flyweight by split decision in a match that was truly too close to call.
Eustaquio rocked the Kazakh early, landing a couple of kicks to the former champion’s face, but referee Yuji Shimada inexplicably halted the match that allowed Akhmetov to recover.
Akhmetov took the fight to the ground but the Ifugao warrior showed immense brilliance in his ground defense.
With the bout seemingly even, Akhmetov may have gained the advantage after knocking down Eustaquio with a punch in the third round and holding the Filipino challenger in a guillotine until the final minute.
Winning the virtual number one contender’s match, With the victory, Akhmetov once again gave himself a shot at the title against reigning ONE Flyweight Champion Adriano Moraes of Brazil, who had previously beaten him for the belt.
Akhmetov improved his record to 24-1, while Eustaquio fell to 9-6.
Eustaquio’s defeat ruined what would have been a great night for Filipinos, after flyweight Ramon Gonzales and strawweight Roy Doliguez won their respective matches in the undercard.
Meanwhile, hometown pride Stefer Rahardian (6-0) extended his winning streak in the flyweight division, making Cambodian Sim Bunsrun (3-4) tap out by rear-naked choke at the 1:07 mark of the first round, much to the delight of the Jakarta crowd.
“It was really tough because I saw my opponent scrambling. But as soon as I had a chance to take his back, I took the opportunity,” Rahardian said of his dominant showing.
Alain Ngalani (3-3) made quick work of Hideki Sekine (7-2), putting his Japanese opponent to sleep with a right straight within 11 seconds of the first round.