Fahdi Khaled (L) vs Rodtang Jitmuangnon in ONE: Hero’s Ascent. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—Rodtang Jitmuangnon scored a unanimous decision win over Fahdi Khaled in the Muay Thai flyweight division of the ONE Super Series in the ONE: Hero’s Ascent Friday at Mall of Asia Arena.
Thailand’s Jitmuangnon was aggressive early in the fight, landing his strikes at will and taunting Khaled along the way, which the Filipino fans loved.
The Filipino crowd loving Jitmuangnon's energy and antics. #ONEChampionship
— Bong Lozada (@BongLozada92) January 25, 2019
Khaled came alive in the second round but Jitmuangnon was quick to recover to end the round with the tempo on his side.
Jitmuangnon then used the third round to put Khaled in his place with aggressive striking the Tunisian had no choice but to focus on defending.
Rodtang Jitmuangnon (white) taking on Fahdi Khaled in the muay thai flyweight division of ONE Super Series. #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/Z4vBiuy94m
— Bong Lozada (@BongLozada92) January 25, 2019
In a clash of ONE debutants, Reinier De Ridder ended his fight against Fan Rong early with a first-round submission win in the middleweight division.
The two engaged at the start of the match but it was De Ridder who got into a dominant position when the action got into the canvas.
De Ridder (10-0) then positioned himself for a D’Arce choke that put Fan (10-2) to sleep 1:51 into the bout for his 10th straight win.
Japan’s Hiroki Akimoto took a convincing unanimous decision win over Australia’s Josh Tonna in the flyweight division of the ONE Super Series kickboxing event.
Josh Tonna (left) faces Hiroki Akimoto in the kickboxing event of ONE Super Series. #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/f5at2GAOqo
— Bong Lozada (@BongLozada92) January 25, 2019
The two started off firing in the first round with both sending each other to the mat to score early knockdowns.
It was Akimoto, however, who sustained his offense as he sent Tonna down twice in the third round.
To open the undercard, Bangpleenoi Petchyindee Academy took a unanimous decision win over Brown Pinas in the featherweight division in the Muay Thai event of ONE Super Series.
Despite being called for two low blows, two in the first round alone, Academy was still able to earn the judges’ nods with a dominant striking display.