Check out the results and highlights from the ONE Championship: A New Era card, where Shinya Aoki submitted Eduard Folayang to capture the the lightweight belt in the main event.
The ONE Championship: A New Era main card just wrapped up, including two titles changing hands and two titles staying place, as well as one successful and one unsuccessful promotional debuts from former UFC champions Demetrious Johnson and Eddie Alvarez.
Closing out the event, MMA great Shinya Aoki captured ONE’s lightweight belt with a first-round submission of Eduard Folayang in their rematch. Just as Folayang was getting his striking going, Aoki shot in and realized a bodylock takedown. It didn’t take very long for Aoki to lock up an arm triangle. After a quick adjustment, Aoki’s squeeze put Folayang to sleep. Aoki is once again a world champion, and has now won four-straight matches by way of first-round stoppage.
Jingnan Xiong vs. Angela Lee did not disappoint in the co-main event. Jingnan came up with a fifth round TKO due to series of body strikes, after Lee emptied her gas tank in the previous round, to retain her strawweight crown. The defending champ let her hands go early, as Lee was looking to clinch and grapple, but found herself in serious trouble in the fourth frame. Lee came out and landed a cross and went right into a takedown. Jingnan did not return to her feet in that round, and spent a lot of time fighting off an extremely tight triangle armbar attempt. Lee gave it everything she had, but was unable to convert the sub before the round ended.
Lee went into the final round visibly fatigued, and Jingnan made the most of it by attacking the body. It was a cross to the gut that set up a finishing sequence full of damaging body kicks before the referee intervened and stopped the fight. The 14-1 Jingnan’s successful strawweight title defense is her ninth straight victory as she hasn’t lost a fight since June of 2015. For ONE’s atomweight queen in Lee, this marks her first professional loss, but the 9-1 22-year-old will likely bounce back right back from this lesson.
Before that, Aung La Nsang showed off his punching power, as well as some vicious body kicks, en route to his second round stoppage of Ken Hasegawa to retain his middleweight title. Just like their initial meeting, Hasegawa was game, willing to trade on the feet and exchange strikes. The two-division champ adds another spectacular finish to his highlight reel and already knows of his next challenge. ONE’s heavyweight king Brandon “The Truth” Vera entered the cage after the fight to respectfully ask Nsang to compete in Japan in October for Nsang’s light heavyweight belt. Nsang accepted the challenge.
ONE’s bantamweight title changed hands at this event when Kevin Belingon and Bibiano Fernandes met for the third time, but not in the way that anyone wanted. Belingon got off to a strong start, landing quality strikes out in open space. Then, a massive right hand wobbled Belingon that set off a violent barrage from Fernandes.
Belingon got back into the groove of things in the second round, landing some slick spinning back kicks as well as leg kicks. Fernandes did score a late takedown, but was unable to do anything with it before the round expired. The third round saw Fernandes blast a takedown, but Belingon threw an illegal elbow to the back of the head of Fernandes, resulting in a long break in the action. A break so long that it never actually ended. Fernandes could not continue, and Belingon was disqualified. Fernandes now leads their series 2-1.
Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson made good on his ONE debut, coming up with a second-round submission over a game Yuya Wakamatsu. The opening round was quite competitive. Wakamatsu was ready to fend off the takedown attempts from Johnson and matched him in the scrambles. Come round-two, Wakamatsu started tagging Johnson, but then he got overzealous and was taken down.
Although he was able to stand back to his feet, Johnson would not allow for Wakamatsu to ever return to open space. Johnson took side control, and then landed a set of knees which opened up the neck of Wakamatsu. Johnson squeezed on a guillotine and Wakamatsu was forced to tap. “Mighty Mouse” now advances to the next round of the promotion’s Flyweight World Grand Prix.
Timofey Nastyukhin scored the biggest win of his professional career by stopping former UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez with strikes in the opening round of ONE’s Lightweight World Grand Prix. Nastyukhin got his hands going right away, seeming to already be in a rhythm. Alvarez sat back, seeing what his adversary had to offer. Then, Nastyukhin stung Alvarez with a punching flurry that got his attention.
Nastyukhin went into kill-mode. Another three-piece connected, sending Alvarez retreating to the fence. Alvarez covered up and Nastyukhin poured on the heat. Alvarez dropped to the floor and the referee stepped in to rescue the ONE newcomer. What an upset! Nastyukhin will be advancing to the next round of ONE’s Lightweight World Grand Prix.
Opening up the main card, Yodsanklai Iwe dropped Andy Souwer multiple times with stinging punches before ultimately scoring the second-round knockout. Souwer was floored with a right hand right out of the gate, which just a sign of things to come. The power in the hands of Yodsanklai proved to be too much for Souwer, especially with four-ounce gloves, and Yodsanklai has now evened up the score to 1-1.
Main card:
- Shinya Aoki def. Eduard Folayang by submission (Arm Triangle) at of round 1: Lightweight Title
WHAT. A. FINALE! Japanese legend Shinya Aoki submits Eduard Folayang with a signature triangle choke at 2:34 of Round 1 to reclaim the ONE Lightweight World Title! @a_ok_i #WeAreONE #ANewEra #Tokyo #MartialArts pic.twitter.com/jbLmv9XsQl
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) March 31, 2019
- Jingnan Xiong def. Angela Lee by TKO (Body Shots) at 1:37 of round 5: (W) Strawweight Title
Xiong Jing Nan stops the “Unstoppable!” The showcases her trademark power in a stunning TKO of Angela Lee at 1:37 of Round 5! #WeAreONE #ANewEra #Tokyo #MartialArts pic.twitter.com/FCZ7bf3YJL
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) March 31, 2019
EPIC armbar escape @angelaleemma #WeAreONE #ANewEra #Tokyo #MartialArts pic.twitter.com/aEN8Loo7KV
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) March 31, 2019
- Aung La Nsang def. Ken Hasegawa by KO at 4:41 of round 2: Middleweight Title
Aung La N Sang retains his ONE Middleweight World Title with a HUGE knockout of Ken Hasegawa at 4:41 of Round 2 @AungLANsang #WeAreONE #ANewEra #Tokyo #MartialArts pic.twitter.com/5qL2Opxew8
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) March 31, 2019
SMACK, BANG @AungLANsang @kenhasegawa0226 #WeAreONE #ANewEra #Tokyo #MartialArts pic.twitter.com/samee1as1N
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) March 31, 2019
- Bibiano Fernandes def. Kevin Belingon by disqualification (Illegal Elbow) in round 3: Bantamweight Title
- Demetrious Johnson def. Yuya Wakamatsu by submission (Guillotine) at 2:40 of round 2: Flyweight World Grand Prix quarter-final
Demetrious Johnson makes a STATEMENT in his ONE debut, submitting Yuya Wakamatsu with a tight guillotine choke at 2:40 of Round 2! @MightyMouse #WeAreONE #ANewEra #Tokyo #MartialArts pic.twitter.com/K4yOpTfmQJ
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) March 31, 2019
Demetrious Johnson VS Yuya Wakamatsu #ONEchampionship #WeAreONE #ANewEra pic.twitter.com/b4F9125HBQ
— ZombieProphet (@GIFsZP) March 31, 2019
- Timofey Nastyukhin def. Eddie Alvarez by TKO at 4:05 of round 1 : Lightweight World Grand Prix quarter-final
Timofey Nastyukhin SHOCKS THE ! The Russian warrior knocks out Eddie Alvarez at 4:05 of Round 1 to advance in the ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix! #WeAreONE #ANewEra #Tokyo #MartialArts pic.twitter.com/YxUV0TSnFR
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) March 31, 2019
Eddie Alvarez vs Timofey Nastyukhin #ONEchampionship #WeAreONE #ANewEra WOW! pic.twitter.com/hjQKm7bRuV
— ZombieProphet (@GIFsZP) March 31, 2019
- Yodsanklai Iwe def. Andy Souwer by KO at :51 of round 2: 72kg catchweight (Kickboxing Bout)
In an epic rematch 11 years in the making, Yodsanklai IWE Fairtex evens the score against Andy Souwer with a CRUSHING knockout at 0:51 of Round 2! #WeAreONE #ANewEra #Tokyo #MartialArts pic.twitter.com/HHoIX15ZRJ
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) March 31, 2019
Prelims:
- Danny Kingad def. Senzo Ikeda by unanimous decision: Flyweight
Filipino phenom Danny “The King” Kingad punches his ticket into the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix semifinals with a sensational unanimous decision win over Senzo Ikeda! #WeAreONE #ANewEra #Tokyo #MartialArts pic.twitter.com/xdJoPaYbMQ
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) March 31, 2019
- Kairat Akhmetov def. Reece McLaren by unanimous decision: Flyweight
Kairat Akhmetov kicks off the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix by defeating Reece McLaren via unanimous decision in a spirited stand-up battle! #WeAreONE #ANewEra #Tokyo #MartialArts pic.twitter.com/2HvzVm5J4n
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) March 31, 2019
- Rodtang Jitmuangnon def. Hakim Hamech by split decision: Flyweight (Muay Thai)
Thai phenom Rodtang outstrikes Hakim Hamech to win via split decision and remain undefeated in ONE Super Series! #WeAreONE #ANewEra #Tokyo #MartialArts pic.twitter.com/ZPfjfToysN
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) March 31, 2019
- Joseph Lasiri def. Hiroki Akimoto by majority decision: Flyweight (Kickboxing)
Italian stallion Joseph Lasiri puts on a spirited striking showcase to edge out Hiroki Akimoto and earn his first ONE Super Series win via majority decision! #WeAreONE #ANewEra #Tokyo #MartialArts pic.twitter.com/cTcWW1quGE
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) March 31, 2019
- Mei Yamaguchi def. Kseniya Lachkova by submission (Armbar) at 3:18 of round 3: Atomweight
Hometown hero Mei Yamaguchi overcomes a tough start and submits Kseniya Lachkova with a slick armbar at 3:18 of Round 3! @v_vmei #WeAreONE #ANewEra #Tokyo #MartialArts pic.twitter.com/Ljakokg4Se
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) March 31, 2019
- Garry Tonon def. Anthony Engelen by TKO at 4:12 of round 1: Featherweight
BJJ World Champion Garry Tonon secures a dominant ground-and-pound TKO win over Anthony Engelen at 4:12 of Round 1! @Garry_Tonon #WeAreONE #ANewEra #Tokyo #MartialArts pic.twitter.com/ASXXOa7CDU
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) March 31, 2019
- Panicos Yusuf def. Mohammed Bin Mahmoud by unanimous decision: Bantamweight (Muay Thai)
POWERFUL Panicos Yusuf pulls off the unanimous decision victory over Mohammed Bin Mahmoud in a ONE Super Series Muay Thai thriller! #WeAreONE #ANewEra #Tokyo #MartialArts pic.twitter.com/PgHVbEc6oN
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) March 31, 2019
- Chang Min Yoon def. Bala Shetty by submission (RNC) at 4:16 of round 1: Lighweight
ONE newcomer Yoon Chang Min kicks off ONE: A NEW ERA by submitting Bala Shetty via rear-naked choke at 4:16 of Round 1! #WeAreONE #ANewEra #Tokyo #MartialArts pic.twitter.com/v2Jjb2NM7D
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) March 31, 2019