Elliot Compton Stuns Matthew Semper To Kick Off ONE: SPIRIT OF A WARRIOR

The action at ONE: SPIRIT OF A WARRIOR began in thrilling fashion with a ONE Super Series kickboxing bout between Australia’s Elliot “The Dragon” Compton and America’s Matthew “Sobek” Semper.

The bout in Yangon, Myanmar was mostly dictated by the accuracy and dynamism of Compton, who scored knockdowns in the first two rounds to seal a dominant decision victory over his durable foe in the Thuwunna Indoor Stadium on Friday, 29 June.

“The Dragon” started the opening stanza as he meant to go on, thrusting out a sharp jab that repeatedly found its mark and opened up opportunities to land follow-up kicks and punches.

Semper’s game plan was much different – looking for single power shots to close the show with one blow. However, his eagerness to land it left him wide open. Compton capitalised by dropping him with a firm jab as he charged in.

Semper, who competes out of Phuket, Thailand, made it to the end of the first, and came out for round two looking to establish his own jab. However, the Australian’s reach and precision were far superior.

His experience as a four-time Caged Muay Thai champion paid dividends. Again, “The Dragon” timed his reply to Semper’s swing and sent him reeling to the canvas for a second time with a jab that landed on the button.

The American started to show signs of fatigue as he came out for the final round, but he kept on swinging. He lacked the explosiveness of the earlier exchanges, but “Sobek” would not quit.

Compton continued in a similar rhythm, and began landing with some solid knees to the body. As the clock ran down and victory was at hand, he began to pull back-kicks and spinning hook-kicks out of his bag of tricks, but none brought the bout to an early conclusion.

Following a loss in his promotional debut – despite a solid performance against Cosmo Alexandre – Compton registered his first ONE Super Series victory.

By improving his a record to 46-11, the Australian martial artist showed he could be a fan favourite who is likely to bring entertainment under the lights.