ONE Warrior Series’ Akihiro Fujisawa earns first ONE Championship victory

It was a short affair between ONE Championship debutants Akihiro “Superjap” Fujisawa and Kaji “Alpha” Ebin. Both men were scheduled to clash in a three-round catch weight match, but the bout ended abruptly due to injury.

The two enthusiastically walked to the ring for their main card tilt at ONE: HEROES OF HONOR, which took place Friday, 20 April, at the Mall Of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines.

In the end, it was Japan’s Fujisawa who took home the victory, winning by verbal submission after Ebin complained of an injured shoulder.

Ebin, an unbeaten athlete competing in front of his hometown crowd, appeared ready to go before he even stepped foot in the ring. Fujisawa, who joined the main roster after competing in Rich Franklin’s ONE Warrior Series, looked more than willing to engage at a moment’s notice.

At the sound of the opening bell, Ebin immediately looked to trade at the center of the ring. Fujisawa had other plans, however, as he shot for a single leg takedown once he was able to close the distance.

Fujisawa was successful in taking matters to the ground, and landed in side control. As the Japanese warrior gradually progressed to the center of the ring, Ebin was grimacing in pain.

At that point, the Filipino motioned to referee Yuji Shimada, who abruptly called a halt to the action at the 1:48 mark. Ebin was deemed no longer able to continue. With the result, Fujisawa was awarded the victory via verbal submission.

It was a bittersweet ending for Fujisawa, who made his first appearance in the organization as a winner of Rich Franklin’s ONE Warrior Series.

Fujisawa will need to wait until his next assignment in order to showcase his skills, as Ebin’s injury foiled what would have been an action-packed contest. With the victory, Fujisawa improves his record to 4-0-1.