Five Finishes Light Up ONE: HEART OF THE LION Prelims In Singapore

A series of spectacular stoppages ensured ONE: HEART OF THE LION kicked off with a bang inside the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Friday, 9 November.

The featured bout of the prelims saw Garry “The Lion Killer” Tonon maintain his perfect start to life as a mixed martial artist, as he climbed to 3-0 with a submission of Sung Jong Lee in his featherweight debut.

The five-time EBI Grappling Champion absorbed some damage on the feet in the first round from his Korean opponent, but turned the tide in the second with his jiu-jitsu. He locked up a guillotine choke, and although his opponent scrambled to try and escape, the American rolled into mount to tighten his hold and get the tap.

Another submission came from a more unlikely source as Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke returned to action for the first time since March and tapped India’s Himanshu Kaushik at 4:45 of the second round.

The former ONE Strawweight World Champion is a Muay Thai legend, and landed plenty of powerful strikes, but he was constantly on the hunt for chokes, too. After a couple of near-misses, “Kru Rong” improved his mixed martial arts record to 9-4 by putting his opponent to sleep with a rear-naked choke.

Muangthai P.K.Saenchaimuaythaigym earned the 196th win of his Muay Thai career by unanimous decision, but the “Elbow Zombie” was pushed all the way by Cyprus’ Panicos Yusuf.

In a ONE Super Series bantamweight bout, the Thai star scored a decisive knockdown in the first round, which gave him the edge in a close contest – in which both athletes showcased their technical skill.

Japan’s Shuya “Stealth” Kamikubo secured his fifth win in a row – and second in the ONE cage – by taking a grinding unanimous decision from “Jungle Cat” Muhammad Aiman at bantamweight.

The DEEP Tournament Champion scored takedowns in all three rounds to dominate his Malaysian rival, and improve his record to 9-1-1.

In more bantamweight action, ”The Stalker” Xie Bin recorded his fifth victory in a row against Malaysia’s Hisyam Samsudin.

The rising Chinese star needed just 3:19 to lock in a D’arce choke and put his opponent to sleep.

The first bout of the evening lasted just 39 seconds as Anthony “The Archangel” Engelen improved his record to 7-4 with a head-kick knockout of Meas Meul.

The Dutch-Indonesian featherweight stepped forward and landed his shin on the Cambodian’s chin before he could get his shot off – planting him onto the canvas instantly.