Ma Hao Bin edges out Sotir Kichukov, flies high in Manila

“The Southern Eagle” Ma Hao Bin continues to fly high in ONE Championship, and moves forward in his quest to become China’s first male world champion in the organization.

Ma delivered a complete performance against Bulgarian Sotir “The Trouble” Kichukov in a three-round flyweight contest at ONE: GLOBAL SUPERHEROES, which went down Friday, 26 January, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines.

Following 15 minutes of intense martial arts action, the judges rendered a unanimous decision victory in favor of the Nanchang, China resident.

The bout started off at a gradual and deliberate pace, with both athletes sizing each other up and reluctant to engage. Action picked up towards the end of the round, however, as Ma placed more emphasis on diversifying his striking to be able to land his takedowns.

After connecting with a left hook, Ma wisely dove for a single-leg, driving Kichukov to the mat. The ground, of course, is where “The Southern Eagle” truly shines. Ma is a China national wrestling champion, and has thus far dominated with his wrestling early in his career.

The second round saw Ma turning up the aggression, nearly finishing Kichukov after landing a ferocious combination along the fence that had the Bulgarian reeling. “The Trouble” was somehow able to survive the onslaught, but was obviously still trying to recover from Ma’s furious offense. On the ground, Ma continued to punish Kichukov with elbows and hammer fists until the end of the stanza.

Kichukov came alive in the final round, knowing he had to make something happen in order to win the bout. The Bulgarian operated from range, peppering Ma with crisp boxing combinations and wearing him down with constant movement.

Ma appeared to have tired from his second-round display of aggression, but soon recovered just in time to finish the bout on a high note, trading his best strikes with Kichukov at the center of the cage.

In the end, the judges awarded the unanimous decision victory to “The Southern Eagle.”

“I am very emotional right now,” Ma said in the post-bout interview with Mitch Chilson. “I feel I am one step closer to my goal, which is the ONE Championship belt.”

Ma’s impressive victory certainly moves him further up the ladder in a stacked flyweight division. He improves his record to 10-1, and will look to challenge the promotion’s best moving forward.