With another event held at the prestigious Lumpinee Stadium, One Championship continued its Friday Fights series with One Friday Fights 9. Hosting Muay Thai bouts, this event was headlined by none other than the rivalry between defending Lightweight Kickboxing and Muay Thai Champion Regian “The Immortal” Eersel and Thai phenom Sinsamut Klinmee.
Needless to say, this was another entertaining card with plenty of eye-opening finishes, so without further ado, let’s countdown ONE Friday Fights 9: Top 3 Finishes! (in descending order)
3. Regian “The Immortal” Eersel vs. Sinsamut Klinmee 2
Starting off with the list is none other than the anticipated main event, the rematch between defending champion Regian Eersel and Sinsamut Klinmee, once again for the Lightweight Muay Thai title.
With the first fight resulting in a close, split decision in favor of Eersel, “The Immortal” amassed a record of 59-4 and was riding a 20-fight win streak that started way back in 2016.
Sinsamut, on the other hand, had a record of 86-16-3, and he quickly burst onto the One Championship scene just last year.
He was 2-0 in One with both coming by way of KO, including his statement performance against former Glory Kickboxing welterweight champion and Eersel’s former kickboxing rival, Nieky Holzken.
Round 1, Sinsamut came in fast and furious with the leg kicks. At 1:42, Eersel landed a right hand that allowed him to begin a flurry of his own that included a flying kick.
Sinsamut, however, quickly clinched with Eersel and continued winning the exchanges. Eersel once again tried another flying knee with less than 10 seconds left, but Sinsamut moved out of the way, clinched with him and then swept him.
In round 2, Eersel came in all guns blazing, firing off body and leg kicks. Sinsamut nonetheless began neutralizing Eersel’s offense with the clinch and began winning exchanges of his own. However, it seemed rather even, with both fighters landing their own shots.
In round 3, Eersel had another fast start with a round-kick-to-teep combo. After that, it was mostly a showdown between the body punches of “The Immortal” and the kicks of Sinsamut. Despite Eersel constantly moving forward, it appeared Sinsamut was landing with more impact thanks to his switch kicks to the body.
In round 4, Sinsamut continued effectively landing the round kicks. Nevertheless, persistence paid off as Eersel landed a body hook on Sinsamut at 1:05 that dropped him.
Failing to make the 8-count, Sinsamut once again fell short against the defending champion, who officially won by way of TKO at 1:17 into round 4.
With a stamp on the rivalry, “The Immortal” earned a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus in addition to defending his One Championship Lightweight Muay Thai title for the first time.
2. Tatsumitsu Wada vs. Ernesto Montilla
A seasoned veteran who fought the likes of Demetrious Johnson, Japanese fighter, Tatsumitsu Wada came into this bout with a record of 24-12-2 against Filipino fighter Ernesto Montilla, who was 10-4 at the time.
The fight stayed on the feet with Montilla being the busier fighter despite forward pressure from Wada. However, at 1:16 Wada knocked down Montilla with a punch, rained ground and pound, took the back and submitted him with a rear naked choke at 1:49 into round 1.
1. Sam-A Gaiyanghadao vs. Ryan Sheehan
Despite his loss of the One Muay Thai Strawweight title to Prajanchai and a rumored retirement, Sam-A won another title at Rajadamnern Stadium before returning to the One ring, with a 372-48-9 record, to fight Irish fighter Ryan Sheehan.
In addition to being 26-9-2 at the time, Sheehan is also the current WBC Muay Thai Super Bantamweight Champion and the current ISKA Muay Thai World Bantamweight Champion.
In round 1, Sheehan had a fast start with his combinations, but it didn’t take long for Sam-A to pick up the pace and start slowing Sheehan down, having rocked him with a left straight at 1:55. Although Sheehan was rocked, he sent Sam-A to the floor with a body teep at 2:12. Sam-A continued patiently as Sheehan continued throwing with volume.
In round 2, Sam-A caught Sheehan’s teep and swept him at 0:07. Despite the constant pressure from Sheehan, Sam-A landed another left hand that knocked him down at 0:58.
With Sheehan making the 8-count, Sam-A swept Sheehan from the clinch at 1:16. Sheehan tried pressuring Sam-A, but Sam-A remained calm, kept creating distance to counter and knocked Sheehan down with another left straight at 2:52.
This time, Sheehan failed to make the 8-count, and Sam-A was rewarded with a $10,000 Performance of the Night Bonus!
