ONE Championship delivered an unforgettable night inside the Ball Arena as the promotion returned to the United States for ONE 168: Denver.
Nine exciting martial arts matches lined the card and it was nothing but pure adrenaline from start to finish. Here is the event recap of ONE 168 Denver.
Superlek Kiatmoo9 did not even need a full minute to become the ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Champion. Jonathan Haggerty came out aggressive, and it cost him. The Brit walked into a stiff, clean elbow from “The Kicking Machine” and could not answer the referee’s count. A swift 49-second KO made Superlek a two-sport World Champion and arguably the greatest pound-for-pound striker on the planet.
The battle between Liam Harrison and Seksan Or Kwanmuang lived up to the hype. The first round was electric with anticipation as they measured each other, but the second round was pure chaos. In the end, “The Man Who Yields To No One” got three knockdowns to score the TKO win in a meeting between two legends.
Shamil Erdogan dominated former two-division World Champion Aung La N Sang en route to a second-round TKO. Erdogan out-grappled the Myanmar star in the first, and then showed off his striking early in the second. After another takedown, he pummeled Aung L N Sang until referee Herb Dean stepped in and waved off the bout.
John Lineker took to Muay Thai like a seasoned veteran. “Hands of Stone” pressured Asa Ten Pow and let his fists do the talking. After an exciting first round, he stunned Ten Pow in the second frame and never relented. A final right hook put Ten Pow down, and Lineker made an instant impact on the “art of eight limbs.”
Adrian Lee was dominant yet again. The Prodigy Training Center star took Nico Cornejo’s back early and never left. Eventually, he got the rear-naked choke, and the Colordan was forced to tap. The talented teen is 2-0 in his young pro career, and the hype appears very real.
Johan Ghazali beat the buzzer with a KO at the bell. Although Josue Cruz attacked the 17-year-old throughout, the Malaysian-American rocked him right at the end of the round. Cruz stood at the end of the referee’s count but couldn’t maintain his stance and fell back to ensure the KO finish.
Johan Estupinan and Sean Climaco opened ONE 168 in epic fashion. The first round featured three knockdowns alone, two from Cimaco and one by Estupinan. However, after the first three minutes Climaco appeared to be breathing heavily. A renewed Estupinan came out firing in the second with three knockdowns for a TKO finish.
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ONE 168: Denver Full Results
Superlek Kiatmoo9 def. Jonathan Haggerty by KO at 0:49 of the first round
Seksan Or Kwanmuang def. Liam Harrison by TKO at 1:49 of the second round
Shamil Erdogan def. Aung La N Sang by TKO at 2:48 of the second round
John Lineker def. Asa Ten Pow by KO at 2:50 of the second round
Victoria Souza def. Alyse Anderson by unanimous decision
Isi Fitikefu def. Hiroyuki Tetsuka by unanimous decision
Adrian Lee def. Nico Cornejo via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:37 of the first round
Johan Ghazali def. Josue Cruz by KO at 3:00 of the first round
Johan Estupinan def. Sean Climaco by TKO at 1:28 of the second round