ONE Fight Night 21 capped off an exciting doubleheader for ONE Championship. A new champion was crowned at night's end, and a new era began.
Regian Eersel was considered one of the pound-for-pound best strikers on the planet, but Alexis Nicolas did not listen to the hype. The French striker got a knockdown in the second round to put "The Immortal" against the odds. Never broken by Eersel's pace, Nicolas made it to the final bell to upset the Surinamese star and win the ONE Lightweight Kickboxing World Championship.
Tye Ruotolo successfully defended the ONE Welterweight Submission Grappling World Championship against Izaak Michell. Although Michell briefly had the American's back, a quick reversal sealed his fate. Just like his brother earlier in the night, Ruotolo secured a modified choke to get the win, and he even did it five seconds quicker than Kade.
Ben Tynan continued his trek to becoming a superstar in the sport with another dominant victory. The rising heavyweight dominated Duke Didier to move into title contention, with Anatoly Malykhin taking notice of his performance. Tynan does not just have the in-ring skills but brings added charisma, making him a must-watch star in 2024.
Denis Puric and Jacob Smith threw down, but Puric came out with a win thanks to timely knockdowns. By toppling the No.2 ranked contender in the flyweight Muay Thai division, Puric got closer to his dream match against Rodtang Jitmuangnon. The slick performance showed he still has much left to give at the division's top.
Kade Ruotolo had his MMA debut announced for ONE 167, but he had to contend with Francisco Lo before preparing for that match. All he did was unveil a new submission. Ruotolo continued to keep his ONE record perfect and set the stage for a highly-anticipated debut to showcase his well-rounded skill set.
Hiroyuki Tetsuka kept piling up the wins at welterweight by defeating Valmir Da Silva by second-round submission. The "Japanese Beast" clearly cemented his spot at the top of the division, eyeing a title match against Christian Lee. Tetsuka's impressive five-bout winning streak is unmatched as he continues gaining fans with finish after finish.
ONE Fight Night 21 is available on-demand on Prime Video.
ONE Fight Night 21 Full Results
Alexis Nicolas def. Regian Eersel by unanimous decision
Tye Ruotolo def. Izaak Michell via submission (modified rear-naked choke) at 4:43 of the first round
Suablack Tor Pran49 def. Vladimir Kuzmin by unanimous decision
Ben Tynan def. Duke Didier by TKO at 2:36 of the first round
Denis Puric def. Jacob Smith by unanimous decision
Kade Ruotolo def. Francisco Lo via submission (modified rear-naked choke) at 4:48 of the first round
Dedduanglek TDed99 def. Taiki Naito by unanimous decision
Hiroyuki Tetsuka def. Valmir Da Silva via submission (north-south choke) at 3:34 of the second round
Songchainoi Kiatsongrit def. Nicolas Leite Silva by unanimous decision
Jeremy Pacatiw def. Wang Shuo via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:07 of the first round