ONE: Big Bang took place on Friday, December 4, to mark the start of the final month of 2020 for ONE Championship.
After late card shake-ups, the final bill featured seven bouts in total with four mixed martial arts contests.
The main event was a featherweight kickboxing affair in ONE Super Series action between Marat Grigorian and Ivan Kondratev. Grigorian, one of the pound-for-pound best strikers on the planet, narrowly avoided the upset in his debut after being knocked down in the opening round.
Marat Grigorian 🇦🇲 avoids a monumental upset, coming back in Round 2 to KO Ivan Kondratev! 🥊 @MaratGrigorian #ONEBigBang #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/grbNp2N9po
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) December 4, 2020
After the slow start, he rebounded and got the knockout with a vicious body shot from which the Russian could not recover. The victory likely sets up a meeting with Giorgio Petrosyan, which would be a superfight no fan should miss.
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In the premier mixed martial arts match of the night, Garry Tonon edged out Koyomi Matsushima in the co-main event.
Tonon controlled the ground action as expected, but Matsushima was game and defended himself well on the canvas. The two are ranked in the official ONE athlete rankings, and the victory puts Tonon in a position to challenge for the ONE Featherweight World Championship in 2021.
Murat Aygun picked-up a unanimous decision victory over Anderson Silva, and Andy Souwer put on a vintage performance against Zhang Chunyu in the other two ONE Super Series kickboxing contests.
Bokang Masunyane 🇿🇦 SHELLACKS third-ranked Rene Catalan with a crazy head kick KO! 🤯 @LittleGiant_Bk #ONEBigBang #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/ciW6hclIXp
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) December 4, 2020
The evening’s top highlight was undefeated South African Bokang Masunyane’s 37-second knockout over strawweight contender Rene Catalan. The head kick came from nowhere and kept Masunyane rolling in the division.
In the post-match interview, “Little Giant” called for a title shot.
Jihin Radzuan and Bi Nguyen went the distance in a competitive atomweight contest. Radzuan’s early groundwork was enough to edge out a late-charging Nguyen who closed the bout in a dominant position reigning down ground and pound.
Ritu Phogat 🇮🇳 earns her third-straight victory in 2020 with a dominant TKO of Jomary Torres! @PhogatRitu #ONEBigBang #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/0xlhPF0qBA
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) December 4, 2020
In the opening contest, Ritu Phogat kept her train rolling against Jomary Torres. The Indian star was dominant on the ground once again and established herself as a threat to all of the contenders in the new year.
ONE: Big Bang Full Results
Marat Grigorian def. Ivan Kondratev by KO at 1:52 of the second round
Garry Tonon def. Koyomi Matsushima by unanimous decision
Murat Aygun def. Anderson Silva by unanimous decision
Andy Souwer def. Zhang Chunyu by unanimous decision
Bokang Masunyane def. Rene Catalan by KO at 0:37 of the first round
Jihin Radzuan def. Bi Nguyen by unanimous decision
Ritu Phogat def. Jomary Torres by TKO at 3:55 of the first round
