Two new faces to ONE Championship crashed the party in their respective divisions at ONE on Prime Video 2: Xiong vs. Lee III and both men were awarded $50,000 performance bonuses for their victories.
Check out all the best action from ONE on Prime Video 2 📸🔥#ONEonPrimeVideo2 #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/eifhzIO5Yx
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) October 1, 2022
In the opening main card contest, Halil Amir battled #3-ranked lightweight contender Timofey Nastyukhin. Although Nastyukhin’s pressure was constant, Amir never relented. The Russian kept the pace going in the second round, but Amir rocked him with a counter right hand. Once he had him hurt, Amir kept with the offensive onslaught until he got the knockout victory.
As Christian Lee moves up to challenge Kiamrian Abbasov for the ONE Welterweight World Championship at ONE on Prime Video 4 (h/t Damon Martin of MMAFighting.com), the division needed some new blood. That is what the Turk provided with his upset victory, and now he looks to be a major player in the division.
The very next bout had similar stakes as #3-ranked featherweight contender Martin Nguyen eyed a possible title shot with an impressive showcase. Instead, promotional newcomer Ilya Freymanov shined with a first-round TKO victory and jumped into the title picture himself. With newly minted featherweight king Tang Kai awaiting his first challenger, Freymanov stated his case with a massive upset over the former champion.
Freymanov defended takedown attempts and stood in the pocket with Nguyen. A crisp straight right hand connected and sent Nguyen backward to the canvas. The Russian newcomer swarmed on top of “The Situ-Asian” and finished with grounded knees until the referee stepped in for the save.
The two fresh faces of ONE made an immediate impact in two talent-rich divisions. Their fellow contenders, and champions, were forced to take notice. The extra $50,000 from ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong was merely icing on the cake.
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