Joshua Pacio, crowned the new ONE Strawweight World Champion, and Team Lakay stablemate Danny Kingad outgunned their Japanese opponents while compatriot Jomary Torres suffered her first career loss during ONE: Conquest of Heroes last September 22 at Jakarta, Indonesis.
Pacio now fully realized his dream to become a world champion in the sport of mixed martial arts by dethroning Japanese rival Yoshitaka “Nobita” Naito. “The Passion” clinched a unanimous decision in their rematch to capture the title.
Pacio repeatedly connected on Naito with crisp, clean combinations throughout the championship contest while exhibiting solid takedown and grappling defense.
Naito, on the other hand, showcased his overwhelming grappling skills to consistently bring Pacio to the ground, controlling the action on the canvas late in the contest.
Although Naito managed to showcase his wrestling, it was Pacio who showed striking superiority for the majority of the bout.
In the end, all three judges agreed in unison to award the bout in favor of Pacio.
“I’m speechless, but I want to thank the Lord Jesus Christ, and ONE Championship for the privilege and this unexplainable feeling”, Joshua Pacio stated.
“Last week, [a] typhoon struck Baguio City, Benguet, and the Cordilleras. A lot of places were hit hard. Many people died and some are still missing. This is for all of them. I know that the Cordilleras will come back and rise again soon as one.”
“Of course, I would like to thank my coach Mark Sangiao, who is here, and all our coaches, friends and sponsors. They had our back since day one. I tried to counter his (Naito’s) takedowns and grappling, but this guy is a legend. He was so tough”, he ended.
Meanwhile, Kingad overcame a spirited effort from Japanese newcomer Yuya “Little Piranha” Wakamatsu to earn a unanimous decision victory in a battle between two outstanding flyweights.
Kingad was in trouble for the majority of the opening round after being tagged by Wakamatsu’s hard right straight and a follow-up knee strike.
Avoiding further danger in the stand-up exchanges, “The King” resorted to his wrestling in the succeeding rounds where he found his leverage by shooting for high-impact takedowns and threatening with various submissions to get the unanimous nod of the three cage-side judges.
On the other hand, Catalan Fighting System’s Jomary Torres suffered her first loss against local favorite Priscilla Hertati Lumban Gaol, falling by unanimous judges decision.
Lumban Gaol reinserted her name into the winner’s column with the win over previously-unbeaten Filipina standout.
Driven to redeem herself in front of her countrymen, Lumban Gaol shrugged the cobwebs off of her lackluster start in the early going, stopping every takedown attempt from Torres in the second and third rounds.
Easily outmaneuvering Torres at every turn, Lumban Gaol kept Torres on the receiving end of thudding knee strikes, which steered her to a convincing victory.
In the co-main event of the evening, Chinese grappler Peng Xue Wen silenced the Indonesian crowd after defeating hometown favorite Stefer Rahardian via unanimous decision.
The former Chinese wrestling champion flaunted a different dimension in his expanding skill set as he picked Rahardian apart in the striking department. Peng’s superb takedown defense was also a major key as he claimed a crucial victory after an action-packed three-round affair.
Thai kickboxing superstar Rodtang Jitmuangnon announced his arrival to the heavily-acclaimed ONE Super Series in astounding fashion, clinching a unanimous decision victory over former ONE World Title challenger Sergio “Little One” Wielzen of the Netherlands.
Rodtang wowed the fans in Jakarta as he unloaded a torrent of punches and kicks to outclass Wielzen from bell to bell. The dominant performance earned Rodtang the unanimous decision win after three rounds.
Japanese knockout artist Koyomi Matsushima left a lasting impression in his ONE Championship debut, scoring a huge victory at the expense of former ONE Featherweight World Champion Marat “Cobra” Gafurov of Russia.
Matsushima caught Gafurov with a stunning right cross that landed square on the Russian’s chin in the first round. As Gafurov dropped to the canvas, Matsushima poured down a volley of follow-up strikes to secure the finish. The victory earned Matsushima the GoDaddy KO of the Night honors.
Turkish lightweight contender Saygid Guseyn Arslanaliev brought the crowd to its feet after making quick work of Russian dynamo Timofey Nastyukhin with a scintillating knockout victory in the first round.
Arslanaliev weathered Nastyukhin’s early striking onslaught as his opponent came out with a lot of power behind his shots.
The tide dramatically turned into Arslanaliev’s favor moments later, after he caught a kick and tripped Nastyukhin to the ground before finishing the bout with a series of piston-like punches for the knockout.
Former ONE Flyweight World Champion Kairat Akhmetov of Kazakhstan returned to his winning form, dominating Chinese phenom “The Southern Eagle” Ma Hao Bin to earn a unanimous decision victory.
It did not take long for Akhmetov to showcase his elite grappling prowess, emphatically taking Ma down and imposing his will on the ground. Ma simply had no answers for his opponent’s world-class wrestling as Akhmetov cruised to victory after three rounds of action.
In a ONE Super Series Muay Thai bantamweight contest, French Guiana’s Fabrice Fairtex Delannon scored his first victory since joining ONE Championship last June, coming away with a razor-thin split decision over Muay Thai star Yodpanomrung Jitmuangnon of Thailand.
The two warriors traded powerful striking combinations over the course of three rounds, but it was Delannon who focused on doing more damage. In the end, two of the three judges scored in favor of Delannon to take home the win.
Local martial arts veteran “The Terminator” Sunoto put together an inspiring performance, finishing opponent Victorio “Indra” Senduk with a slick submission in the second round.
After dominating the first round with his wrestling, Sunoto entered the second looking to finish. Although Senduk tried his best to defend against Sunoto’s advances, he had no answer for the veteran’s superior grappling.
Towards the end of the second frame, Sunoto took Senduk’s back and latched on the rear naked choke to force the tap.
Local martial arts star Adrian “Papua Badboy” Mattheis turned in a spectacular performance to place himself back in the winner’s circle, stopping countryman Angelo “The Unicorn King” Bimoadji in the first round of a scheduled three-round strawweight contest.
After a brief grappling exchange, the two men found themselves back on their feet trading strikes. Mattheis then unloaded a left hook, uppercut combination to end matters midway through the opening frame.
Referee Yuji Shimada had no choice but to call a halt to the contest after Bimoadji was out on his feet.
Indonesian stars Egi Rozten and Riski “King Kong” Umar Kicked off the action in a back-and-forth striking contest to set the tone for what would be an exciting night of world-class martial arts action.
Rozten continued his rise through the ranks and scored yet another scintillating finish, stopping Umar in the third round with strikes.
Official results for ONE: CONQUEST OF HEROES
ONE Strawweight World Championship bout: Joshua Pacio defeats Yoshitaka Naito by Unanimous Decision (UD).
Strawweight bout: Peng Xue Wen defeats Stefer Rahardian by UD.
ONE Super Series Muay Thai Flyweight bout: Rodtang Jitmuangnon defeats Sergio Wielzen by UD.
Flyweight bout: Danny Kingad defeats Yuya Wakamatsu by UD.
Featherweight bout: Koyomi Matsushima defeats Marat Gafurov by TKO (Strikes) at 2:41 minutes of Round 1.
Lightweight bout: Saygid Guseyn Arslanaliev defeats Timofey Nastyukhin by Knockout (KO) at 1:57 minutes of Round 1.
Flyweight bout: Kairat Akhmetov defeats Ma Hao Bin by UD.
Women’s Atomweight bout: Priscilla Hertati Lumban Gaol defeats Jomary Torres by UD.
ONE Super Series Muay Thai Bantamweight bout: Fabrice Fairtex Delannon defeats Yodpanomrung Jitmunagnon by Split Decision (SD).
Bantamweight bout: Sunoto defeats Victorio Senduk by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 4:12 minutes of Round 2.
Strawweight bout: Adrian Mattheis defeats Angelo Bimoadji by TKO (Strikes) at 2:41 minutes of Round 1.
Catch Weight bout (59.0kg): Egi Rozten defeats Riski Umar by TKO (Strikes) at 0:51 minutes of Round 3.
By: ARMANDO M. BOLISLIS
