ANATOLY Malykhin scored a first-round knockout victory over Reinier de Ridder to claim the light heavyweight title on Saturday in One Fight Night 5 at Mall of Asia Arena.
The Russian connected with a killer right that floored the Dutch champion and finished the fight with a ruthless ground and pound that forced referee Olivier Coste to call for the bell at the 4:35 mark of round one.
See Eduard Folayang says referee stopped fight too soon
De Ridder had to be stretchered out of the venue after the loss.
"When you get hit that many times by a heavyweight, it's a scary thing and a heavy weight who hits hard," said One Championship chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong, who rewarded Malykhin with a US$100,000 bonus (around P5.5 million).
Meanwhile, Fil-Am Jackie Buntan earned a unanimous decision win over Amber Kitchen in their Muay Thai bout.
"It was an electrifying feeling really, like I mentioned. All I can hear was the fans chants and cheering," said the American who traces her Pinoy roots in Navotas and Batangas.
Kade Ruotolo successfully retained his lightweight submission grappling title with a unanimous decision win over Matheus Gabriel, while Lowen Tynanes earned a split decision win over Dae Sung Park.
Roberto Soldic, however, had an unceremonious promotional debut as his bout against Murad Ramazanov was ruled a no contest after the former suffered a low blow in the first round.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
