RENE Catalan was put to sleep at ONE: Big Bang, suffering a first-round knockout to Bokang Masunyane on Friday at Singapore Indoor Stadium.
An absolute slugfest ended abruptly as the South African fighter connected with a thunderous left high kick that floored the Filipino contender only 37 seconds in.
Masunyane was not even set when his shin hit Catalan straight in the chin to earn the one-kick knockout.
Catalan, the third-ranked strawweight, had hoped to bounce back from his submission defeat to reigning ONE Strawweight World Champion Joshua Pacio in November last year. He dropped to a 6-4 win-loss record.
Masunyane, meanwhile, remained unscathed at 8-0.
"Well, I'm the best in my division. I'd like to challenge the champion but if he is not ready, give me number one or number two," he said.
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