It was a night of jubilation for two of the Philippines’ upstart fighters during ONE Championship: Iron Will, Saturday evening.
Jeremy Miado and Angelie Sabanal stunned the hometown crowd after defeating their highly-favored opponents at the jampacked Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.
It only took one right hand for Miado (7-2) to play the spoiler and knock out Muay Thai legend and former ONE Strawweight World Champion Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke (8-4).
“It is truly an honor to face a talented competitor and a former world champion like Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke. I am so satisfied as to how I performed,” said Miado, who is a resident of Marikina City. “However, I still need to fix a few things as I continue to climb the strawweight ladder of ONE Championship. I am excited about how the future will unfold as I continue my career in ONE Championship.”
During initial striking exchanges, “The Jaguar” was able to use his vastly superior reach to keep Amnuaysirichoke on the end of his punches. That ultimately helped lead to the end of the contest.
Miado invited Amnuaysirichoke to trade punches with him, and the Filipino strawweight stood tough in the pocket while throwing shots with everything he had. Perhaps what was most notable, however, was the Thai threw punches with his chin straight up in the air.
“The Jaguar” made him pay for that defensive blunder when he connected with a perfectly-timed right hook, which sent Amnuaysirichoke crashing to the canvas.
The referee quickly rushed forward to stop the contest before Miado was able to land any follow-up shots, with the end coming at 1:29 of the opening round.
“I felt really strong, and at my peak. I showed everybody the real me, which I was not able to do so in my last two bouts. But this time, I made sure that my performance would speak about the effort that I’ve done in training,” he added.
Earlier in the evening, Sabanal (1-0) sent a strong message in her debut, as she outlasted fan-favorite Rika Ishige (3-2).
“Right now, I can’t describe the feeling because this was my debut in ONE Championship and as a pro. She was the more experienced fighter inside the cage, but I managed to pull off the victory in her hometown,” shared Sabanal, who hails from Cagayan de Oro.
Working from the southpaw stance, Sabanal looked to engage from close quarters early on, and caught an Ishige kick to score the first takedown of the contest.
The Thai’s best work of the round came from the clinch, where she scored with some solid knees against her shorter opponent, and forced the debutante against the cage, where she worked her Muay Thai knees from the clinch.
Sabanal came out more aggressively at the start of the second frame, and dominated the stand-up exchanges throughout the stanza. The Filipina, who is a national Muay Thai silver medalist, had worked out the Thai star’s timing. She was consistently catching “Tinydoll” as she looked to close the distance.
The bout was hanging in the balance heading into the final frame and, with just over half a round to go, Ishige scored the takedown the Bangkok crowd were looking for. Sabanal would not be denied, however, as she gamely scrambled and worked her way back to her feet.
After 15 minutes of breathless back-and-forth action, the result was left to the judges to decide. With Sabanal’s superior work rate, and higher strike output, she earned the unanimous decision victory.
“Rika Ishige gave me a tough test. My opponent withstood everything I threw at her. Win or lose, this match against her will be beneficial to my growth as a martial artist in this sport and in ONE Championship,” she added.
But two of their compatriots could not come home with victories.
Richard “Notorious” Corminal (4-4) was sent crashing down by grappling superstar Garry “The Lion” Tonon (1-0) via strikes.
The stoppage came at the 3:40 mark of the second round of their lightweight bout.
On the other hand, Robin Catalan (4-4) could not avenge his brother’s loss to Kritsada Kongsricha (7-3).
Following an initial exchange on the mat, the two scrambled back to the feet. Kongsrichai was quick to work his way inside yet again, all while looking for the takedown — this time, from the body lock position.
As soon as Kongsrichai locked his hands around the waist, he turned his hips, took his opponent’s back for a split second, and then launched Catalan into the air like a missile before crashing back down to earth with the Filipino.
Catalan was stunned by the devastating impact, and immediately tapped just as Kongsrichai started going to work with ground punches. The referee stopped the bout at 1:40 of the first round.
Photos and story from ONEFC.com
ONE Championship: Iron Will results
March 24, 2018 – Impact Arena, Bangkok, Thailand
Strawweight bout: Jeremy Miado defeats Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke by KO at 1:29 minutes of round 1
Women’s atomweight bout: Angelie Sabanal defeats Rika Ishige by UD
Lightweight bout: Garry Tonon defeats Richard Corminal by TKO (Strikes) at 3:40 minutes of round 2
Strawweight bout: Kritsada Kongsrichai defeats Robin Catalan by TKO (Slam) at 1:40 minutes of round 1
