“Mighty Warrior” Kang Ji Won proved that he wasn’t going to be a stepping stone for the highly-touted Amir Aliakbari.
The South Korean scored a sensational one-punch knockout win in the heavyweight main event of the previously recorded ONE: Fists of Fury II which aired on Friday, March 5, from the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
It was another amazing come-from-behind victory for Kang as he ate two solid punches from Aliakbari early on, which cracked his nose and left a lump under his left eye.
With the Iranian looking to up the pressure by cornering Kang, “Mighty Warrior” turned the tide on him, slipping Aliakbari’s right cross before unloading a bomb of a left hook that turned the lights off for the Iranian.
The finish came in the 1:54 mark of the first round, giving Kang his second straight first-round win after beating Aliakbari’s teammate Mehdi Barghi last February.
It also put him in a position to challenge reigning ONE Heavyweight World Champion Brandon “The Truth” Vera.
But Kang isn’t the only heavyweight who impressed on Friday night.
The debuting Anatoly “Spartak” Malykhin also turned heads as he made short work of Alexandre “Bebezao” Machado in the co-main event of the evening.
Malykhin stuffed Machado’s takedown attempt and then quickly secured his back and dragged him to the mat.
From there, “Spartak” smoothly took a favorable position, trapping his opponent’s arms as he put Machado in the dreaded crucifix position.
That allowed him to land freely on Machado’s head, dropping hammer fists and elbows to get the victory in the 3:28 mark of round one.
With these two heavyweight performances, it’s safe to say that Vera will have some tough matchups ahead of him in his return.
