Drex Zamboanga steamrolled Rahul Raju, taking a quick first round knockout win during ONE: Full Circle, Friday at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Previously fighting at flyweight, Zamboanga jumped three divisions for this bout. And neither the jump nor rust showed in his one minute and five second-thrashing of Raju.
Photo from ONEFC.com
“I’m feeling great because it’s been two years since I lost fought in the Circle,” he explained as his last bout was back on August 28, 2020 – a submission win over Detchadin Sorsirisuphathin. “I’m really excited for this night because I was preparing for this for two years.
“The jump from flyweight to lightweight was not easy because you have to train your speed and condition while being heavy. One of the reasons I moved to lightweight is to have heavy hands, heavy strikes, and dominate the division,” he continued.
Early in the bout, Zamboanga feinted a couple of leg kicks that ended up in two shoots for Raju.
The Indian though was not able to take down Zamboanga with the latter even gaining dominant position on the ground.
Photo from ONEFC.com
On the standup, the fighter out of Marrok Force peppered Raju’s body with punches before nailing a well-timed right uppercut to the button of his opponent. Safe to say, it knocked Raju senseless.
“I can stay here at lightweight or go to any division. I’m confident to move up in any division,” said a confident Zamboanga, who went up to 8-5 in his career, 2-0 in ONE.
Raju, meanwhile, fell to 8-7.
