Rittewada Petchyindee Academy’s left elbow was enough for him to survive what was otherwise a tough ONE Championship debut.
The ONE newcomer scored a second-round TKO of top-ranked bantamweight Muay Thai contender Saemapetch Fairtex in the main event of the previously recorded ONE: NextGen II, which aired on Friday from the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
It was a rough first round for the debuting Rittewada, as Saemapetch landed cleanly with his strikes, utilizing his left straight and right hook as the Petchyindee Academy representative actively searched for huge elbows.
It was the former World Title challenger who scored first though, connecting on a straight-hook combo that floored Rittewada late in the first round.
In the second round, Saemapetch continued to pour it on, even rocking Rittewada once again, though it didn’t result in an eight-count this time. Near the end of the second round, however, Rittewada timed a left elbow, damaging his foe’s right eye.
Referee Olivier Coste quickly halted the match to get Saemapetch checked, and unfortunately for the Fairtex man, the ringside doctor called off the match, which awarded the win to Rittewada at the 2:10 mark of the second.
In the co-main event, Tang Kai proved that he is deserving of a step-up in competition after quickly stopping “The Big Heart” Yoon Chang Min in their featherweight mixed martial arts clash.
The Chinese athlete dominated the standup game, landing stiff jabs and body shots while fending off every takedown attempt of Yoon.
The finish came when Yoon relaxed his hands for a while. Tang capitalized by sending a beautiful left hook that landed right on the South Korean’s jaw, flooring him before swarming with five unanswered punches to get the stoppage win at the 4:03 mark of the first round.
With the win, Tang improved to 13-2 and won his eighth straight match, proving that he is indeed ready for the biggest names in the division.
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Tang Kai Knocks Out Yoon Chang Min, Earns Eighth Straight Win
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Rittewada’s Elbow Helps Him Escape Early Scare Against Saemapetch
