Anatoly Malykhin, bow down. The Russian put on a spectacular performance, knocking out former champion Reinier de Ridder on the first lap. A slamming right hand dropped the Dutchman before some brutal shots to the ground ended the fight. Malykhin would not only take home the gold, but also $100,000 in performance bonuses in a great night’s work. Add that to his interim heavyweight title and we have ourselves a dominant force at the top end of ONE’s weight classes.
Ruotolo still reigns supreme
We knew Kade Ruotolo was a prodigy in the world of submission grappling and the 19-year-old has once again shown what he’s capable of. Ruotolo faced his toughest test yet in the form of Brazil’s Matheus Gabriel, and put on a clinic of precision and aggressive pace to take the unanimous decision win and retain his lightweight submission grappling world title.
A second Ruotolo success
Kade may have had another standout win, but earlier in the night it was his brother Tye who made the headlines – and a $50,000 performance bonus. He put on a scintillating performance against former ONE Featherweight Champion Marat Gafurov. Aggressive from the start, Kade’s twin brother showed real creativity in trying to make the submission in this catchweight bout. Midway through the 10-minute singles round, he displayed incredible dexterity to move from sub-try to sub-try to eventually secure an armbar for victory.
Solid debut ends in disappointment
There was great anticipation for Roberto Solidic’s ONE debut against undefeated Murad Ramazanov. However, we’ll have to wait a little longer for a real sighting after it ended in a no contest after a low blow from Ramazanov. A disappointment tonight – but both men will be back in the hunt again in the near future.
Edson leaves a mark
Brazilian Edson Marques scored a power bonus and won TKO over former ONE World Lightweight Champion Eduard Folayang with a stunning right cross that landed on the button. This gives him back-to-back wins in the lightweight division and some momentum into what he’s hoping for a stellar 2023.
