Filipino-Kiwi fighter Mark Abelardo fell prey to One Championship debutant Fabricio Andrade of Brazil in the promotion’s return to action amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand on Friday night.
During the “One: No Surrender” match, Abelardo found his Brazilian foe too much as the latter twice evaded the former’s takedown attempts in Round 1 and delivered crisp strikes.
The end came at the 1:13 mark of Round 2 when Andrade, a former Muay Thai champion, overturned Abelardo’s takedown attempt and performed a rear-naked choke that put his opponent to sleep.
Andrade moved up to 4-2 in his mixed martial arts career, while Abelardo fell to 19-8, losing for the first time via submission.
In the co-main event, PetchmorakotWorSangprapai retained the One Super Series Muay Thai featherweight title after beating rival YodsanklaiPhotirat.
In their third meeting, the 35-year-old Photirat got off to a solid start, showcasing his veteran smarts on the 26-year-old Sangprapai in the first period.
However, come Round 2, Sangprapai showed why he is the reigning champ, tagging Photirat with solid strikes, although the latter got the last laugh of sorts as an elbow opened a cut in the former’s left eye.
After three more rounds of technical fighting, Sangprapai’s solid game emerged the better over Photirat’s resilience.
In the headliner, RodtangJitmuangnon kept the One Super Series Muay Thai flyweight belt after beating former One Super Series kickboxing champ PetchdamPetchkiatpetch in their own trilogy bout.
Jitmuangnon’s solid punches provided the spark in his successful title defense even as he thwarted Petchkiatpetch’s chances to deliver his trademark knockout kick that made him a former world champ both in One and the World Boxing Council.*PNA
