“ONE: King of Destiny” gave the jampacked crowd at the Mall of Asia Arena their money’s worth with local Filipino fighters showing their skills in the cage. The main event showed Eduard Folayang successfully defended his ONE Lightweight World Championship over Malaysian Ev Ting, the former winning by unanimous decision.
Folayang used a masterful display of striking to defeat top Ting, operating behind his wushu stance. He dazzled with his trademark variety of lightning quick and powerful spinning attacks, pouncing on Ting with side kicks and back fists. Controlling the action from the outside with the intent to counter, Folayang allowed Ting to come forward with his attacks which were few and far between. The three judges saw it Folayang’s way, allowing the fighter hailing from Baguio City to remain champion after five rounds of intense action. After the bout, eight-division world Manny Pacquiao congratulated Folayang inside the ONE Championship cage.
“I would like to thank Ev Ting, he really came prepared for this fight. We came to give the fans a good fight, and that’s what we have done,” said Folayang. “This is the essence of martial arts, five rounds to show how much we’ve prepared for a long time. [This fight] means a lot. A lot of you [fans] were discouraged the last time I was here, I slept on that mat. I rose up from my circumstances. I needed to train a lot to improve a lot. This is it on my shoulder. Thank you for your support.”
In the co-main event of the evening, Team Lakay top bantamweight Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon swarmed Finnish kickboxing sensation Toni “Dynamite” Tauru with a relentless barrage of attacks to earn a scintillating striking victory. Tauru, the taller fighter by over 10cm, used his length to keep Belingon at range but it was only a matter of time before the Filipino would come looking for the stoppage.
Resurgent lightweight contender and former ONE Featherweight World Champion Honorio “The Rock” Banario marched to victory once more, stopping newcomer Jaroslav Jartim with a monstrous left hook. After spending the first round on the mat with Jartim in technical grappling exchanges, Banario showcased his incredible power in the second round. Catching a kick to the body, Banario uncorked a devastating left hand counter that knocked Jartim out cold, effectively ending the bout in an instant.
Christian Lee “The Warrior” turned in a tremendous showing against Chinese featherweight “The Werewolf” Wan Jian Ping, dazzling the crowd with his quickness and trademark unorthodox movement. After mixing up his strikes very well, Lee shot in for a successful takedown, bringing Wan to the canvas.
Team Lakay top flyweight prospect Danny “The King” Kingad out-muscled Malaysian opponent Muhammad Aiman to win by unanimous decision after three fierce back-and-forth rounds. Kingad, who enjoyed most of the fight with successful take-downs of his Malaysian foe, punished Aiman with elbows and knees from dominant positions.
Indonesian standout Stefer Rahardian dominated unorthodox Filipino striker Eugene Toquero with his effective chain wrestling skills, winning by unanimous decision after three rounds of action. For the majority of the bout, Rahardian took Toquero down seemingly at will, and the Filipino spent most of the fight defending off his back.
Lady striker Gina “Conviction” Iniong made her successful ONE Championship debut, besting Filipino-English fighter Natalie “The Kilapino” Gonzales Hills with a solid display of striking superiority. Looking to play the role of counterpuncher, Iniong laid back and allowed Hills to press most of the action.
Filipino strawweight fighters Robin Catalan and Jeremy Miado kicked off ONE: KINGS OF DESTINY with a wild exchange of striking and wrestling to get the crowd ready for an exciting night of fights.
Official results for “ONE: KINGS OF DESTINY”
- ONE Lightweight World Championship bout: Eduard Folayang defeats Ev Ting by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 5 rounds
- Bantamweight bout: Kevin Belingon defeats Toni Tauru by Submission (Verbal Tapout) at 2:27 minutes of round 1
- Lightweight bout: Honorio Banario defeats Jaroslav Jartim by Knockout at 1:31 minutes of round 2
- Featherweight bout: Christian Lee defeats Wan Jian Ping by TKO (Strikes) at 4:50 minutes of round 1
- Flyweight bout: Danny Kingad defeats Muhammad Aiman by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 3 rounds
- Flyweight bout: Stefer Rahardian defeats Eugene Toquero by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 3 rounds
- Bantamweight bout: Xie Bin defeats Chan Rothana by Submission (D’Arce Choke) at 1:46 minutes of round 2
- Women’s Atomweight bout: Gina Iniong defeats Natalie Gonzales Hills by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 3 rounds
- Women’s Catchweight bout (57.8kg): Michelle Nicolini defeats Irina Mazepa by Submission (Armbar) at 2:11 minutes of round 1
- Strawweight bout: Robin Catalan defeats Jeremy Miado by Split Decision (SD) after 3 rounds
In case you missed the action log on to www.onefc.com/livestream for the full replay of the fights at only US $9.99.