Rodtang Jitmuangnon Retains Belt, Stopping Jonathan Haggerty In The Third Round

Rodtang Jitmuangnon retained his ONE Flyweight Muay Thai Championship in a rematch against Jonathan Haggerty on Friday, stopping him within three rounds at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.

Jitmuangnon finished the fight after scoring three knockdowns in the third round. He scored four knockdowns in total, with his first one coming in the first round. Most damage was done with body punches.

The fight main evented ONE Championship’s first card of 2020: “ONE Championship: A New Tomorrow.”

The fight was a rematch from August, where Jitmuangnon and Haggerty fought for five rounds, with Haggerty dropping his belt to Jitmuangnon via decision.

The win was the second defence of the Flyweight Muay Thai belt for Jitmuangnon. His first defence came in October, getting a split decision victory over Walter Goncalves.

In the co-main event of the evening, Thailand’s Stamp Fairtex defeated Puja Tomar in a mixed-martial-arts bout, stopping her with grounded strikes in just under one round.

ONE’s next event will be on Friday, January 31st, returning to the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines. Headlining the card will be Joshua Pacio defending his 125-pound belt against Alex Silva.

A full report of ONE Championship: A New Tomorrow can be seen here.

ONE Championship: A New Tomorrow Live Coverage

Kicking off the 2020 schedule for major MMA events, ONE Championship presents “A New Tomorrow” on Friday, live from the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand. Main eventing the card is ONE Muay Thai Flyweight Champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon attempting to defend his belt against Jonathan Haggerty in a rematch.

In their first Rodtang prevailed via unanimous decision after five rounds of battle. Turning the page to the new year, Haggerty will attempt to start a new chapter of his career, avenging his sole loss within ONE Championship.

In the co-main event slot of the show, Stamp Fairtex returns to face Puja Tomar. In total, the card consists of 12 fights, including MMA, kickboxing and Muay Thai. Follow along with the blog throughout the evening of competition.

Live coverage begins at 5:30AM EST with the seven-fight undercard.

Quick Results:

Bout 1: Roel Rosuaro def. Yohan Mulia Legowo via Unanimous Decision

Bout 2: Ayaka Miura def. Maira Mazar via Submission, Americana (RD 2, 3:01)

Bout 3: Mehdi Zatout def. Han Zi Hao via Criteria Split Decision (Muay Thai Rules)

Bout 4: Shinechagtga Zoltsetseg def. Ma Jia Wen via KO (RD 1, 0:55)

Bout 5: Adam Noi def. Victor Pino via Unanimous Decision (Kickboxing Rules)

Bout 6: Raimond Magomedaliev def. Joey Pierotti via Submission, Guillotine (RD 1, 3:50)

Bout 7: Muangthai PK.Saenchaimuaythaigym def. Brice Delval via Split Decision (Muay Thai Rules)

Bout 8: Liam Harrison def. Mohammed Bin Mahmoud via KO, Punches (RD 1, 2:03) (Muay Thai Rules)

Bout 9: Thanh Le def. Ryogo Takahashi via TKO, Punches (RD 1, 2:51)

Bout 10: Sangmanee Sathian Muaythai def. Kenta Yamada via Unanimous Decision (Muay Thai Rules)

Bout 11: Stamp Fairtex def. Puja Tomar via TKO, Elbows (RD 1, 4:27)

Bout 12: Rodtang Jitmuangnon def. Jonathan Haggerty via TKO, Three Knockdown Rule (RD 3, 2:39) (ONE Flyweight Muay Thai Championship)

Live Coverage

Lead Card

The show started with two shows not shown on the feed. It saw Roel Rosuaro defeat Yoha Mulia Legowo, and Ayaka Miura stopped Maira Mazar in the second round. This was the first card that ONE tested out that split the show into three parts. It started with the lead card, then went on to the prime card, then finished with the main card. The goal of the separation is to make the show more action-packed.

Bout 3: Han Zi Hao vs. Mehdi Zatout (Muay Thai Rules) (145 lbs)

The English broadcast kicked off with a Muay Thai fight between Han Zi Hao and Mehdi Zatout. Like many Muay Thai fights in ONE, this was done with MMA gloves. This show was held in a ring with five ropes. Hao was the more active fighter early in the first round. They both landed good punches in the final minute of the round. Hao got in another solid two-punch combo as the round ended.

Zatout caught a kick early in the second round, dumping Hao to the ground. Hao caught a kick moments later, but couldn’t do anything with the position. Hao continued to be pushing forward more than his opponent. Zatout seemed to get annoyed with his nose in this round. Hao was kicked in the groin in the final minute of the round, causing a short break. Zatout landed a combination of strikes while holding Zao’s leg in the final minute. In a clinch, Zatout swept Hao. He got dumped again before the round ended.

Zatout started the final round with another clinch, getting split by the referee. A cut opened under Zatout’s left eye during this round. Hao landed some punches while Zatout had a hold of his right leg. While Hao was mostly coming in and not facing consequences, Zatout countered with an explosive right in the final minute of the fight. Zatout threw Hao to the ground again, encouraging the crowd while his opponent stood up. The fight went the distance, with Mehdi Zatout getting the criteria split decision victory.

Bout 4: Ma Jia Wen (6-2) vs. Shinechagtga Zoltsetseg (5-2) (155 lbs)

The next fight was an MMA bout between Ma Jia Wen and Shinechagtga Zoltsetseg. This was finally Zoltsetseg’s ONE Championship debut after fighting five times in the promotion’s “Warrior Series.” Heading into this fight, Wen was on a four-fight winning streak. Zoltsetseg was coming forward with strikes early on. He landed a right hook in under a minute which dropped Wen and ended the fight. Coming back into consciousness, Wen tried to put referee Olivier Coste in a heel hook, which took others to separate. Ending a long winning streak, Shinechagtga Zoltsetseg finally had his dominant debut in ONE.

Bout 5: Victor Pinto vs. Adam Noi (Kickboxing Rules) (145 lbs)

The sole kickboxing fight of the evening was next, with Victor Pinto facing Adam Noi. Unlike the Muay Thai fights, the kickboxing fight was done with usual boxing gloves. Pinto was advancing throughout the round. Pinto had Noi against the ropes landing punches, but was hit with a head kick which dropped him. It was scored as a knockdown, with Noi suddenly becoming the fighter who pushed the pace of the fight. He landed many leg kicks.

They picked up right where they left off when the second round started, with the fighters taking turns throwing combinations. The pace was like double the speed of the round before. It felt like every time Pinto put Noi against the ropes he would end up being the one getting hit. As the pace slowed down in the round, Pinto was the one scoring with punches.

Just like the rounds before, they battled up against the ropes more. Most of the time, Noi was the one up against the ropes. Noi was stringing together punches throughout this round. After working an unbelievable pace for nine minutes, the fight went to the judges. With a unanimous decision victory, Adam Noi walked away with the victory.

Bout 6: Raimond Magomedaliev (5-1) vs. Joey Pierotti (12-1) (185 lbs)

Switching back to MMA, Raimond Madomedaliev attempted to bounce back from his ONE Championship loss, facing Joey Pierotti. The fight was the debut in the promotion for Pierotti. Pierotti caught a leg kick right off the bat and went into a standing clinch. Magomedaliev landed elbows in the clinch. They split up, although Pierotti came back in for another clinch. Magomedaliev was hurting Pierotti with elbows, dropping him at one point. Pierotti was cut open, causing the referee to pause the fight to get him checked by a doctor. They resumed after a minute or so of a pause. Magomedaliev landed a clean head kick to resume action., Pierotti went into another clinch where Magomedaliev was able to go back to work with strikes. He landed some knees to the head. Another pause came as Pierotti was bleeding quite a bit. They resumed yet again. Pierotti shot for a takedown, where Magomedaliev put in a standing guillotine. Pierotti tapped out to the guillotine in quick time. Getting his first win in ONE Championship, Raimond Magomedaliev put on nothing short of a dominant performance over Joey Pierotti.

Bout 7: Brice Delval vs. Muangthai PK.Saenchaimuaythaigym (Muay Thai Rules) (145 lbs)

Finishing off the preliminary card was Brice Delval and Muangthai PK.Saenchaimuaythaigym facing off in a Muay Thai contest. Delval dropped Muangthai with a right straight in the first few seconds of the fight. It was not ruled a knockdown. Delval was the much more active fighter at the start. Muangthai heated up a little at the end, throwing more. Muangthai threw a punch or two after the bell, which Delval wasn’t fond of.

Delval scored a front kick early in the second round which pushed Muangthai back. Delval was backing up, avoiding a lot of strikes. Muangthai was finding periodic success with punches, chasing down Delval. Delval caught many kicks throughout the round. He was on his backfoot for the whole round, not throwing much in the second half of the round.

The referee warned Delval in the final round for being too passive. He was also warned in the second round. After the warning, Delval started to come forward more. The fight went it’s three scheduled rounds, heading to the scorecards. When heading to the scorecards, we had a split decision, with Muangthai PK.Saenchaimuaythaigymwalking away with the victory.

Bout 8: Liam Harrison vs. Mohammed Bin Mahmoud (Muay Thai Rules) (145 lbs)

Kicking off the main card was Liam Harrison and Mohammed Bin Mahmoud battling in a Muay Thai fight. Mahmoud landed a good head kick in the second minute of the fight. The first minute was slow-paced, with the referee encourage action a few times. Harrison landed a left hook halfway through the round which dropped Mahmoud. Harrison took him down again with punches, and taken out cold in the third time. Mahmoud was seemingly unaware of where he was the third time around. Showcasing explosive fists, Liam Harrison got a first round win.

Bout 9: Thanh Le (10-2) vs. Ryogo Takahashi (13-3) (155 lbs)

The next fight saw Krazy Bee gym fighter and Shooto veteran Ryogo Takahashi face Thanh Le, who is undefeated in ONE. Takahashi won his first ONE fight in May, stopping Keanu Subba with punches in under two minutes. Le threw a kick to the body early on which Takahashi caught. Both fighters took a while to get going in this fight. Takahashi slipped halfway through the round, getting dropped by a right hook while getting up. Le landed more punches to Takahashi flooring him again, ending the fight. Ending the extensive winning streak of Ryogo Takahashi, Thanh Le advanced to 2-0 in ONE.

Bout 10: Sangmanee Sathian Muaythai vs. Kenta Yamada (Muay Thai Rules) (145 lbs)

Switching back to Muay Thai, Sangmanee Sathian Muaythai fought Kenta Yamada. Sangmanee was throwing good left leg kicks early on. Yamada caught a few kicks, never really getting hit hard by any. Halfway through the round, Sangmanee threw down Yamada in a clinch. He continued with the kicks, really starting to rock Yamada with some. Apart from a few spiking elbows in the clinch, Yamada just took damage in this round.

Sangmanee continued with the strong kicks throughout the second round. A pause came as Yamada got a cut around his left eye. They continued shortly after. The pause didn’t change Sangmanee’s work rate, keeping with the kicks. Yamada charged forward with punches in the final seconds of the round, possibly in his best offence of the whole fight up until this point.

The third round was similar to the two before, as in Sangmanee found a home for kicks to the body. Yamada kept eating them, showcasing toughness more than anything else. Yamada survived for all three rounds, bringing the fight to a decision. Getting a unanimous decision win, Sangmanee Sathian Muaythai put on a great showcase of his kicks on this show.

Bout 11: Stamp Fairtex (3-0) vs. Puja Tomar (4-3) (115 lbs)

In the final MMA fight of the evening, undefeated Stamp Fairtex fought Puja Tomar. As usual, Fairtex had lots of dancing in her walkout. Fairtex was landing leg kicks early. Tomar caught a kick and got a takedown from it, although Stamp got up quickly. They went back to the ground moments later, with Stamp on Tomar’s back trying for a rear-naked choke. She let go of trying for the choke, and took full mount as Tomar flipped over. Tomar shifted around and tried to set up for something with Stamp’s legs. Stamp avoided that, going back into top position and landing some strikes. Stamp got on Tomar’s back again after Tomar grabbed for a leg. Stamp scored unanswered hammerfist strikes and punches from the top position. After starting to incorporate elbows into the attack, the referee stepped in to end the fight. Extending her MMA record to four-straight wins, Stamp Fairtex put on a brief and damaging performance against Puja Tomar.

Bout 12: Rodtang Jitmuangnon vs. Jonathan Haggerty (ONE Flyweight Muay Thai Championship) (135 lbs)

In the main event of the evening, Rodtang Jitmuangnon put his ONE Flyweight Muay Thai Championship on the line against Jonathan Haggerty in a rematch. The two fighters traded leg kicks to start the fight. Rodtang landed a good body punch. He landed a two-punch body combination a minute into the fight which dropped Haggerty. When they resumed, Rodtang was targeting the body even more.

Rodtang continued to target the body in the second round. Halfway through the round, Rodtang dumped Haggerty to the ground. Haggerty was landing good teep kicks every once in a while.

Rodtang threw Haggerty to the ground in a clinch to open the third round. Haggerty was backing up, but also landing strikes often. A timeout was called halfway through the round as Haggerty was hit in the eye. When they resumed, Rodtang smothered Haggerty. A combination of shots to the body dropped Haggerty for the second time in the fight. He got a cut around his right ear as well. After the knockdown, Haggerty got swept to the ground. In the third minute of the fight, Haggerty got dropped again. Rodtang landed another punch to the body to Haggerty, who was up against the ropes. Haggerty hit the ground for the third time in the fight, calling an end to the competition. After four knockdowns, Rodtang Jitmuangnon retained his ONE Flyweight Muay Thai Championship against Jonathan Haggerty, not needing scorecards this time.

ONE Championship: Masters of Fate Full Report

ONE Championship returned to Manila, Philippines on Friday, with “ONE Championship: Masters of Fate.” Headlining the card was Flyweight Champion Joshua Pacio defending his belt against Rene Catalan. The show was held within a ring, and had 13 bouts overall.

Bout 1: Rosham Mainam (3-1) vs. Khon Sichan (3-4) (135 lbs.) (MMA Bout)

Starting off the preliminary card was Indian fighter Rosham Mainam making his ONE debut against Khon Sichan. Mainam got a takedown a minute into the fight. He was dominant in top position, landing strikes and trying for submissions. After putting in an americano, Rosham Mainam got a quick victory to start the show.

Bout 2: Kim Kyu Sung (9-3) vs. Akihiro Fujisawa (5-2) (135 lbs) (MMA Bout)

The next bout saw ONE Hero Series winner Akihiro Fujisawa face Kim Kyu Sung. Both fighters were trying to come back from losses. After a minute of striking, Kim landed an uppercut which dropped Fujisawa and ended the bout. The quick and flashy victory put Kim Kyu Sung to 1-1 in ONE. Akihiro Fujisawa extended his ONE losing streak to three in a row.

Bout 3: Kim Jae Woong (9-3) vs. Rafael Nunes (11-2) (155 lbs) (MMA Bout)

The next fight saw Kim Jae Woong make his ONE debut against Rafael Nunes, who attempted to bounce back from a loss. Both fighters had some good striking early on. Nunes tried for a single leg takedown in the second minute of the fight, and got pelted with punches on the way down. Nunes kept getting tagged in stand-up. Nunes tried again for a takedown by initiating a body lock but couldn’t get it. Nunes was on the back of Woong as the round ended.

The second round started with a close striking battle. Nunes got a takedown in the second minute of the round, but Kim ended up on top. They got back up with Nunes on Woong’s back. They went back to striking halfway through the round. Woong landed a good knee in the clinch. Woong avoided another takedown in the final minute. Woong had Nunes cornered in the end of the round and started to pick him apart.

Halfway through the first minute, Woong landed a body punch that hurt Nunes. Woong came in with knees to the head until the referee called an end to the bout.

Bout 4: Tukkatatong Petpayathai (242-33) vs. Hiroaki Suzuki (41-12 Kickboxing) (145 lbs) (Muay Thai Bout)

The next preliminary bout saw experienced fighters Tukkatatong Petpayathai and Hiroaki Suzuki face off in a muay thai bout. They competed in MMA gloves. The first round saw lots of low kicks from both fighters. Suzuki was the quicker starter. Suzuki did a good job at catching kicks and using them as a counter. There was an especially good combination from Suzuki as the round ended, catching a kick and throwing hooks.

Suzuki continued to catch the kicks in the second round. Despite catching many kicks, damage started to show on the left side of Suzuki. Tukkatatong started to put together some solid punches in the second round.

The final round felt like it was mostly Tukkatatong coming forward and putting together strikes. With the fight going the distance, it needed scorecards to determine a winner. With a split decision, Tukkatatong Petpayathai got the victory.

Bout 5: Robin Catalan (8-6) vs. Gustavo Balart (8-3) (135 lbs) (MMA Bout)

Switching back to MMA, Gustavo Balart faced Robin Catalan. Early on in the fight, Balart was landing good shots. Being the first Filippino on the card, Catalan had the crowd loud. Balart put on a body lock, slowing down Catalan’s offence. As billed by the commentators, this was a striking versus wrestling battle. Balart got a takedown with two minutes to go in the round.

When the second round started, Balart chased another takedown. He got one halfway through the round. In the closing minute of the round, Catalan threw a leg kick which collapsed Balart. After a devastating KO, Robin Catalan moved his ONE record to 5-4.

Bout 6: Han Zi Hao (61-16) vs. Kongsak (183-39-2) (145 lbs) (Muay Thai Bout)

In the second-last muay thai fight of the evening, China’s Han Zi Hao faced Thailand’s Kongsak. The first round was a slow one, Kongsak catching a leg kick and countering with one of his own at one point.

Kongsak dictated the second round for the most part. The final round, like the ones before wasn’t a very fast-paced one. Heading to the scorecards, Kongsak got the victory via unanimous decision.

Bout 7: Yoshitaka Naito (14-3) vs. Pongsiri Misatit (10-3) (125 lbs) (MMA Bout)

Finishing off the prelims was Yoshitaka Naito and Pongsiri Misatit in an MMA bout. Naito went for a single-leg takedown early on eventually getting it. They got back up, with it only taking a few more minutes before Naito brought it back to the ground. Misatit did not do much in the stand-up.

Similar to the first round, Naito got a takedown quickly. After being in top position on the ground for a few minutes, Naito tried for an armbar. Apart from a few moments, Naito had the whole round on the ground.

Misatit landed a leg kick early in the third round as Naito was getting up. We saw the first real striking battle between the two in the start of the third. Naito failed to score a single leg takedown. Misatit stuffed a takedown, landing knees to counter it. Naito tried for a heel hook. He was able to get in side control after Misatit escaped the heel hook. The fight ran out of time with Naito in top position landing strikes. The judges all favoured Yoshitaka Naito as the winner.

Bout 8: Paul Lumihi (7-3) vs. Li Kai Wen (9-4) (145 lbs) (MMA Bout)

Starting off the main card, Paul Lumihi and Li Kai Wen battled. The fight started hectic, as Li Kai Wen came charging in with a Jorge Masvidal-like flying knee. After more striking, Wen landed a takedown and scored a knee strike. He tried for a guillotine choke, but Lumihi escaped and went back to stand-up. Wen kept coming forward with hard strikes. Wen charged forward with punches, eventually dropping Lumihi and getting a win. With a hard to follow and explosive performance, Li Kai Wen got his fourth stoppage victory in ONE in a row.

Bout 9: Stamp Fairtex (2-0) vs. Bi Nguyen (5-4) (115 lbs) (MMA Bout)

In the next fight, experienced muay thai fighter Stamp Fairtex fought in her third MMA fight against Bi Nguyen. Fairtex had a clear height advantage. Nguyen came forward with strikes early on, and got tossed by Fairtex. In a clinch, she landed knee strikes. After being in the clinch for a while, Fairtex landed a trip takedown. They got back up, but Fairtex stayed on Nguyen’s back. Nguyen caught a kick from Fairtex and backed her into the ropes. Fairtex had good combinations of punches throughout the round.

In the second round, Fairtex landed good knees in a clinch many times. Fairtex had a good flurry of strikes with a minute left in the second round. Both fighters showed a good pace, not slowing down their activity in the round. Fairtex danced as she headed to her corner at the end of the round.

The fight stayed as a striking battle in the third round, although the pace did slow down. Fairtex had some moments throughout the round still being the dominant striker. When going to the scorecards, all three judges favoured Stamp Fairtex as the winner. This was the first win for Fairtex in MMA that was no via stoppage.

Bout 10: Geje Eustaquio (12-8) vs. Toni Tauru (11-7) (135 lbs) (MMA Bout)

In the next fight, Finland’s Toni Tauru faced former ONE Bantamweight Champion Geje Eustaquio. Tauru had a significant height advantage. In the first minute of the fight, Tauru got a takedown, taking the back of Eustaquio. He searched for a rear naked choke, but never got his arm under the chin of Eustaquio. He escaped and took top position. With 20 seconds left in the round, both fighters were stood up due to inactivity.

The second round included more stand-up. Eustaquio was able to dip into the pocket and land strikes. He landed a great sweep after catching a kick. As expected, the crowd was behind Eustaquio.

Eustaquio was the more active striker much early in the third round. Halfway through the round, Eustaquio landed a spinning back kick which took down Tauru. The referee stepped in before Eustaquio had to do more damage.

Bout 11: Sangmanee Sathian Muaythai (180-26-5) vs. Azize Hlali (99-17-1)(145 lbs) (Muay Thai Bout)

The final muay thai bout of the evening saw Azize Hlali face Sangmanee Sathian Muaythai. Both fighters were making their ONE debut. Hlali countered a body kick early, sweeping Sangmanee with a responding kick.

Sangmanee had a better second round, landing more kicks and knees in the clinch. Fighters were pretty tied up going into the final round.

Sangmanee landed a good trip in the first minute of the final round. The fight went all nine minutes, with Sangmee Sathian Muaythai taking the unanimous decision win.

Bout 12: Eduard Folayang (21-8) vs. Amarsanaa Tsogookhuu (5-1) (170 lbs) (MMA Bout)

In the co-main event of the evening, Eduard Folayang looked to come back from recent losses to Shinya Aoki and Eddie Alvarez, facing 1-0 ONE fighter Amarsanaa Tsogookhuu. Both fighters started slow in the first round. Folayang had some good kicks in the first round.

At the start of the second round, the fighters went into a standing clinch after Tsogookhuu did a flying knee. Folayang got dropped halfway through the round, possibly colliding heads with Tsogookhuu. In top position, Tsogookhuu landed knees to the head. A doctor was brought in to check on Folayang’s cut. Since they passed the halfway point of the fight (by one second that is), they went to scorecards for a technical decision. Walking away with the victory was Eduard Folayang.

Bout 13: Joshua Pacio (17-3) vs. Rene Catalan (6-2) (ONE Strawweight Championship) (MMA Bout)

In the main event of the evening, ONE Strawweight (125 lbs) Champion Joshua Pacio put his championship on the line against fellow Filippino fighter Rene Catalan. The fight was scheduled for five rounds. Only a minute into the fight, Pacio got a takedown from a body lock. Catalan tried for a heel hook on the ground which Pacio eventually escaped. Pacio took top position on the ground, eventually switching into side control.

Pacio was the fighter marching forward with strikes at the start of the second round. Catalan tried for a takedown which Pacio stuffed. Pacio took top position on the ground in half guard. He looked for a head and arm choke. Catalan was in the head and arm choke for a while before finally tapping out. With a beautiful set up and head and arm choke, Joshua Pacio made his first defence of his championship reign.