ONE 167: Tawanchai vs. Nattawut took place last weekend and featured two high-level kickboxing bouts. Despite weight-miss, Rodtang and Denis Puric were willing to throw down and delivered a spectacle over the full duration of three rounds. Masaaki Noiri made his promotional debut and cleared up questions about his ambitions and standing in the shark tank that is the ONE Featherweight division.
RODTANG VS. DENIS PURIC
In the co-main event, reigning ONE Flyweight Muay Thai champion Rodtang returned to kickboxing, defeating Denis Puric in a catchweight bout. The Thai megastar looked surprisingly slick in the opening minute, but only until Puric stepped up and caught him with a left hook. After that, Rodtang unleashed blistering combinations on "The Bosnian Menace", rocking him on several occasions. The 39-year-old Puric didn't come to lose, however, and kept standing his ground to catch Rodtang flush multiple times. It was clear early that the shots affected Puric more, but that didn't deter him from making the fight a slugfest.
After the fight, Rodtang called out Takeru, who was in attendance, for a fight in Tokyo later this year. It remains to be seen if Takeru can properly heal up in time, and if Rodtang can make adjustments to hit the weight and hydration requirements.
SITTHICHAI VS. MASAAKI NOIRI
Masaaki Noiri made his much-anticipated ONE Championship debut against former GLORY champion Sitthichai. The Thai fighter was able to fend off Noiri with constant volume on the backfoot. Many expected him to kick his way to victory, but it was his boxing combinations that he found the most success with. Noiri seemed puzzled and couldn't find his rhythm while getting peppered with a variety of punches. In the latter half of the fight, Noiri's right hand kept finding its target, but it was too little, too late.
ONE 167
MAIN CARD
(c) Tawanchai def. Jo Nattawut – Majority Decision
Rodtang def. Denis Puric – Unanimous Decision
Mikey Musumeci def. Gabriel Sousa – Submission at 3:07 of R1
Kade Ruotolo def. Blake Cooper – Submission at 3:20 of R1
Sitthichai def. Masaaki Noiri – Unanimous Decision
Adrian Lee def. Antonio Mammarella – Unanimous Decision
Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat def. Johan Ghazali – Unanimous Decision
Victoria Souza def. Itsuki Hirata – Submission at 1:31 of R1
Johan Estupinan def. Zafer Sayik – Unanimous Decision
