Vitaly Bigdash Scores Sensational 2nd Round KO, Claims ONE Middleweight Title
Vitaly Bigdash has a ONE Championship debut to remember, knocking out Igor Svirid in the second round of a fight that will go down in the annals of Asian MMA history. The two men exchanged multiple knockdowns with a barrage of hammer fists from the undefeated challenger ultimately settling the contest at “Tigers of Asia” in Kuala Lumpur.
Svirid won the belt with an 11-second knockout and he started Friday’s fight in a hurry, driving Bigdash back with right and left hooks, looking for another quick finish. A left hook knocked the Russian down early in the opening round and the champion looked to capitalize with ground-and-pound before waving his opponent up.
Another left hook from Svirid dropped Bigdash again and the finish looked to be in sight as the Kazakh launched another brutal barrage of ground-and-pound, but this time the challenger kept his composure and almost locked in a triangle choke from the bottom.
Bigdash used the submission attempt to sweep Svirid and the action stalled for a moment, as both men seemed to be catching their breath. When the champion finally tried to work his way back to his feet, he ate a hard knee and the Russian seized the opportunity to take his back and locked in a rear naked choke.
Svirid seemed to be starting to tap just as the round ended and there was some confusion as to whether the fight had been stopped, but referee Olivier Coste ruled he had been saved by the bell. It proved to be no more than a temporary reprieve as a left knee, followed by a right hand dropped Svirid early in the second round and Bigdash finished him off with hammerfists.
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The end came at 0:36, but it was a breathtaking encounter that could have gone either way and is already being talked about as the best fight in ONE Championship history. Bigdash remains undefeated and moves to 8-0, while Svirid drops to 10-2 and loses the middleweight belt he won last year.
Adrian Pang looks to be in pole position for a shot at the ONE 155-pound title after stopping Peter Davis in just 48 seconds. The Malaysian fan favorite started brightly and landed some jabs and low kicks, but ate a hard left hook from the former Legend FC champion and never recovered.
Pang landed a couple more hard punches with the referee slightly slow to step in and save Davis from receiving unnecessary punishment. It was his second win in succession for ONE Championship and his record improved to 22-8-2.
Lightweight champ Shinya Aoki will be in action in Japan on New Year’s Eve, so if a title shot is next on the agenda for Pang, he will probably have to sit on the sidelines for a few months. Any ambitions Davis had of challenging for the belt are gone following the loss, which snapped his four-fight winning streak and dropped him to 10-4.
Earlier in the night, featherweight Eric Kelly (12-1) enhanced his title credentials with a unanimous decision win over Hiroshige Tanaka (10-1), while Asuka Mikami (12-3-2) outpointed Eugene Toquero (7-2) in flyweight action.
ONE: Tigers of Asia Official Results
ONE Middleweight World Championship bout: Vitaly Bigdash defeats Igor Svirid by TKO (Strikes) at 0:36 minutes of round 2
Female flyweight bout: Irina Mazepa defeats Ann Osman by TKO (Strikes) at 3:05 minutes of round 1
Featherweight bout: Ev Ting defeats Honorio Banario by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 0:56 minutes of round 1
Lightweight bout: Adrian Pang defeats Peter Davis by TKO (Strike) at 0:48 minutes of round 1
Featherweight bout: Eric Kelly defeats Hiroshige Tanaka by Unanimous Decision
Flyweight bout: Riku Shibuya defeats Eugene Toquero by Unanimous Decision
Bantamweight bout: Dae Hwan Kim defeats Teng Li Ge by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 4:08 minutes of round 2
Flyweight bout: Gianni Subba defeats Almiro Barros by Unanimous Decision
Featherweight bout: Keanu Subba defeats Florian Garel by TKO (Strikes) at 4:51 minutes of round 1
Bantamweight bout: Saiful Merican defeats Melvin Yeoh by TKO (Strikes) at 1:10 minutes of round 2
Welterweight bout: Agilan Thani defeats Hisham Hiba by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 3:05 minutes of round 1
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