Aung La Nsang stops Brandon Vera to retain ONE Championship light heavyweight title
Aung La Nsang remained a two-division champion after the ONE: Century – Part II headliner. The Burmese fighter might have been smaller than Brandon Vera, but he more than made up for it with speed and stamina.
La Nsang was the more proactive of the two fighters in the first round. He set out of his stall to attack with low kicks, but there was noticeably more power behind Vera’s shots, with the Filipino scoring with several kicks to the body.
In the second stanza, La Nsang’s low kicks started to have a more visible effect on Vera. The UFC veteran looked to be fading and the Burmese fighter became increasingly confident, moving forwards and applying pressure.
Vera landed a few shots on the counter, but was too tired to mount any sustained offense as La Nsang came on strong. A spinning back fist might have missed the target, but a follow-up right hand landed flush.
Vera collapsed to the floor and it became a question of how many follow up punches the referee would allow La Nsang to land before stopping the action. It was an entertaining fight that justified ONE Championship’s decision to give it top billing.
Ultimately, it was La Nsang who underlined his status as arguably the biggest star on the roster. Meanwhile, Vera looked like he might be ready for retirement, although the Fil-American remains the heavyweight champion.
Ls Nsang retained his light heavyweight title and improved to 26-10-0-1, extending his winning streak to seven. Meanwhile, Vera dropped to 16-8-0-1 after suffering defeat for the first time since 2013.
https://twitter.com/ONEChampionship/status/1183385652303290369?s=20
Earlier in the night, Bibiano Fernandes played to his strengths to submit Kevin Belingon in the second round. The Brazilian pursued takedowns relentlessly and the challenger spent most of the opening round on his back.
In the second stanza Fernandes got the fight down again and capitalized ruthlessly, taking Belingon’s back and sinking in a rear naked choke. The win was his third against the Filipino and takes him to 24-4 while Belingon drops to 20-7.
https://twitter.com/ONEChampionship/status/1183367322628526081?s=20
Former ONE and Dream lightweight champion Shinya Aoki returned to form in Tokyo after losing the belt to Christian Lee back in May. He needed less than a minute to submit Honorio Banario with a D'Arce choke.
https://twitter.com/ONEChampionship/status/1183373823686561792?s=20
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ONE: Century – Part II results
ONE Light Heavyweight World Championship: Aung La N Sang defeats Brandon Vera by TKO (Strikes) at 3:23 minutes of round 2
Mixed Martial Arts Lightweight: Shinya Aoki defeats Honorio Banario by Submission (D’Arce Choke) at 0:54 minutes of round 1
ONE Bantamweight World Championship: Bibiano Fernandes defeats Kevin Belingon by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 2:16 minutes of round 2
ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Championship: Rodtang Jitmuangnon defeats Walter Goncalves by Split Decision (SD) after 5 rounds
ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Grand Prix Championship Final: Giorgio Petrosyan defeats Samy Sana by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 3 rounds
Mixed Martial Arts Heavyweight: Arjan Bhullar defeats Mauro Cerilli by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 3 rounds
Mixed Martial Arts Women’s Atomweight: Mei Yamaguchi defeats Jenny Huang by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 3 rounds
Mixed Martial Arts Strawweight: Yosuke Saruta defeats Daichi Kitakata by Knockout (KO) at 0:59 minutes of round 2
Mixed Martial Arts Bantamweight: Shoko Sato defeats Rafael Silva by TKO (Strikes) at 4:30 minutes of round 2
Mixed Martial Arts Welterweight: Hiroyuki Tetsuka defeats Hernani Perpetuo by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 3 rounds
Mixed Martial Arts Lightweight: Takasuke Kume defeats Koshi Matsumoto by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 3 rounds
