Shinya Aoki reclaims lightweight title; Demetrious Johnson wins debut at ‘ONE: A New Era’
Thirty-five-year-old Shinya Aoki is once again the ONE Championship lightweight champion. The Japanese veteran needed just two minutes 34 seconds to render Eduard Folayang unconscious with an arm-triangle choke at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo on Sunday.
The two men exchanged kicks at the start of the fight with Aoki looking to test Folayang’s guard with high kicks from the southpaw stance. The Filipino landed a left hook flush and the challenger responded by shooting for his first takedown.
He landed in the perfect position for an arm-triangle choke and immediately began to apply pressure to Folayang’s neck. The Filipino was trapped and Aoki soon moved into half guard with the champion powerless to escape.
There is no quit in Folayang and he did not tap, but soon drifted out of consciousness causing the referee to halt the action. With the win, Aoki becomes the ONE lightweight champion for the second time and improves to 43-8-0-1, while Folayang drops to 21-7.
Xiong Jing Nan defeats Angela Lee
In the 'ONE: A New Era' co-main event, titleholder Xiong Jing Nan sensationally stopped the previously undefeated Angela Lee in the fifth round. The strawweight champion looked on the verge of being submitted in the fourth round as she was trapped in a triangle armbar by the BJJ black belt.
On several occasions, Lee seemed on the verge of snapping Xiong’s Arm, but the Chinese fighter held out long enough to hear the bell. It left her behind on the scorecards, but having done some serious damage to the challenger with strikes in the third round, she already had a blueprint for victory.
With Lee looking exhausted, Xiong pushed forwards and landed a series of punches. A straight right hand to the body took the life out of the Singaproean / Korean and the champion immediately attacked with kicks to the midsection.
Lee was clearly in no state to continue as she turned away and the referee quickly stepped in to call off the contest. It was the first career loss for the current atomweight champiom, who drops to 9-1, while Xiong moves up to 14-1 and remains undefeated in ONE Championship action.
Aung La Nsang defeats Ken Hasegawa
Meanwhile, Aung La Nsang looks set to defend his light heavyweight title on ONE Championship’s second Tokyo card. The Burmese fighter will face reigning heavyweight champion Brandon Vera in a matchup announced during Sunday's show.
Immediately after La Nsang (25-10-0-1) had stopped Ken Hasegawa (16-4) with strikes late in the second round to successfully defend his middleweight belt, Vera was ushered into the ring. ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong appeared to give his blessing to a light heavyweight title fight between the two in October.
Bibiano Fernandes defeats Kevin Belingon
The first title fight of the night ended in ignominy with Bibiano Fernandes and bantamweight champion Kevin Belingon arguing in the ring as the Filipino was disqualified. He had landed an illegal elbow to the top of the challenger’s head early in the third round.
Belingon (20-6) was on the bottom with Fernandes (23-4) in his guard when the foul occurred. The Brazilian was announced as the winner by DQ, but refused to accept the belt, storming out of the cage after the decision was announced.
Timofey Nastyukhin defeats Eddie Alvarez
The biggest upset of the night arrived a little earlier as Timofey Nastyukhin (13-4) finished former UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez (29-7-0-1) in the opening round. The Russian hurt the promotional newcomer with a right hand and then swarmed for a shocking win.
Demetrious Johnson defeats Yuya Wakamatsu
Former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson (28-3-1) had a more comfortable night’s work. Yuya Wakamatsu (12-4) put up a good fight, but succumbed to a second-round guillotine choke, like Nastyukhin, Mighty Mouse booked a spot in the semifinals of the Flyweight Grand Prix.
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ONE: A New Era Official Results
ONE Lightweight World Championship bout: Shinya Aoki defeats Eduard Folayang by Submission (Arm Triangle Choke) at 2:34 minutes of round 1
ONE Women’s Strawweight World Championship bout: Xiong Jing Nan defeats Angela Lee by TKO (Strikes) at 1:37 minutes of round 5
ONE Middleweight World Championship bout: Aung La N Sang defeats Ken Hasegawa by TKO (Strikes) at 4:41 minutes of round 2
ONE Bantamweight World Championship bout: Bibiano Fernandes defeats Kevin Belingon by Disqualification (DQ)
ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix Quarter-final bout: Demetrious Johnson defeats Yuya Wakamatsu by Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 2:40 minutes of round 2
ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix Quarter-final bout: Timofey Nastyukhin defeats Eddie Alvarez by TKO (Strikes) at 4:05 minutes of round 1
ONE Super Series Kickboxing Catch Weight bout (72.0kg): Yodsanklai IWE Fairtex defeats Andy Souwer by Knockout (KO) at 0:51 minutes of round 2
ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix Quarter-final bout: Danny Kingad defeats Senzo Ikeda by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 3 rounds
ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix Quarter-final bout: Kairat Akhmetov defeats Reece McLaren by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 3 rounds
ONE Super Series Flyweight Muay Thai bout: Rodtang Jitmuangnon defeats Hakim Hamech by Split Decision (SD) after 3 rounds
ONE Super Series Flyweight Kickboxing bout: Joseph Lasiri defeats Hiroki Akimoto by Majority Decision (MD) after 3 rounds
Women’s Atomweight bout: Mei Yamaguchi defeats Kseniya Lachkova by Submission (Armbar) at 3:18 minutes of round #3
Featherweight bout: Garry Tonon defeats Anthony Engelen by TKO (Strikes) at 4:12 minutes of round 1
ONE Super Series Bantamweight Muay Thai bout: Panicos Yusuf defeats Mohammed Bin Mahmoud by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 3 rounds
Lightweight bout: Yoon Chang Min defeats Bala Shetty by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 4:16 minutes of round 1
