Zebaztian Kadestam Stops Agilan Thani with Devastating Knees and Elbows at ONE: Pursuit of Power
Agilan Thani was handed a very tough match-up in the main event of ONE: Pursuit of Power. The Malaysian was matched with Swedish striking specialist Zebaztian Kadestam and held his own for the first ten minutes before being stopped in the third round at the Axiata Arena.
The venue, which will play host to Manny Pacquiao’s boxing match on Sunday, was packed with Malaysian fans who would have been delighted by the early exchanges. Thani initially struggled to score with takedowns, but was not afraid to stay in the pocket and seemed to be holding his own in the striking exchanges.
The second stanza saw Kadestam backtracking some more with Thani looking increasingly confident. However, the Swedish welterweight connected with a right hand towards the end of the round and blood was soon streaked across the face of the young Malaysian.
The momentum was with the Swede by this stage and he landed a solid low kick at the start of the third. A takedown attempt by Thani was easily stuffed and the Malaysian was dropped with a left hook as Kadestam started to move in for the kill.
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Another takedown from Thani was unsuccessful and, as Kadestam started to attack with elbows and knees, the referee stepped in to save the Malaysian from further punishment. After the fight, his opponent revealed that he had suffered a broken hand right at the beginning of the opening round, which had hampered his striking ability.
The win takes Kadestam to 10-4 and sets up a potential title shot with the welterweight belt currently vacant. His opponent drops to 9-2, although at the age of 22, time is very much on the side of Thani, as he showed some much improved striking in this bout.
If Kadestam is to challenge for the ONE Championship welterweight belt, his next opponent might well be Tyler McGuire (11-0). The American scored a comfortable decision win over Luis Santos (64-11-0-1), using his wrestling to nullify the threat posed by the BJJ black belt.
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There was also a decision win for veteran Narantungalag Jadambaa (14-5), who landed a series of hard punches against iron jawed UFC veteran Kazuki Tokudome (18-9-1). The Mongolian is still going strong at the age of 42 and remains one of the top contenders in the featherweight division.
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ONE: Pursuit of Power Full Results
Zebaztian Kadestam beats Agilan Thani by TKO (Knees and Elbows) at 1:56 of round 3
Jo Nattawut beats Yohann Drai by KO (Punch) at 2:59 of round 1 (Muay Thai)
Tyler McGuire beats Luis Santos by Decision (Unanimous)
Narantungalag Jadambaa beats Kazuki Tokudome by Decision (Unanimous)
Sergej Maslobojev beats Florent Kaouachi by Decision (Unanimous)
Keanu Subba beats Xie Chao by Submission (Armbar) at 3:31 of round 1
Ariel Sexton beats Kota Shimoishi by Submission (Americana) at 0:44 of round 3
Emilio Urrutia vs. Li Kai Wen bt KO at 1:22 of round 3
Jihin Radzuan beats Priscilla Hertati Lumban Gaol by Decision (Unanimous)
Petdam Kaiyanghadao beats Josh Tonna by KO (Knee) at 1:11 of round 2
Dae Sung Park beats Trestle Tan by Decision (Unanimous)
