It was a tough night at the office for the Aussies at ONE Fight Night 10: Johnson vs. Moraes III.
Reece McLaren suffered a unanimous decision defeat for the second time at the hands of Kairat Akhmetov, while Diandra Martin went down by TKO to Jackie Buntan at the 1stBank Center in Colorado on May 6.
Akhmetov’s wrestling proved irresistible for McLaren, as “The Kazakh” was relentlessly pursued takedowns throughout the three-round flyweight MMA battle.
The defeat snapped a two-fight win streak for the #4 ranked Queenslander, while former ONE Flyweight World Champion Akhmetov improved to 30-2 and could well have secured himself another crack at the gold.
Canberra’s Martin also endured a torrid time in Colorado, as she suffered a first-round TKO to American star Buntan. The Muay Thai fight was contested at a catchweight after both fighters missed weight.
Martin struggled to get into the fight after an early right hand appeared to wobble the 27-year-old. A left body rip then landed for Buntan, who followed up with a big right hand that sent the Aussie crashing to the canvas.
Martin managed to get to her feet but was still on unsteady legs, forcing the referee to wave the fight off at 2:34 of the first round.
The victory could mean that Buntan will rematch ONE Strawweight Muay Thai World Champion Smilla Sundell next, although the 25-year-old California native teased a transition to the kickboxing ranks in the Circle post-fight.
In the main event, American legend Demetrious Johnson successfully defended his ONE Flyweight World Title against former divisional king Adriano Moraes.
The bout was a grind from start to finish, as the evenly matched pair shut each other down across five rounds. Moraes appeared to slow as the fight wore on, as “Mighty Mouse” dictated the pace of the contest en route to a unanimous decision victory.
The 36-year-old had teased retirement leading up to the bout, but stopped short of an announcement in the Circle post-fight.
Check out the full results from ONE Fight Night 10 below.
Main Card
- ONE Flyweight World Championship: Demetrious Johnson (c) defeated Adriano Moraes via unanimous decision
- ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Championship: Rodtang Jitmuangnon (c) defeated Edgar Tabares via knockout (elbow) R2, 1:34
- ONE Flyweight Submission Grappling World Championship: Mikey Musumeci (c) defeated Osamah Almarwai via submission (rear-naked choke) R1, 8:03
- Atomweight MMA: Stamp Fairtex defeated Alyse Anderson via knockout (body kick) R2, 2:27
- Welterweight MMA: Zebaztian Kadestam defeated Roberto Soldic via knockout (punches) R2, 0:45
- Lightweight MMA: Sage Northcutt defeated Ahmed Mujtaba via submission (heel hook) R1, 0:39
- Middleweight MMA: Aung La N Sang defeated Fan Rong via submission (guillotine choke) R2, 0:48
- Middleweight Submission Grappling: Tye Ruotolo defeated Reinier de Ridder via unanimous decision
- Catchweight Muay Thai: Jackie Buntan defeated Diandra Martin via TKO (punch) R1, 2:34
Bonus Bouts
- Flyweight MMA: Kairat Akhmetov defeated Reece McLaren via unanimous decision
- Lightweight MMA: Ok Rae Yoon defeated Lowen Tynanes via unanimous decision
