Yahoo Sports ONE Kingdom of Champions: Yoshitaka Naito Submits Dejdamrong to Win Strawweight Title
Asia’s biggest MMA organization made its first foray into Thai territory on Friday night (local time), but homegrown hero Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke was unable to hold onto his strawweight title. The 37-year-old was submitted in the fourth round by Yoshitaka Naito in the main event of ONE: Kingdom of Champions.
Everything went according to plan for the former Lumpinee champion in the opening round, as he was able to stuff Naito’s takedown attempts, while repeatedly punishing the thighs and mid-section of the Shooto 114-pound champion with solid kicks.
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In the second stanza, Naito was able to secure an early takedown and he kept Dejdamrong pressed against the cage for almost the entire round. The pattern was repeated in the third with the Thai, who by this stage was bleeding badly, on his back once again defending submission attempts.
In the fourth round, Dejdamrong looked revitalized and landed a series of kicks, but Naito was took him down again and this time the Thai could not prevent the challenger for slipping a forearm under his chin and sinking in the rear naked choke.
The win takes Naito to 11-0 and he adds the ONE Championship strawweight title to his Shooto strap. It was a heartbreaking loss for Dejdamrong, who was cheered on by thousands of Thai fans at the Impact Arena, as he dropped to 6-1 after suffering the first defeat of his MMA career.
By contrast, defending featherweight champion Marat Gafurov was never troubled by his Japanese challenger. The Russian continued his remarkable record of finishing every single opponent with a rear naked choke with Kaunori Yokota succumbing midway through the second round.
The win takes Gafurov to 14-0 and was particularly impressive because Yokota was riding a 13-fight winning streak of his own and had never previously been submitted. The Japanese fighter, who still holds the Deep featherweight title, drops to (25-6-3).
The most dramatic moment of the night came when Timofey Nastyukhin (10-2) knocked Rob Lisita (14-8) out in six seconds. A right hook dropped the Australian and, before he could recover, a soccer kick to the head separated him from his senses. It was he third first-round knockout of the Russian’s ONE Championship career.
While there was disappointment for Dejdamrong, it was a good night for the other Thai fighters on the card. Yodsanan Sityodtong (2-1), Shannon Wiratchai (5-1-0-1), Pongsiri Mitsatit (7-0), and Kritsada Konsrichai (4-2) registered first-round stoppage wins over Chrech Kosal (2-2), Kyal Linn-Aung (1-1), Ye Thway Ne (0-1), and Kev Hemmorlor (1-1) respectively.
ONE: Kingdom of Champions Results
ONE Strawweight World Championship bout: Yoshitaka Naito defeats Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 4:00 minutes of round 4
ONE Featherweight World Championship bout: Marat Gafurov defeats Kazunori Yokota by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 4:25 minutes of round 2
Catchweight bout (73kg): Timofey Nastyukhin defeats Rob Lisita by Knockout at 0:06 minutes of round 1
Catchweight bout (95.8kg): Marcin Prachnio defeats Leandro Ataides by Split Decision
Lightweight bout: Shannon Wiratchai defeats Kyal Linn Aung by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 2:17 minutes of round 1
Featherweight bout: Christian Lee defeats Rocky Batolbatol by Verbal Submission (Strikes) at 2:14 minutes of round 1
Catchweight bout (62kg): Yodsanan Sityodtong defeats Khon Sichan by TKO (Strikes) at 3:44 minutes of round 1
Strawweight bout: Pongsiri Mitsatit defeats Ye Thway Ne by TKO (Strikes) at 2:24 minutes of round 1
Strawweight bout: Kritsada Konsrichai defeats Kev Hemmorlor by TKO (Strikes) at 1:58 minutes of round 1
(Follow @JamesGoyder on Twitter | Photos courtesy of ONE Championship)
