Batochir Batsaikhan Routs Fabio Harada at ONE Friday Fights 62

Mongolia’s Batochir Batsaikhan made a spectacular ONE Championship debut, as he stopped Fabio Harada with just two seconds remaining in the first round of their ONE Friday Fights 62 bantamweight showcase on Friday at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Harada (5-2, 0-1 ONE) came out the gate looking to pressure Batsaikhan (3-1, 1-0 ONE) against the ropes. However, it was not long before the Mongolian reversed his opponent into a corner and landed a series of knees to the body followed by crisp straight lefts, immediately putting Harada on notice. After eating a couple of slick counter straight lefts and a head kick, Harada attempted to take the fight to the canvas but was denied. Gaining confidence in his striking advantage, Batsaikhan landed a slicing elbow on his opponent that clearly hurt Harada. From there, Batsaikhan began to pick Harada apart with stinging counterstrikes to the head and knees to the body while denying the exhausted 24-year-old from completing any of his desperation takedown attempts.

Nevertheless, Harada displayed his grit and tenacity while trying his best to survive the ruthless onslaught, even after crashing to the canvas due to exhaustion. However, Batsaikhan was wise to make his opponent get back to his feet, ultimately stopping him by dropping his foe once again with knees to the body before finishing him off with punches 4:58 into Round 2.

Meanwhile, Brazil’s Matheus Pereira (7-2, 3-0 ONE) walked away with his third consecutive finish under the ONE Championship banner, as he stopped the previously undefeated Evgeniy Morozov (6-1, 0-1 ONE) after the conclusion of the second round of their lightweight clash.

While Pereira came out measured with his striking attacks in the initial minutes of the first frame, the Brazilian was quickly able to find his distance and land peppering strikes against his opponent. He even successfully recovered from a takedown without sustaining any damage. However, Morozov kept blitzing the Brazilian with punches in hopes of covering the distance, but he was often met with resistance in the clinch before being shucked away. With 90 seconds left in the first, Morozov ate several elbows and knees from the Brazilian but somehow persevered until the end of the round by throwing back and attempting to defend himself intelligently.

The second frame saw Pereira start by landing a couple of heavy shots to the body, eventually landing several knees and elbows against Morozov in the clinch, sending him crashing across the ring. Clearly outclassed on the feet, Morozov kept backing up looking for an opportunity to get the fight to the ground with Imanari rolls, all while being subjected to a variety of stinging striking attacks from Pereira. Fortunately for Morozov, halfway through the second round, the Russian managed to secure a takedown after eating a knee on his way in. However, Morozov was unable to capitalize on the takedown due to exhaustion, allowing Pereira to quickly find his way back to his feet. Once again, Pereira got right back to attacking his foe with a number of his weapons, visibly hurting the Russian time and again for the remainder of the period. With the referee deeming Morozov unable to continue, Pereira was awarded the TKO between rounds.

In other action, ET Wankhongohm MBK secured his second victory against Mongkolkaew Sor Sommai in a 130-pound catchweight muay thai headliner; Xavier Gonzalez earned a hard-fought split decision win over Win Sitjanim in their 128-pound catchweight muay thai tilt; in strawweight action, Chokpreecha PK Saenchai scored a jaw-dropping knockout comeback victory against Pongsiri Sujeebameekiew with a left hook at the 1:44 mark in Round 1; Kongkula Jitmuangnon knocked out Mardsing Khaolakmuaythai at the 2:37 mark of the first round in their 138-pound catchweight muay thai meeting; Nongam Fairtex walked away with a unanimous decision over Tsz Ching Phoebe Lo in their 110-pound catchweight muay thai contest; Looknam Kor Khomkleaw earned a unanimous decision over Chabakaew Sor KanJanchai in their atomweight muay thai bout; Wei Ziqin pocketed a unanimous decision against promotional newcomer Riamu Matsumoto in a 127-pound catchweight muay thai meeting; Haruto Yasumoto made a successful promotional debut, recording a unanimous decision against Temirlan Bekmurzaev in a flyweight kickboxing match; and Yuki Morioka enthralled onlookers with a come-from-behind victory to knockout Peyman Zolfaghari at 1:57 in Round 1 after getting dropped with a hook early in the match.