Eersel Outpoints Sadikovic, Sundell Upends Buntan in One 156 Double Title Headliner

After nearly a month away, One Championship returned with a thrilling card that went down at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore.

The One 156 — previously known as One “Reloaded” — headliner saw Regian Eersel putting his 170-pound kickboxing belt on the line against Arian Sadikovic. Eersel softened up his opponent’s defense with some nasty leg kicks early in the fight, while concluding all of his combinations with a kick or a knee. The Surinamese champion seemed in control for the first stage of the fight, but Sadikovic came back with a flying knee that dropped his foe in Round 2. Eersel kept to his “Immortal” nickname and surged back to his feet following the referee’s count, but the second period was all about the challenger. Eersel made the proper adjustments in the third round, keeping Sadikovic’s aggression at bay thanks in part to his experience.

In the championship rounds, Sadikovic landed with punches but struggled to deal with the volume and damage from Eersel’s leg kicks. The defending champion intelligently struck from afar and stayed away from his adversary’s most significant shots. Some knees to the body punctuated the performance for Eersel, who ended the fight on a higher tone. Ultimately, all three cageside judges favored “The Immortal,” who defended his lightweight title, scored his 18th consecutive triumph and earned a $50,000 performance bonus.

Smilla Sundell UNLOADS on Jackie Buntan to end Round 3! #ONE156 #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship | How To Watch https://t.co/t1U58xACAx pic.twitter.com/27ox6REtnh

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) April 22, 2022

In the co-main event, Jackie Buntan took on 17-year-old Smilla Sundell for the inaugural muay Thai 125-pound championship. The fast-handed Buntan took the initiative early in Round 1 and mesmerized her opponent thanks to her sharp footwork. In turn, Sundell implemented her strategy from the second stanza, making the most out of her reach advantage. Buntan retaliated with spinning attacks, but the youngster kept her wits about her and fired back with jabs and right hands. In the waning seconds of Round 3, Sundell let her combinations fly and nearly stopped her adversary. The script didn’t change in the championship rounds, as Sundell stung her foe from afar while Buntan reeled from the assault. In the fifth period, Buntan’s face showed the signs of a hard-fought contest, but she bit down her mouthpiece and slung leather to survive to hear the judges’ decision. As expected, all three scorecards crowned Sundell the first queen of One’s strawweight muay Thai division.

In the mixed martial arts main attraction on the bill, Ultimate Fighting Championship vet Jarred Brooks (19-2, 1 NC; 3-0 One) put Bokang Masunyane (8-1, 2-1 One) away with a rear-naked choke. Masunyane, who missed weight before the clash, didn’t tap out in time and instead went out on his shield. Masunyane lost consciousness with 21 seconds left in the opening period, putting Brooks on a five-fight win streak with three submissions along the way. The victory placed Brooks in the likely no. 1 contender spot for a crack at Joshua Pacio’s 125-pound title.

@LiamBadco fires back with THREE KNOCKDOWNS to finish "Elbow Zombie"#ONE156 #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/jR6XTECZHV

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) April 22, 2022

In one round of pure chaos and furious action, Liam Harrison stopped Muangthai PK.Saenchai with punches due to the three-knockdown rule after the Englishman was dropped twice. The official stoppage time came at 2:19, putting a violent end to one of the most entertaining rounds of combat sports this year. In addition to double $50,000 performance bonuses, Harrison earned a shot at Nong-O’s divisional championship.

Earlier on the event, Min Jong Song (13-8, 2-2 One) left Rui Chen (10-4, 6-4 One) senseless with a rear-naked choke that ended the One bantamweight fight at 4:26 of Round 2; Danial Williams (5-1, 2-0 One) put on a dominant performance against Namiki Kawahara (7-5-2, 1 NC; 0-2 One) and earned a unanimous decision victory at One’s strawweight division.

In the featured fight on the preliminary card, Gustavo Balart (10-4, 2-3 One) recorded his second straight victory by defeating Yosuke Saruta (21-11-3, 3-3 One) on all three scorecards in a One strawweight match; Andrei Stoica did enough to eke out a narrow split decision over Giannis Stoforidis in a One light heavyweight kickboxing clash; former Glory Kickboxing titleholder Anissa Meksen outstruck Marie Ruumet to capture a unanimous decision in a muay Thai scrap at 115 pounds; One flyweight Windson Ramos (5-1, 1-0 One) topped Sung Hoon Woo (8-3, 1-1 One) via unanimous decision; Dayane de Souza Cardoso (9-1-1, 1-0 One) took home a stoppage win after Ayaka Miura (11-5, 1 NC; 4-3 One) injured her shoulder 56 seconds into Round 2 in their 125-pound tilt; Abraao Amorim Magalhaes (9-3, 1-0 One) smashed Dae Song Park (11-3, 4-1 One) with a perfectly legal knee while Park was downed, followed by a series of punches that made the referee step in to halt their 170-pound fight at 1:20 of Round 2; in One’s 185-pound welterweight category, Tae Ho Jin (9-6, 1-0 One) submitted Agilan Thani (11-7, 10-7 One) with a kimura at the 2:23 mark of Round 1; Mikey Musumeci scored the first finish in One’s submission grappling fights as he forced Masakazu Imanari to tap to a rear-naked choke to conclude their 143-pound catchweight clash, pocketing a $50,000 performance bonus along the way; Keanu Subba (8-5, 7-4 One) started off the night by outgrappling James Yang (1-1, 1-1 One) en route to a unanimous decision in One’s featherweight division.