Petchmorakot Edges Vienot, Lasiri Upsets Prajanchai at One Championship 157

The One Championship 157 main event on Friday featured a featherweight muay Thai title affair, as defending champion Petchmorakot Petchyindee locked horns with Jimmy Vienot at Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore.

The French challenger looked sharp in the first two frames, where he kept intercepting Petchmorakot’s kicks and throwing him to the mat to disrupt his rhythm. Petchmorakot started countering Vienot’s offense in Round 3, ducking his opponent’s long punches and retaliating with some shots of his own. The Thai champion knocked down Vienot right out of the gate in the fourth thanks to a short hook. While the Frenchman bounced back on the feet following the referee’s count, he did not show the same crispness he showed in the preceding rounds. Petchmorakot felt he was ahead on the scorecards in the fifth stanza and limited risk to cruise past his adversary, leaving the fight to run its course. Ultimately, the judges were split about the result. Two of the three favored Petchmorakot, who retained his championship and earned a $50,000 performance bonus.

WHAT AN UPSET! 😱

Joseph Lasiri 🇮🇹 claims the ONE Strawweight Muay Thai World Title with a SHOCKING third-round TKO of Prajanchai PK.Saenchai 👑#ONE157 | #ONEChampionship | https://t.co/eBUfsODAFL pic.twitter.com/PDwV74XjP9

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) May 20, 2022

In the co-headliner, Prajanchai P.K.Saenchai put the strawweight muay Thai championship on the line against Joseph Lasiri. In a high-paced clash, Lasiri forced the defending champion to stay on the back foot right out of the gate. “The Hurricane” displayed offensive versatility, as he fired elbow attacks and vicious kicks at Prajanchai. Midway through the second stanza, Lasiri opened a cut on his opponent’s nose, which profoundly impacted the outcome of the match. The Italian followed up with a variety of elbow attacks. Prajanchai resisted until the third period, but his opponent’s pressure was too much to handle. Ultimately, the Thai fighter opted to retire on the stool at the end of Round 3. A visibly excited Lasiri picked up the victory, the title and a $50,000 performance bonus.

Walter Goncalves 🇧🇷 knocks out Josue Cruz in 35 SECONDS and punches his ticket to the ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Grand Prix semifinals! 💥#ONE157 | #ONEChampionship | https://t.co/eBUfsODAFL pic.twitter.com/EFeCSHZOld

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) May 20, 2022

In the flyweight muay Thai grand prix quarterfinals, divisional titleholder Rodtang Jitmuangnon hit Jacob Smith with elbows and kicks to record a unanimous decision and pocket a performance bonus; Walter Goncalves stopped Josue Cruz with punches 35 seconds into the first round; Superlek Kiatmookao was faster and more precise than Taiki Naito, earning a unanimous decision victory and a ticket for the semifinals; and Savvas Michael outstruck Amir Naseri to capture a unanimous decision.

Elsewhere, lightweight Tye Ruotolo disposed of Garry Tonon thanks to a quick brabo choke that halted their submission grappling match after 97 seconds, pocketing a $50,000 performance bonus along the way; Kade Ruotolo took home a decision over Shinya Aoki in their lightweight submission grappling tilt; Alyse Anderson (6-2, 1-1 One) choked Asha Roka (4-3, 0-3 One) thanks to a triangle that halted the clash at the 2:04 mark of the opening period; rising featherweight kickboxing star Mohammed Boutasaa outclassed former Glory Kickboxing and Kunlun Fight titleholder Davit Kiria on his way to a unanimous decision; “Wondergirl” Nat Jaroonsak (1-0, 1-0 One) made a successful mixed martial arts debut by forcing Zeba Bano (6-1, 0-1 One) to tap via armbar after 82 seconds at strawweight; Sherzod Kabutov outpointed Denis Puric on all three scorecards in the flyweight muay Thai grand prix alternate bout; and strawweight prospect Elipitua Siregar (5-2, 5-2 One) scored another first-round stoppage after forcing Robin Catalan (10-8, 5-6 One) to tap to a brabo choke at the 2:58 mark.