Sitthichai Dominates Kiria, Allazov Smokes Nattawut at One: ‘Only the Brave’

Both One Championship kickboxing finalists showed little difficulty punching their tickets to the featherweight grand prix finale.

In the One: “Only the Brave” headliner, “Sitthichai” Anulak Jansuk barely broke a sweat overcoming Davit Kiria in the semifinal of the featherweight (155-pound) tournament. Former Lumpinee Stadium welterweight king and Glory lightweight titleholder Sitthichai dictated the pace of the match, forcing his opponent to fight off his back foot for most of the contest. The Thai fighter took the initiative, scoring cleaner shots than the decidedly stiff Kiria throughout their three-round clash.

Sitthichai CRACKS Davit Kiria with a head kick! #ONEOnlyTheBrave #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/rc2olSkmmO

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) January 28, 2022

In the second frame, Sitthichai comfortably displayed a wide array of punches and kicks with little concern of anything coming back his way. Right before the end of the round, the Thai loosed a head kick that dropped Kiria to the floor, but the Georgian was able to beat the count and get back to his feet in time. In Round 3, Sitthichai switched to cruise control and handled his opponent from afar. After time expired, the cageside judges rewarded Sitthichai with a unanimous decision, granting him the final spot in the tournament at “One X” on March 26.

Chingiz Allazov knocks out Smokin' Jo Nattawut with a SMOOTH slip-and-rip to advance to the ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Grand Prix Championship Final! #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship#ONEOnlyTheBrave | How To Watch: https://t.co/xAruwVtftU pic.twitter.com/CjERDxYglp

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) January 28, 2022

In the co-main event, Chingiz Allazov smoked “Smokin’ Jo” Nattawut Somkhun in the tournament’s other bracket. Allazov wasted no time going after Nattawut with punches and kicks, keeping him guessing by frequently switching stances. Shortly after the two-minute mark, Allazov dropped Nattawut with an uppercut followed by a knee. The Thai surged back to his feet, only to be met with clean, crisp punch combinations when the action resumed. In the midst of a flurry, Allazov caught Nattawut with a picturesque left hand that sent Nattawut crashing to the canvas for the second time. This time, there was no recovering, as the Thai contestant could not answer the count. The official stoppage time indicated the 1:55 mark in Round 1, with the speedy knockout earning Allazov a $50,000 performance bonus. Allazov is now hurtling toward the grand prix finale, where he will meet Sitthichai in a much-anticipated all-action battle.

The MMA main attraction should have been Jae Woong Kim vs. Kai Tang, but the matchup was scratched when Kim withdrew due to an undisclosed medical issue. Instead, the 170-pound tilt between Ruslan Emilbek Uulu and Ultimate Fighting Championship vet Lipeng Zhang claimed that favorable spot. Zhang (32-11-2, 2-0 One) only needed 32 seconds to catch Emilbek Uulu (13-2, 1-2 One) with a flashy two-piece combination and shut the lights out. In addition to the victory, Zhang pocketed a $50,000 performance bonus – an honor he never received in any of his four UFC appearances.

Earlier on, Rade Opacic smashed Francesko Xhaja at two minutes of Round 2 to earn his fourth knockout since joining One’s heavyweight kickboxing division; at One’s welterweight division of 185 pounds, Hiroyuki Tetsuka (11-4, 3-1 One) stunned Edson Marques (9-2, 0-2 One) with a short hook in the third round, knocking him out at 1:05; UFC alum Jarred Brooks (18-2, 1 NC; 2-0 One) overwhelmed Koha Minowa (13-3, 2-1 One) both on the feet and on the mat to take home a well-deserved unanimous decision victory at 125 pounds.

On the prelims, Ivan Kondratev succeeded in his One debut at 158 pounds by putting Dovydas Rimkus away with a left hand 35 seconds into the third frame; Tatsumitsu Wada (23-11-2, 1 NC; 4-4 One) outwrestled Shuo Wang (13-6, 1-2 One) en route to a unanimous decision; One Warrior Series veteran Otgonjargal Purev (9-1, 2-0 One) recorded his ninth straight victory after outpointing Micael de Jesus (9-6, 0-1 One) in their One bantamweight affair.