Thanh Le Wins Interim Title With Lightning-Quick Sub at ONE Fight Night 15

#ONEFightNight15 highlight video: Thanh Le heel hooks Ilya Freymanov pic.twitter.com/gutuiFqoaW

— Sherdog (@sherdogdotcom) October 7, 2023

ONE Fight Night 15 took place at the famed Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok. A smorgasbord of mixed martial arts, kickboxing, muay thai and submission grappling, the card was contested within a square ring rather than a cage. That certainly made the MMA matches unique by modern standards.

The main event was a fight for the interim ONE Championship 155-pound MMA title between Thanh Le and Ilya Freymanov. Le is a former ONE champion, having knocked out Martin Nguyen for the throne in 2020 before defending against then-undefeated submission wizard Gary Tonon, knocking him out in just 56 seconds. However, Le lost his title by unanimous decision to Kai Tang last year. At 38 years old, there were doubts about how much he had left in the tank. His opponent was 27-year-old Russian upstart Freymanov, sporting a record of 12-2 including 2-0 in ONE, both first-round finishes. The fight was fast and frenzied, with both men throwing power punches on the feet, and Freymanov connecting hard on several occasions. Freymanov decided to get an easy takedown, but once on the ground, Le expertly scrambled, looking for an ankle. He succeeded, locking in a heel hook just 1:02 into the contest. A rematch was announced afterwards between Le and Tang to unify the titles.

In the co-main event, Canadian Jonathan Di Bella defended his ONE 125-pound kickboxing crown against Australian challenger Danial Williams. Williams had challenged for the 135-pound ONE muay thai throne against incumbent Superlek in March of this year, but was dismissed via a third-round knockout. He was hoping that a drop in weight and change in rules would benefit him. Alas, at lower weights fighters are much faster, and Di Bella repeatedly beat Williams to the punch as well as kick, landing against him at will. Di Bella hurt Williams multiple times throughout the five-round affair, though no official knockdowns were scored. Still, he was clearly superior in every round, with some being outright domination. Di Bella easily retained through a unanimous decision.

Related » ONE Fight Night 15 Round-by-Round Scoring

ONE 155-pound muay thai world champion Tawanchai PK Saenchai tested his abilities in the promotion's kickboxing division, where he is also ranked No. 5. He showed that he is plenty fearsome in that discipline too, as the 24-year-old clearly outpointed fellow Thai Jo Nattawut in a unanimous verdict, with only the second stanza being close.

MMA legend Shinya Aoki, one of the very best submission grapplers for years, tested his mettle against current-day champion Mikey Musumeci. How would the 40-year-old Japanese icon do against the 27-year-old? Would weight factor into the result, as Aoki was nearly 168 pounds compared to Musumeci's 154? In what was no surprise to grappling aficionados, the sport of submission grappling has evolved and improved greatly in the last decade. Musumeci had little trouble attacking Aoki's legs, locking in a leg lock just over 3 minutes into the showdown.

In a meeting of top 125-pound contenders, No-1 ranked Joshua Pacio of the Philippines went to war with undefeated No. 5-ranked Mansur Malachiev of Russia. It was a gritty, hard-fought contest, with Pacio taking the first and Malachiev the second. It all came down to a very close third, with Pacio looking slightly better. The judges agreed, as he took a unanimous verdict.

Timofey Nastyukhin, who famously knocked out Eddie Alvarez in 2019, sought to right the ship against Lipeng Zhang, as he had been knocked out himself three times in a row going into the contest. Alas, that streak is now four, as Zhang battered Nastyukhin with punches, forcing a halt to the contest at 3:18 of the first.

A 135-pound MMA contest didn't last long between Indonesia's Eko Roni Saputra and China's Yong Hu. Both men threw caution to the wind, throwing huge haymakers, and it was Hu who connected hard first, splattering Saputra with a monstrous left hook, finishing matters in just 63 seconds.

In earlier action, 21-year-old Thai sensation Peetchjeeja fought Australian Celese Hansen at a 121-pound catchweight under muay thai rules, battering her from pillar to post for the entire contest, with the referee mercifully waiving it off a minute into the third. Peetchjeeja is now a perfect 4-0 in ONE, all by knockout. In an MMA match where both men weighed exactly 181 pounds, Japan's Hiroyuki Tetsuka got a takedown and schooled South Korea's Tae Ho Jin on the ground, tapping him with an armbar 4:45 into the first frame. It's Tetsuka's third stoppage victory in a row. Kicking off the card, Shakir Al-Tekreeti battled Bampara Kouyate in a 175-pound catchweight muay thai affair. Al-Tekreeti scored a knockdown in the opening stanza and while Kouyate came on strong late; it wasn't enough, as Al-Tekreeti won a unanimous decision.