ONE Championship brings 11 fun martial arts contests to prime time in the United States. Here are the results for ONE Fight Night 22:
Despite losing the title due to scale before the event, the stars still continued to entertain the public.
In the main event, Smila Sandel overcame early adversity to win the 126.5-pound catchweight contest. Natalia Dyatchkova rocked the 19-year-old in the first round, but she couldn't close out the show. Even though the Russian continued to put pressure on his Swedish opponent, Sander found his mark with strong body blows. Diachikova was unable to defend herself and took more knees and punches from her until her match was called.
Undefeated Akbar Abdullaev and Khalil Amir were thrown down, with Abdullaev showing off his immense power with a second-round KO. Amir escaped from the corner of the ring to escape Abdullaev's pressure. Still, he left his chin exposed and the featherweight rising star connected cleanly to end the bout.
Both Dmitry Menshikov and Sinsamut Klinmeh were looking for a rematch with Regian Aircel, but it was the Russian who emerged victorious. Sinsamut got off to a strong start, but Menshikov's strength showed through in the final round, snatching victory from the Thai star. With three consecutive KO wins, Menshikov is knocking on the door to winning the title.
In the controversial match, Wei Rui defeated Hiroki Akimoto by unanimous decision. The match was close from beginning to end, with success from both players. In the end, it was the Chinese athlete who convinced the three judges of his idea.
Reece McLaren came close to being finished in the first round, but survived and bounced back to push back the onrushing Fu Yong. After the first round, McLaren took over, relying on his superior grappling and veteran knowledge.
McLaren narrowly overtook the Chinese athlete and continued the flyweight battle.
Multiple-time BJJ World Champion Bianca Basilio quickly won with a rear naked choke in 35 seconds. She quickly took Nanami Ichikawa's back and choked her, but no big deal. This quick victory gave the Brazilian a major victory in her return to the world stage.
Sean Climaco quickly knocked out Josué Cruz to start the match. After a touch-up, Climaco changed levels and slammed Cruz to the body. The Mexican player collapsed and was unable to answer the referee. This was a big debut for the American fighter, who had won his promotional debut.
Full results of ONE Fight Night 22
Smila Sandel def. Natalia Dyatchkova, won by TKO at 2 minutes 59 seconds of the second round.
Akbar Abdullaev def. Khalil Amir, KO at 2 minutes 52 seconds of round 2
Dmitry Menshikov def. Sinsamut Krimmy KO at 1 minute 33 seconds in the 3rd round
Maurice Abbey def. Zhang Lipeng unanimous decision
Wei Rui def. Yuki Akimoto unanimous decision
Rhys McLaren def. Hu Yong (split decision)
Lungwi Sitsongpeenon def. Bogdan Shumarov (split decision)
Chihiro Sawada def. Noel Grandjean unanimous decision
Zakaria El Jamali def. Thongpoon PK Saenchai unanimous decision
Bianca Basilio def. Nanami Ichikawa 1st round 0:35 submission (rear naked choke)
Sean Climaco def. Josué Cruz 1st round 2:06 KO
