SHINYA AOKI REMAINS ONE FC LIGHTWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPION AT ONE FC: REIGN OF CHAMPIONS

(PRESS RELEASE) -- ONE Fighting Championship™ (ONE FC), Asia’s largest Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) organization with a 90% market share, held its most successful event at the Dubai World Trade Centre this evening as three ONE FC World Championships were on the line at ONE FC: REIGN OF CHAMPIONS. Shinya Aoki retained his ONE FC Lightweight World Championship while Ben Askren and Narantungalag Jamdambaa emerged as new world champions in the welterweight and featherweight divisions respectively.

Visit the official ONE FC: REIGN OF CHAMPIONS photo gallery by clicking: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ogw4tb66e3467d5/AABAVUM5CDb9aMVF3VZN7O0Da?dl=0

Shinya Aoki showcased his legendary grappling skills in the first defense of his ONE FC Lightweight World Championship against Kamal Shalorus, impressively submitting his opponent to retain the title. Aoki’s suffocating positional control allowed him to wear on Shalorus before taking the wrestler’s back and tightening a rear naked choke, causing Shalorus to tap out.

Ben Askren gave Nobutatsu Suzuki absolutely no quarter, taking less than two minutes to finish his opponent and dethrone him as ONE FC Welterweight World Champion. Askren used his unparalleled wrestling to take Suzuki down right from the opening bell. He blitzed Suzuki with a barrage of unanswered punches causing the referee to stop the fight and award Askren the TKO victory and the title.

Narantungalag Jadambaa’s superior striking skills proved to be the difference in the ONE FC Featherweight World Championship bout against Koji Oishi. Both Oishi and Jadambaa began the bout tentatively until the Mongolian landed an impressive slam in the first round. A striking combination by Jadambaa dropped Oishi in the second round but Oishi hung on despite a relentless barrage of strikes. Both Oishi and Jadambaa landed powerful punches in the third round, as they battled on to the delight of the sold out crowd. Jadambaa was the more offensive striker in the fourth round, landing several punches and kicks. He then landed with even more precision in the fifth round and was deemed the winner by all three judges.

Roger Huerta returned to the ONE FC cage in emphatic fashion by knocking out Christian Holley in the first round. Holley threw a head kick that landed but Huerta caught the leg and took Holley down. After a brief grappling exchange, Huerta landed in side control and unleashed several knees. Huerta then transitioned to his opponent’s back, unloading a barrage of punches which resulted in a stoppage victory.

James McSweeney proved once again why he is one of the deadliest strikers in the world by clinically knocking out Cristiano Kaminishi. McSweeney landed a straight punch that had Kaminishi reeling. As Kaminishi stumbled backwards, McSweeney followed up and landed a devastating kick to the head. McSweeney demonstrated sportsmanship in holding back another kick as referee Oliver Coste jumped in to stop the bout.

The grappling prowess of Herbert Burns proved to be too much for Hiroshige Tanaka to handle, allowing the Brazilian black belt to clinch a unanimous decision victory. Burns quickly asserted himself in the first round with kicks and takedowns from the clinch. Burns came close to finishing Tanaka with a rear naked choke but Tanaka managed to stave off the attempt and get back to his feet. He managed to take Tanaka down again in the second round, and landed a crushing knee while Tanaka was trying to stand back up. Tanaka landed a flurry of punches while Burns was pinned up against the cage in the third round, but Burns quickly recovered and took Tanaka down. Burns landed several knees in the closing seconds to end the bout, picking up the decision victory.

Mohamad Walid and Vaughn Donayre put on a fast-paced bout that ended with Walid securing the submission. Both mixed martial artists kicked off the action by swinging wildly with hard punches. Walid then jumped guard as Donayre decided not to engage. Once the fight restarted on the feet, Walid quickly shot for the takedown, and from full mount position along the cage locked in a quick armbar that forced Donayre to tap out.

The bout between striking specialist Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke and Ali Yaakub began with an exchange of devastating leg kicks and hard punches before Amnuaysirichoke elected to demonstrate his newfound grappling skills. Amnuaysirichoke quickly took Yaakub down and secured a rear naked choke submission to end the bout slightly over two minutes into the first round.

Female mixed martial arts stars Ana Julaton and Ann Osman kicked off the show in spectacular fashion. Osman dominated the first round with her superior wrestling skills and had Julaton in an armbar submission attempt as time expired. Osman again came close to finishing with an armbar attempt in the second round, but Julaton fought out of it to get top position, raining down punches of her own. Julaton started the third round by stringing together an impressive boxing combination, but Osman managed to close the distance and take Julaton down once again. Julaton managed to reverse the position and landed several knees from guard. Both mixed martial artists had their respective flags draped over their shoulders as Ann Osman was declared the winner via split decision.

Official results for ONE FC: REIGN OF CHAMPIONS

ONE FC Lightweight World Championship bout: Shinya Aoki defeats Kamal Shalorus by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 2:15 minutes of round 1

ONE FC Welterweight World Championship bout: Ben Askren defeats Nobutatsu Suzuki by TKO (Strikes) at 1:24 minutes of round 1

ONE FC Featherweight World Championship bout: Narantungalag Jadambaa defeats Koji Oishi by Unanimous Decision at 5:00 minutes of round 3

Lightweight bout: Roger Huerta defeats Christian Holley TKO (Strikes) at 3:13 minutes of round X

Light Heavyweight bout: James McSweeney defeats Cristiano Kaminishi by Knockout at 1:17 minutes of round 1

Featherweight bout: Herbert Burns defeats Hiroshige Tanaka by Unanimous Decision at 5:00 minutes of round 3

Catchweight (76.5kg) bout: Mohamad Walid defeats Vaughn Donayre by Submission (Armbar) at 1:05 minutes of round 1

Flyweight bout: Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke defeats Ali Yaakub by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 2:34 minutes of round 1

Flyweight bout: Ann Osman defeats Ana Julaton by Split Decision at 5:00 minutes of round 3

In case you missed the action log on to www.onefc.livesport.tv for the full replay of the fights at only US $9.99.

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About ONE Fighting Championship™ With a 90%+ market share in Asia, ONE Fighting Championship is Asia's largest Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) organization. Headquartered in Singapore, the world’s most exciting mixed martial arts organization hosts the best Asian mixed martial artists and world champions, all signed to exclusive contracts, on the largest media broadcast in Asia. ONE Fighting Championship™ has partnered with FOX and STAR Sports for an unprecedented 10-year cable television deal with a coverage that spans 70+ countries across the world.