4 Things We Learned From ONE: PURSUIT OF GREATNESS

Another spectacular event is in the books thanks to the unbelievable athletes and passionate fans at ONE: PURSUIT OF GREATNESS in Yangon, Myanmar.

The 10-bout card on Friday, 26 October burst into action from the very first bell, with exciting mixed martial arts and ONE Super Series kickboxing match-ups.

Eight of the 10 contests ended with finishes, as every warrior was spurred on by the local crowd, and gave everything to have their hand raised and rise up the ranks in The Home Of Martial Arts.

Through every performance, we learned new things about the athletes’ abilities and where their path may take them next. Here are some of the key points to take away from the action inside the Thuwunna Indoor Stadium.

Mohammad “O Lutador” Karaki was a difficult opponent on paper. Coming in undefeated at 9-0 with titles in multiple weight classes throughout the Middle East, the Lebanese man was confident of causing an upset.

However, the overwhelming strength of support behind two-division ONE World Champion Aung La “The Burmese Python” N Sang (24-10, 1 NC) when he competes in front of his countrymen – as well as his ever-improving skills – carried him to greatness.

The love the Myanmar fans have for their national hero lifts him, making him seemingly invincible on home turf.

His first-round knockout victory over Karaki moved him on to 7-0 in Yangon, with five finishes. He has won his ONE Middleweight and Light Heavyweight World Titles there, and now he has successfully defended the former twice in the Thuwunna Indoor Stadium.

The support from “The Burmese Python’s” followers gives him unwavering confidence, and as his mixed martial arts abilities continue to improve, he will only become more formidable as an opponent. 

Keanu Subba (7-3) did not have an easy road ahead of him. He traveled to Yangon to face off against undefeated hometown favorite Phoe “Bushido” Thaw (6-1).

Somehow, the Malaysian managed to block out the noise and focus on what he does best, and that is dominating opponents from top position, and finishing them with strikes or submissions.

He maintained his 100 percent finishing rate with a first-round guillotine choke, which should elevate him to the next level in the featherweight division, where every bout moving forward will have contendership implications.

Subba is 2-0 in 2018 after returning to action in July. His momentum is building, and he wants the toughest tests to prove he can compete with the division’s elite.

He has passed another test in style, and now he has earned a chance to take another step forward and face a greater challenge.

Many people predicted the contest between Tarik Khbabez (44-5-1) and Ibrahim “Mr. Cool” El Bouni (37-7-1) would be the bout of the night, but not many predicted that Khbabez would be so dominant – hammering his foe until he wilted under the pressure for a third-round stoppage.

The two Dutch-Moroccan kickboxers both had high finishing ratios, but Khbabez’s forward pressure proved to be the more effective approach compared to his opponent’s counter-striking style.

The ARJ Trainingen representative certainly benefitted from the smaller ONE gloves — which both men were competing in for the first time — as he landed punishing strikes to the head and body to drop El Bouni several times, before finally stopping him in round three.

Given the one-sided nature of his victory over a top-level opponent, when ONE introduces a title to the light heavyweight division, Khbabez may have booked himself into the first seat at the table.

Luis “Sapo” Santos (65-11-1-1) would admit that he has not offered his best in the cage as of late, but he returned to form in Yangon thanks to his first-round knockout.

When the 78-bout veteran has a certain look in his eyes and conviction in his strikes, he will pose questions of any welterweight in the world. Daichi Abe (6-3) found that out the hard way when he could barely conceal the effects of the first hard body kick he absorbed.

When the second and third landed, and he was doubled over in pain from the laser-guided shin to the liver, he knew he had met a Santos who was in top form.

The devastating kicks of the Brazilian southpaw are the stuff of nightmares for his peers, who will be walking around with their right elbow tight to their ribs at the thought of meeting him on a night like this.