JAKARTA: Had the script been followed to the tee, we would have seen the Jalur Gemilang billowing in the hands of our Malaysian martial artists as they celebrated their much anticipated victories against their respective opponents at ONE: For Honour at the Istora Senayan arena in Jakarta, Indonesia recently. Unfortunately, both tumbled; with one in a most dramatic fashion.
In the prelims of the ONE Super Series Muay Thai bout, Malaysia’s rising Muay Thai talent, Mohammed “Jordan Boy” Bin Mahmoud saw his dream of avenging his previous losses turn to dust as he succumbed to Scotland’s Andrew “Maddog Fairtex” Miller.
In the first round, the 28-year-old Miller scored a quick knockdown after catching a kick and then countering with a right hand that landed right on Mohammed’s chin. The Scotsman did it again in the second round; this time with a leg kick. Looking very much under the weather from the outset, the 23-year-old, Sampuri Muay Thai gym representative, was unable to stave off what was beginning to look like the inevitable – a victory for the Scotsman. And sure enough, a dominant third round for the Scottish martial artist put the stamp on a convincing performance, leaving Miller to walk away with a unanimous decision victory.
The 23-year-old Malaysian athlete’s defeat was hard to swallow, not only for his fans, but also the fighter himself, especially as he’d been quietly confident of bringing victory home for his country, family and fans this time around. Met post-fight, a dejected Mohammed revealed: “I really don’t know what happened. I woke up (on the morning of the fight) feeling dizzy and generally out of sorts. But I just wanted for the show to go on. But I knew in my heart, by the time I got to the arena, that I wasn’t feeling good at all.”
With a long sigh, he confided: “I didn’t play my game. I didn’t do what I know what I can do. And that’s why it feels so rough. But as always, every win, every loss, is a lesson and I’ll take away what I learnt to grow into a better fighter.” This win at ONE: For Honour means that Miller’s professional Muay Thai record is now at 34 wins, 16 losses and two draws. Meanwhile, Mohammed’s stats read 31 wins and five losses.
With Mohammed’s disappointing loss, all eyes – Malaysian eyes – turned to Malaysia’s all-action featherweight athlete Keanu Subba, who was scheduled to meet ONE Championship’s promotional newcomer, Ryogo “Kaitai” Takahashi of Japan in the prelims of the featherweight contest.
Just like his compatriot, Subba, a former MIMMA Featherweight champion was confident of his chances going in. In fact, asked what he had to fear from his opponent prior to the fight, the soft-spoken 24-year-old, who trains out of Monarchy MMA gym and Bali MMA gym, had looked baffled at the question, before eventually replying: “Nothing!”
However, his confidence was short-lived; Takahashi emerged victorious after successfully stopping Malaysia’s Keanu Subba in the first round of the contest with a ferocious flurry. After a checked leg kick from Subba sent the Malaysian to the canvas, a confident Takahashi followed his opponent and overpowered him on the ground with punches to earn the shockingly quick technical knockout.
Malaysian disappointments aside, the largest global sports media property in Asian history, ONE Championship:tm: (ONE), certainly had put together yet another spectacular event at the Istora Senayan, featuring the absolute best in local and international martial arts talent.
Standout action all the way
In the exciting main event, England’s Jonathan “The General” Haggerty scored a huge upset, capturing the ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Championship with a unanimous decision victory over Muay Thai legend, Sam-A Gaiyanghadao. In what turned out to be a close contest, the two striking superstars immediately engaged in a back-and-forth war of attrition from the very first round, tagging each other with powerful combinations.
A left jab in the third round dropped Sam-A, as did another left jab in the fifth round. The action was fierce and intense throughout the contest. But in the end, all three judges scored the bout in favour of the triumphant Haggerty who was crowned the new ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Champion.
Meanwhile, in a highly-anticipated women’s atomweight showdown, hometown darling Priscilla Hertati Lumban Gaol put forth a monstrous effort, dominating Cambodian Kun Khmer World Champion Nou Srey Pov over three rounds to score a unanimous decision win.
Although Srey Pov was impressive and came into the ring with a feral appetite for victory, Lumban Gaol kept her composure and consistently mounted the pressure from start to finish. When the bell rang to signal the end, and the Istora Senayan arena erupted to the raucous roar of the partisan home crowd, it was Lumban Gaol who had the biggest smile, as all three judges scored the bout in favour of the Indonesian athlete.
But Cambodia didn’t go home totally empty-handed. In an earlier flyweight bout in the prelims, former ONE Cambodia Featherweight Grand Prix finalist, Chan Rothana put together a scintillating performance, defeating Indonesian flyweight mixed martial arts champion Rudy “The Golden Boy” Agustian in front of the latter’s hometown crowd.
The bout opened with a spirited exchange of offense on the ground and on the feet. Despite the Indonesian’s efforts to subdue Rothana, a regular on ONE Championship’s MMA arts circuit, in the end it was the impressive Cambodian mixed martial arts hero who scored a huge technical knockout victory, overwhelming Agustian in the second round with a flurry of strikes.