The Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand may be more used to the striking arts, but the featured MMA matchup at ONE Fight Night 12 showcased elite grappling at its very best.
The co-main event of the evening saw Garry Tonon show his submission skills as he finished undefeated Russian grappler Shamil Gasanov with a second-round kneebar to keep him in the title mix in the ONE featherweight division.
While the pair were engaged in a leg entanglement on the mat, Gasanov signaled to the referee that he was "Okay, brother." But, immediately after, Tonon rolled to his back and tightened the kneebar to force Gasanov to tap.
The submission gave Tonon his fifth MMA submission victory as he improved his career record to 8-1.
The fight card in Bangkok also lined up a potential rematch for the ONE heavyweight title, as Iranian wrestler Amir Aliakbari finished Canada's Dustin Joynson with strikes in just 108 seconds, then got involved in a heated confrontation with reigning champ Anatoly Malykhin, who jumped the barrier and got into the ring to face his old foe.
The night also saw first-round stoppage victories for bantamweight Yuya Wakamatsu and lightweight Akbar Abdullaev, who finished Wei Xie and Aaron Canarte, respectively.
The main event featured a Muay Thai battle, as Thai superstar SuperlekKiatmoo9 claimed a dominant victory with a second-round TKO of Tagir Khalilov.
ONE Fight Night 12: Official results
- Superlek Kiatmoo9 def. Tagir Khalilov via TKO – Round 2, 1:42 – Muay Thai
- Garry Tonon def. Shamil Gasanov via submission (kneebar) – Round 2, 2:26
- Amir Aliakbari def. Dustin Joynson via TKO – Round 1, 1:48
- Yuya Wakamatsu def. Wei Xie via TKO – Round 1, 2:03
- Akbar Abdullaev def. Aaron Canarte via TKO – Round 1, 0:41
- Phetjeeja def. Lara Fernandez via TKO – Round 1, 0:26 – Muay Thai
- Banma Duoji def. Walter Goncalves via unanimous decision
- Tammi Musumeci def. Amanda Alequin via unanimous decision – submission grappling
- Bodgan Shumarov def. Constantin Rusu via TKO – Round 3, 1:33 – kickboxing
