ONE Warrior's Quest Results: Shinya Aoki Dominates; First Strawweight Champ Crowned

Shinya Aoki put in the sort of performance for which he has become legendary to retain his 155-pound title at ONE: Warrior’s Quest on Friday night in Singapore. The Japanese lightweight jumped guard a couple of times and butt scooted a bit, but controlled the action from start to finish against challenger Koji Ando.

Aoki is a big fan favorite at the Singapore Indoor Stadium and he started on the front foot, scoring an early takedown, keeping Ando on his back until the bell. Surprisingly, he switched tactics in the second stanza and scored with kicks to the body and head, but ate a lot of jabs from his southpaw opponent.

The champion reverted to applying forward pressure in round three and completed an early takedown. He moved quickly from half guard to mount and landed multiple elbows, finishing the round with an armbar attempt, which Aoki was unable to complete before the buzzer.

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There was more of the same in round four with Aoki completing a single leg after an initial takedown attempt had been stuffed. This time Ando gave up his back and spent the remainder of the round in survival mode as the champion sunk his hooks in and tried for the choke.

By this stage, Aoki had a potentially unassailable lead on the scorecards and he spent the final five minutes showboating, jumping guard and then butt scooting towards Ando, who cut a frustrated figure.

Aoki defended his ONE lightweight title for the second time with a win that takes him to 38-6-0-1 and extends his undefeated streak to eight fights. Ando drops to 11-4-2 after suffering his first defeat in nearly four years.

In the co-main event, Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichok faced promotional newcomer Roy Doliguez in a fight which had the inaugural ONE 115-pound title on the line and pitted the Muay Thai veteran against the seasoned boxer.

Despite both coming in with high-caliber striking credentials, the first round was virtually a non-stop scramble. They both jostled for position on the ground with Dejdamrong controlling most of the action, although Doliguez managed a knee bar attempt.

From that point on, Dejdamrong took control and drilled Doliguez with multiple body kicks, as well as scoring with hard knees to the mid-section and the occasional elbow. The Thai had the Filipino in trouble on a few occasions, but seemed to be pacing himself in his first ever five-round MMA fight.

In round four, there was a lull in the action, as the fight was paused due to an accidental eye poke and a low blow with Doliguez on the receiving end on both occasions. The 36-year-old looked the fresher in round five and was piling on the pressure when the Filipino decided to quit, citing another eye poke.

The replays were inconclusive, but the fight went to the scorecards anyway. Dejdamrong was awarded the win by all three judges. The Thai, who only began training MMA last year, is now 5-0, while Doliguez drops to 6-2.

Earlier in the evening, Marat Gafurov (11-0) extended his perfect professional record with a first-round submission win over Ev Ting (9-3). The Malaysian was looking for a third straight ONE win, but the writing was on the wall once the Russian scored an early takedown.

Ting briefly managed to work his way back to standing, only for Gafurov to drag him back down again. The man from Dagestan transitioned to Ting’s back and sank in a rear-naked choke, which brought the tap at the 4:30 mark.

With the win, Gafurov is likely to have secured a shot at reigning 145-pound champion Jadamba Natungungalag. Another fighter who will be hoping to challenge for the belt next is Hawaiian lightweight Lowen Tynanes (7-0), who scored a lopsided decision win over Kuat Khamitov (18-4).

ONE Warrior’s Quest Results

  • Shinya Aoki def. Koji Ando by Unanimous Decision, R5

  • Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke def. Roy Doliguez by Unanimous Decision, R5

  • Marat Gafurov def. Ev Ting by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 4:30, R1

  • Lowen Tynanes def. Kuat Khamitov by Unanimous Decision, R3

  • Ariel Sexton def. Eddie Ng by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 1:10, R2

  • Shannon Wiratchai def. Amir Khan def. by Split Decision, R3

  • Angela Lee def. Aya Saeid Saber by Submission (Armbar) at 1:43, R1

  • A La Teng Hei Li def. Stephen Langdown by TKO (Strikes) at 0:51, R2

  • Benedict Ang def. Waqar Umar by Unanimous Decision, R3

  • Yang Jian Bing def. Ali Yaakub by Submission (Armbar) at 0:49, R2

(Follow @JamesGoyder on Twitter | Photos courtesy of ONE Championship)

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