Kiwi Mark Abelardo and Australian veteran Adrian Pang both suffered TKO losses at ONE Championship: Warriors of Light on Friday night.
Born and raised in New Zealand to Filipino parents, Abelardo was competing in the promotion for just the second time since winning a contract via the ONE Warrior Series. The 27-year-old came out aggressive against his veteran opponent Shoko Sato who was making his ONE Championship debut.
Sato kept Abelardo outside his reach in the early period and attacked with leg kicks before securing a takedown. Abelardo worked straight back to his feet and after a short battle against the cage the two separated. Sato finished the first round nicely, getting the better of the exchanges though was put on his back in the final seconds.
Sato finished a near perfect performance with a takedown in the second round where he rained down ground-and-pound to force the stoppage. The win coming 1:36 into the second round as he moves to 32-16-3, with just one loss in his last 10 outings. Abelardo drops to 18-6.
Now in his MMA twilight years, Brisbane based Adrian Pang suffered just his second TKO loss in a 18-year fight career though it did come via doctor’s stoppage due to a cut caused by his opponent Kazuki Tokudome.
The two clinched against the cage early and exchanged dirty boxing before separating midway through the firsty round. On the outside, Tokudome stepped up to the plate and looked to exchange strikes with the 41-year-old Pang. It would be Pang though who would have a slight edge on the feet.
A strong one-two from the Japanese fighter in the opening seconds of the next round found their mark perfectly as Pang immediately attempted to wipe his injured eye. Tokudome landed again and secured a takedown. In his attempt to get back to his feet, Tokudome landed a knee and the fighters seperated. With a cut opened up over the eye of Pang, the referee halted the contest and called the doctor in to check. He had a quick look and deemed Pang unable to continue, giving Tokudome the victory.
Pang drops 23-13-2 while Tokudome moved his career record to 19-10-1.
The card, held at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand was headlined by ONE Super Series Bantamweight Muay Thai Title which Nong-O Gaiyanghadao was able to defend sucessfully against Hiroaki Suzuki.
Main Card:
- Nong-O Gaiyanghadao (c) def. Hiroaki Suzuki via Decision (Unanimous) – Bantamweight Muay Thai Title
- Petchdam Petchyindee Academy def. Elias Mahmoudi via Decision (Technical) – Flyweight Kickboxing Title
- Shoko Sato def. Mark Abelardo (New Zealand) via TKO (Strikes), Rd 2, 1:36 – MMA
- Rodtang Jitmuangnon def. Sok Thy via KO, Rd 2, 1:36 – Super Series (Muay Thai)
- Pongsiri Mitsatit def. Robin Catalan via KO, Rd 1, 3:05 – MMA
- Zhang Chenglong def. Panicos Yusuf via Decision (Unanimous) – Super Series (Kickboxing)
- Kazuki Tokudome def. Adrian Pang (Australia/Papua New Guinea) via TKO (Doctor’s Stoppage), Rd 2, 1:27 – MMA
Preliminary Card:
- Savvas Michael def. Singtongnoi Por Telakun via Decision (Unanimous) – Super Series (Muay Thai)
- Superlek Kiatmoo9 def. Rui Botelho via Decision (Unanimous) – Super Series (Muay Thai)
- Pieter Buist def. Kota Shimoishi via KO, Rd 2, 3:55 – MMA
- Janet Todd def. Wang Ching Long via TKO, Rd 2, 2:59 – Super Series (Kickboxing)
- Hexigetu def. Ovais Shah via Decision (Unanimous) – MMA
