Chris Lokteff made a successful debut in ONE Fighting Championship on Friday night, with the Integrated MMA heavyweight edging out former King of the Cage champion Tony Johnson at ONE FC 12: Warrior Spirit.
Lokteff was awarded the split points decision in the fight, which took place at the Putra Indoor Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The noticeably larger of the two men, Johnson utilised his wrestling and did well to control Lokteff at times throughout the encounter. However Lokteff showed great heart and proved to be the more competent striker on the night, which was evident early on with the Aussie finding homes for a pair of solid right hands in the opening frame.
The resilient American’s best opportunity for a finish came late in the second where he secured a tight looking rear-naked choke, after landing some decent shots from top position.
His first time fighting under global MMA rules, Lokteff took advantage of the new weapons available to him and landed a solid soccer kick late in the closing round.
Lokteff improved his pro record to 12-1 while Johnson slips to 7-2 with the result, which for him followed a win over former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia at ONE FC 9.
The main event of the evening saw American Yusup Saadulaev end Brazilian Andriano Moraes’s 9 fight win streak with a split points decision victory.
Event Results:
- Yusup Saadulaev def Adriano Moraes via Decision (Split)
- Leandro Ataides def Bryan Rafiq via KO (Punches), Rd 1, 4:14
- Chris Lokteff def Tony Johnson via Decision (Split)
- Peter Davis def Alaa Mazloum via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), Rd 2, 1:23
- Gianni Subba def Chen Yun Ting via TKO (Elbows), Rd 1, 3:03
- A.J Lias Mansor def Melvin Yeoh via Decision (Unanimous)
- Saiful Merican def Tok Sophon via Decision (Unanimous)
- Steven Durr def Samir Mrabet via Decision (Unanimous)
- Nik Harris def Zuli Silawanto via TKO (Retirement), Rd 2, 5:00
- Casey Suire def Raymond Tan via Submission (Guillotine Choke)
