Isi Fitikefu was unsuccessful in his ONE Championship debut, going down to Ruslan Emilbek Uulu in a razor close split decision at ONE Fight Night 4: Abbasov vs. Lee.
“Doxz” made the walk to the Circle for the first time at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Saturday afternoon (Australian time), November 19.
Fitikefu started brightly in the first round, stalking forward and unloading power punches as Emilbek Uulu struggled to get into the fight.
Kyrgyzstan’s Emilbek Uulu eventually found his range and started to establish his jab in a competitive second frame, while Fitikefu found success with leg kicks as the round wore on.
In the third round, Emilbek Uulu took control as his movement began to frustrate a tiring Fitikefu. The 32-year-old landed a couple of takedowns towards the end of the fight, although the Tongan-Australian debutant didn’t stay down for long.
In the end, one judge believed that Fitikefu did enough early in the fight, however the other two ruled that Emilbek Uulu was a worthy winner.
Fitikefu falls to 7-1 in his pro career with the loss although he showed that he can hang with the competition in one of the major promotions.
At ONE 163: Akimoto vs. Petchtanong on Saturday night, New Zealand’s Mark Abelardo fell to another defeat in a barn burner with South Korea’s Kwon Won Il.
The first two rounds were competitive, although Kwon had the better of the exchanges, as the damage started to pile up on Abelardo’s face.
“Tyson” tried to make some adjustments in the third stanza, but was sent crashing face-first to the mat by a knee as he dived in for a takedown. Kwon landed a couple of follow up punches before the referee intervened, as Abelardo immediately protested.
With the loss, Abelardo falls to 20-10 overall. The 31-year-old veteran is 2-5 in his last seven ONE appearances, but has lost no fans with his all-action performances.
