Former ONE Featherweight World Champion Honorio “The Rock” Banario gave the crowd at the Mall Of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines, something to remember.
On Friday Night, 21 April, he knocked out UGB Super Fight Champion Jaroslav Jartim in their lightweight affair at ONE: KINGS OF DESTINY.
After the initial touch of gloves, both men traded strikes in the center of the cage. Banario, the local favorite from Benguet, moved the fight to the cage, and was able to drop down, pick up his Czech nemesis, and take him down to the mat.
The Team Lakay warrior tried to take Jartim’s back for a submission attempt, but wound up being swept to the bottom for a split second until the two returned to their feet. Just like that, they were back up against the cage.
After a few nice exchanges by Jartim, who trains out of Penta Gym Prague, the Czech Republic’s top lightweight took the bout to the ground, but was unable to do any significant damage to “The Rock.” The opening frame came to an end up against the cage, which was a very strategic part of Banario’s game plan for the majority of round one.
It all came to a head in the second round. Banario delivered a brilliant combination and followed that up with a takedown, which landed him in Jartim’s half guard. After the Czech came to his feet, Banario unleashed a powerful left hook, which dropped Jartim like a tree. The referee jumped in at the 1:31 mark, but Banario was already in the process of walking away.
After moving up to lightweight and turning his luck around in 2016, Banario has now gone on a four-fight winning streak and stands at 12-6 overall. Jartim, who filled in for “Ruthless” Rob Lisita on nearly two weeks’ notice, dips to 8-6 in his professional MMA career.
