ONE Championship lead commentator and Fox Sports Presenter Steve Dawson proposes some future bouts in the aftermath of ONE’s blockbuster KL show.
One of the best fights of the night (Ev Ting vs Rob Lisita) and the craziest fights of the year (Shannon Wiratchai vs Peter Davis) capped off a great fight card, now that the dust has settled in Kuala Lumpur after a thrilling Friday night at the Stadium Negara.
Although Ting called for a title shot after his unanimous decision win of Lisita, he does so in the most competitive division of ONE Championship, so he might have to wait and battle for a short while longer. Ting vs Wiratchai would be a nice tussle to whet our appetites at Bangkok’s ONE offering in December. And once the Australian has healed, how about Honorio Banario vs Lisita?
Jenny Huang’s unbeaten run continued at atomweight with a win over Jeet Toshi, but the shock of the night was April Osenio submitting Ann Osman in the strawweight divison. Osenio has fought at atomweight and didn’t deny that she could do so again when I quizzed her about it afterwards. Osenio vs Huang looks like a great opportunity for the Filipina to thrill her Manila-based fans in December. It would also serve as a potential final eliminator for the atomweight belt, currently held by Angela Lee.
Agilan Thani’s record is now far too impressive to be a bit-part player in ONE Championship. His record improves to 6-0, and only once has he been extended into the second round. Thani vs Burenzorig Batmunkh (the 4-2 Mongolian) would see him step into the next rung of ONE welterweights. A win would transport him into the company or former world title challengers and propel his growing stardom in Malaysia.
Gianni Subba is another whose record can no longer be brushed aside. His decision win over Yago Bryan was the same result that former strawweight champ Dejdamrong sor Amnuaysirichoke managed, and that puts him in rarefied company. Subba vs Riku Shibuya makes a lot of sense, with the winner to take on Geje Eustaqio in a final eliminator for the world title once Adriano Moraes and Kairat Akmetov settle their squabbles.
I was hugely impressed with young Muhammad Aiman in his featherweight win over Hisyam Samsudin. Aiman vs Neurdenieke Bahetihan would be a good match after the Chinese fighter stunned Bruno Pucci.
Finally a rematch between referee Olivier Coste and the ‘Venomoth’ that invaded the cage in KL, only to be convincingly swept aside by the French official, must be made to settle the issue. ‘Venomoth’ made too many appearances in subsequent fights to let Coste come away with the judges’ decision.
These two need to duke it out in a neutral environment, although Coste will clearly need to come down in weight to persuade matchmaker Matt Hume that he can compete on a level playing field.
Steve Dawson is ONE Championship’s lead commentator, a Fox Sports presenter and an author of sporting biographies. He can be found on Twitter & Instagram as @Gulasahi and on Facebook as Steve Dawson.
