The Myanmar Featherweight Tournament was designed to unearth a mixed martial arts star in Myanmar. 

Phoe Thaw and Saw Yan Paing worked their way to the finals and fought for that distinction at ONE: STATE OF WARRIORS at the Thuwunna Indoor Stadium in Yangon, Myanmar. 

In the end, Phoe Thaw needed less than five total minutes to become The Myanmar Featherweight Tournament Champion thanks to mounted strikes.

In the semi-finals, Phoe Thaw improved his record to a perfect 3-0, winning via ground and pound in just 22 seconds. It took longer in the finals, but the result was the same as he secured victory again with mounted strikes. 

Saw Yan Paing successfully debuted in mixed martial arts in the tournament semi-finals going bell-to-bell, but after brief resistance reversing Phoe Thaw’s dominant positions — even securing his own takedown — he succumbed to Phoe Thaw at 3:23 of round one. 

The 31-year-old Phoe Thaw moved his professional fight record to 4-0, victorious twice in one night at ONE: STATE OF WARRIORS to become the Myanmar Featherweight Tournament Champion. 

The 28-year-old Saw yan Paing will now aim to rebound from mixed results in his first event fighting in MMA. 

Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon (14-5) of Baguio City, Philippines, ended a two-year skid by defeating top Tajikistan mixed martial arts prospect Muin Gafurov (10-2) over three intense rounds.

The pair did battle in a bantamweight contest at ONE: STATE OF WARRIORS, which took place 7 October at the Thuwunna Indoor Stadium in Yangon, Myanmar.

The 28-year-old Belingon employed a highly-methodical game plan, utilizing his trademark power and incredible speed to stifle combat sambo world champion Gafurov.

Throughout the bout, Belingon landed a series of inside and outside leg kicks, slowing down the younger Gafurov as the bout wore on. Gafurov’s combat sambo, which includes elements of grappling, was ineffective in this instance against Belingon’s world-class wushu sanshou base.

Every time Gafurov moved in to try and close the gap, setting up takedowns with his striking, Belingon would lay back and counter with great accuracy. The Filipino’s lightning quick strikes were on full display, as Belingon proved to be the busier, stronger fighter throughout the bout.

Gafurov, for all his talent, seemed to be lulled into a trance by Belingon’s intelligent use of the cage. The Tajikistan fighter uncannily fought most of the bout at the Filipino’s pace, which proved to be his undoing.

In the end, all three judges scored in favor of Belingon, who was happy to take a victory home over a highly-regarded opponent. As a result, Belingon clinches his first victory in nearly two-years since his scintillating performance against Koetsu Okazaki in 2014.

Earlier this year, Belingon challenged ONE Bantamweight World Champion Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes in Changsha, China, but fell short of victory in a quick affair.

With the victory over Gafurov, Belingon puts himself right back in the mix at the top of ONE Championship’s bantamweight division.

Yusup “Maestro” Saadulaev displayed methodical striking and masterful technique to keep his victorious momentum rolling.

The Russian bantamweight submitted Australia’s Jordan “Showtime” Lucas with a modified rear-naked choke at the 4:27 mark of the first round at ONE: STATE OF WARRIORS at Yangon, Myanmar’s packed Thuwunna Indoor Stadium.

What started off as a careful feeling-out stage turned into an absolute clinic.

Both fighters opened the stanza with some brief striking, and the Dagestan, Russia, native landed a few stiff kicks to Lucas’ left leg. The Aussie stuffed two of Saadaluev’s takedown attempts, but at the two and a half minute mark, Saadulaev dropped “Showtime” with a gorgeous jab and right cross.

“Maestro” immediately swarmed Lucas and put his BJJ black belt skills to work, jockeying for dominant position and nearly sinking in an arm triangle choke. But finally, he flipped over his opponent and executed a daring modified rear-naked choke to get the tap.

Saadulaev improves his record to 15-4-1, and is on a four-fight win streak. Lucas falls to 8-2, losing back-to-back matches in ONE Championship.

In featherweight action, Bashir Ahmad made quick work of Mahmoud Mohamed at ONE: STATE OF WARRIORS at a sold-out Thuwunna Indoor Stadium in Yangon, Myanmar.

The 33-year-old Ahmad (4-3) needed only 83 seconds to secure the fight-ending heel hook. It was his second submission victory in ONE Championship, bringing his record in the promotion to an even 3-3. “Somchai” got back on the winning track after dropping back-to-back fights.

Meanwhile, Mahmoud (3-4-1) was submitted for the second time in 2016. Both losses for the Egyptian Top Team representative came in round one.

Bashir, known as The Godfather of Pakistan MMA, returns home with a ONE Championship victory for the first time since in nearly two years.

For the final fight of the ONE: STATE OF WARRIORS preliminary bouts, Saw Ba Oo and Kyal Sin Phyo slugged it out for two whole rounds, much to the delight of a packed Yangon crowd in Myanmar’s Thuwunna Indoor Stadium.

It was no surprise, as both athletes were well-versed in Myanmar lethwei, an elite kickboxing skill native to the country. Kyal Sin Phyo would show his opponent just why he was a national champion in the sport, repeatedly scoring in the standup.

Conversely, Saw Ba Oo decidedly had the upper hand once the action hit the canvas, landing several hard blows on the ground that could easily have prompted the referee to wave off the bout. Ironically, it was Kyal Sin Phyo who had initiated the groundfighting with a takedown.

Kyal Sin Phyo proved a tough nut to crack, however, toughing it out until the bell to see the second round. It would prove to be in vain.

Despite gaining the upper hand in the striking department once again, Kyal Sin Phyo fell victim to a stunning combination from Saw Ba Oo, which caused significant damage above Kyal Sin Phyo’s left eye.

This prompted a pause in the action for the cageside doctor to inspect the wound, which was deemed too serious to allow Kyal Sin Phyo to continue, awarding Saw Ba Oo the doctor’s stoppage victory.

Saw Ba Oo improved his MMA record to 2-1, leaving Kyal Sin Phyo still in search for his first ONE Championship win after two bouts.