ONE bantamweight world champion Bibiano ‘The Flash’ Fernandes made short work of challenger Andrew Leone on Saturday (August 5) at ONE: Kings & Conquerors, submitting the American with a rear-naked choke at 1:47 of the very first round.
The headline fight, which took place at The Cotai Arena in Macao, marked Fernandes’ seventh straight successful defence of his bantamweight crown and was also his shortest to date. He gained the upper hand from the get-go, lighting Leone up with a number of strikes and then dumping him to the canvas with a knee to his midsection. From there, the writing was on the wall. Fernandes, 37, worked his position, took Leone’s back and then locked in the rear-naked choke until Leone was left with no choice but to tap.
“I feel great,” said Fernandes, 21-3, who holds the record for most successful title defences in ONE Championship history. “Thank you Macao for having me. Thank you for my family in Canada and my family in Brazil who are watching me right now. I am here to stay. I welcome all challenges. I want to say thank you to Chatri (Sityodtong) and Matt Hume. I’m happy with ONE Championship. I want to continue fighting. Whoever I have to fight, I will accept. I am always ready.”
In the co-main event, Brazilian Adriano ‘Mikinho’ Moraes defeated Kairat Akhmetov of Kazakhstan via five-round unanimous decision to become the sole owner of the ONE flyweight world championship. Moraes, who previously held the interim title, controlled the majority of the action with his grappling and then landed the harder blows whenever the pair took to striking on their feet. It was enough to deliver him a unanimous decision victory at the bout’s conclusion.
“I’m not surprised (with the victory),” said Moraes, the new undisputed flyweight champion. “Thank you very much, one more time, for the opportunity, ONE Championship. I want to thank my coach, my family and my friends. I’m very grateful.”
Official results for ONE: Kings & Conquerors
ONE Bantamweight World Championship bout: Bibiano Fernandes defeats Andrew Leone by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 1:47 minutes of round 1
ONE Flyweight World Championship bout: Adriano Moraes defeats Kairat Akhmetov by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 5 rounds
Lightweight bout: Timofey Nastyukhin defeats Koji Ando by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 3 rounds
Catchweight bout: Shannon Wiratchai defeats Rajinder Singh Meena by Knockout at 0:29 minutes of round 1
Strawweight bout: Hayato Suzuki defeats Joshua Pacio by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 3:17 minutes of round 1
Featherweight bout: Kotetsu Boku defeats Eric Kelly by TKO (Strikes) at 3:27 minutes of round 3
Bantamweight bout: Chen Lei defeats Saiful Merican by Submission (Armbar) at 3:58 minutes of round 3
Atomweight bout: Jomary Torres defeats Rika Ishige by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) at 1:58 minutes of round 2
Bantamweight bout: Leandro Issa defeats Toni Tauru by TKO (Strikes) at 1:36 minutes of round 2
Featherweight bout: Magomed Idrisov defeats Herbert Burns by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 3 rounds
Middleweight bout: Marcin Prachnio defeats Gilberto Galvao by Knockout at 1:23 minutes of round 1
Middleweight bout: Leandro Ataides defeats Michal Pasternak by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 3 rounds
