Jarred Brooks delivered a big statement on his ONE Championship debut as he served notice to the rest of the strawweight division, including the reigning champion, Joshua Pacio.
Brooks defeated Pacio’s Team Lakay stablemate Lito Adiwang in clinical fashion via second-round arm-triangle choke to make a winning start to life in ONE Championship, and immediately staked his claim for a shot at the strawweight title.
Brooks dominated the opening round as he used Adiwang’s early aggression against him to score an early takedown, before proceeding to dominate the Filipino on the mat for the remainder of the frame.
He then pushed the pace on Adiwang in Round 2 and, after a brief pause to recover from an accidental Adiwang knee to the groin, “The Monkey God” took Adiwang to the mat again and swiftly transitioned to an arm-triangle choke to secure the submission finish.
Huge performance by @The_monkeygod on his @ONEChampionship debut as he submits Lito Adiwang in Round 2 at #ONENextGen3 pic.twitter.com/373g8EUmBq
— Simon Head (@simonhead) November 26, 2021
After his victory, an emotional Brooks told ONE commentator Mitch Chilson that he had battled jetlag ahead of fight night, but was over the moon to have picked up such an impressive win on his ONE Championship debut.
“I think that Joshua Pacio needs to be put on notice, the whole strawweight division is put on notice at this point,” he said.
“I don’t want to seem too cocky, but I do think I’m the best in the world and that’s why I beat Lito Adiwang tonight.
“I got here two days ago, man! I’m dizzy. I’m not my best fighting self right now. I was talking to God. I was talking to myself in my sleep last night, just trying to put myself in a positive mood. I don’t know what it’s like for other fighters when they have jetlag, but coming to the East, it’s the beast, man.
“I’ve been through a lot on these past few days just trying to get here. So it means a lot for me to come here and fight for the biggest organisation in the world.
“It’s huge, and it’s huge for me to be a part of it. And to get a finish like this, it’s a dream come true. Pinch me, man!”
‘The Babyface Killer’ strikes again
In the night’s co-main event bout, former ONE bantamweight kickboxing world champion Alaverdi Ramazanov scored a superb first-round knockout of Thai contender Pongsiri PK Saenchai in their Muay Thai bout.
Ramazanov peppered Pongsiri with straight shots from distance throughout the opening portion of the first round, leaving the Thai unable to lay a glove on the Russian star.
Then, when Pongsiri finally managed to step into the pocket, he was punished in devastating fashion as Ramazanov unleashed a multi-punch combination, finishing with a clean uppercut that sent his man to the canvas.
Pongsiri attempted to return to his feet during the count, but his legs immediately gave way as he crashed to the mat once again to confirm a highlight-reel finish for “The Babyface Killer.”
Beautiful combination from Alaverdi Ramazanov finishes Pongsiri in the first at #ONENextGen3 pic.twitter.com/ZT0szvur9t
— Simon Head (@simonhead) November 26, 2021
‘Little Rock’ showcases submission threat
Former ONE strawweight world champion Alex “Little Rock” Silva moved one step closer to a shot at the belt he formerly held as he defeated Filipino veteran Rene Catalan via first-round submission.
The pair were facing off for the second time, eight years after their first meeting, and Silva repeated the feat from the first fight as he scored his second first-round submission of “D’Challenger” with a slick armbar off his back to return to form after a tricky start to the year.
Silva had lost a split decision to champion Joshua Pacio in January 2020, then returned to action against Hiroba Minowa in March this year only to fall to another split-decision loss.
Silva rebounded with a unanimous decision over Miao Li Tao in August, and his first-round finish of Catalan means the Brazilian is very much back on track as he looks to surge back into title contention in 2022.
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Earlier on the fight card, there were kickboxing victories for Panpayak Jitmuangnon and Felipe Lobo, who earned decision wins over Daniel Puertas and Rodlek Jaotalaytong, respectively.
And there was also a notable victory for Kyrgyzstan’s Ruslan Emilbek, who got the judges’ nod over Dutch contender Pieter Buist in their lightweight matchup.
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ONE: NextGen III – Official Results
- Jarred Brooks def. Lito Adiwang via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 2, 3:07
- Alaverdi Ramazanov def. Pongsiri PK Saenchai via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 2:39 – Muay Thai bout
- Alex Silva def. Rene Catalan via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 3:35
- Panpayak Jitmuangnon def. Daniel Puertas via unanimous decision – Kickboxing bout
- Ruslan Emilbek def. Pieter Buist via unanimous decision
- Felipe Lobo def. Rodlek Jaotalaytong via unanimous decision – Kickboxing bout