Ilias “Tweety” Ennahachi survived a tough stand from “The Kicking Machine” Superlek Kiatmoo and walked out of the Singapore Indoor Stadium with the ONE Flyweight Kickboxing World Championship still around his waist.
Ennahachi had to pull out all stops in the hotly contested main event of ONE: FISTS OF FURY on Friday, 26 February, where he beat Superlek via unanimous decision to retain his World Title and remain unbeaten in ONE Super Series.
The Dutch-Moroccan kickboxer did just enough to survive the Thai’s aggression, which picked up from the second round onwards.
After a slow start, Superlek turned up the heat by pushing forward and taking the fight to Ennahachi, and for a moment it looked like the Kiatmoo9 representative might turn the tide of the match.
But Ennahachi stayed composed and countered each time he got the opportunity, enough to sway all three judges after five grueling rounds.
His win set up a possible clash with ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Champion Rodtang "The Iron Man" Jitmuangnon, who made a successful ONE Super Series kickboxing debut earlier in the night when he scored a split-decision win over "Samingpri" Tagir Khalilov.
“It wasn’t my best fight. He kicks a lot, but I move out from every kick [and counter] with beautiful combinations,” Ennahachi told Mitch Chilson after the bout.
As for a potential showdown with Rodtang, Ennahachi accepted the challenge.
“Of course, why not? I’m the champion, he’s the champion, it’s gonna be champion versus champion,” he said.
In the co-main event, Giorgio “The Doctor” Petrosyan put on another clinical performance as he dominated Davit Kiria in a rematch nine years in the making.
Petrosyan proved why he’s the greatest kickboxer of all time, making Kiria miss most of his shots while landing his own with pinpoint accuracy.
In the lone mixed martial arts match of the evening, 16-year-old Victoria “The Prodigy” Lee lived up to the hype as she scored a second-round rear-naked choke win over Sunisa “Thunderstorm” Srisen.
Lee, the younger sibling of World Champions “Unstoppable” Angela Lee and Christian “The Warrior” Lee, looked good on the feet while also showcasing her top-notch grappling as she dominated the match from the get go.
Full Results
Flyweight Kickboxing World Championship
Ilias Ennahachi def. Superlek “The Kicking Machine” Kiatmoo9 via unanimous decision
Featherweight Kickboxing
Giorgio “The Doctor” Petrosyan def. Davit Kiria via unanimous decision
Flyweight Kickboxing
Rodtang “The Iron Man” Jitmuangnon def. Tagir Khalilov via split decision
Bantamweight Kickboxing
Hiroki Akimoto def. “Muay Thai Boy” Zhang Chenglong via unanimous decision
Strawweight Muay Thai
Jackie Buntan def. Wondergirl Fairtex via unanimous decision
Atomweight Mixed Martial Arts.
Victoria Lee def. Sunisa “Thunderstorm” Srisen via submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:03 of round two