ONE Championship 100, Part 2 results: Aung La N Sang retains in thriller

Brandon Vera’s career-long dream of being a two-division world champion have been put on hold once again.

ONE Championship light heavyweight titleholder Aung La N Sang (26-10) defended his belt in scintillating fashion, banging it out with Vera (16-8) in the main event of “ONE Championship 100: Century – Part 2,” which took place Sunday at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, wrapping up a massive, dual-event day for the promotion in Japan.

N Sang looked to chop the legs early, while Vera seemed content to take a few of the blows in order to offer up counter punches in return. That approach allowed N Sang to be the aggressor, sticking and moving and attacking at angles, and he really seemed to show no real fear at the blows the reigning heavyweight champion would offer in reply. Instead, N Sang simply walked forward and fired big lead lefts, slipping in the occasional right behind it, as well.

Vera started to open up a bit in the second, ripping off punches and unleashing knees in the Thai clinch, but N Sang seemed unfazed by the attacks and simply walked through them in order to deliver his power punches. Toe-to-toe, the two men exchanged shot after shot on the feet, including a few spinning elbows, before Vera finally could stand no more.

As Vera slowly crashed to the canvas, covering up in a kneeling position, N Sang followed with a barrage of punches to seal the deal at the 3:23 mark of the second round, allowing him to retain his light heavyweight title. N Sang still carries the middleweight belt, as well.

In the night’s penultimate contest, Japanese grappling legend Shinya Aoki (44-9) needed less than a minute to tap out an outmatched Honorio Banario (14-10).

Making no secret of his intentions, Aoki wasted little time moving forward to the clinch and then tripping the action to the canvas. Working from a kneeling position as Banario tried to escape, Aoki effortlessly slipped in a choke, then rolled his opponent over to increase the torque, earning the submission win at the 54-second mark of the first round.

In one of the night’s MMA co-main events, Bibiano Fernandes (24-4) avoided any controversy in his fourth meeting with Kevin Belingon (20-7), submitting his recent rival to retain his bantamweight title.

After a brief feeling-out process top open the fight, Fernandes was able to drive forward with a well-timed takedown and drive the action to the canvas, setting up immediately in his opponent’s half-guard. Working from his back, Belingon elected to simply hold tight for the most part, though he did escape back to his feet in the final seconds of the frame, though it was too late to answer with any offense of his own.

Belingon looked to strike in the second, but Fernandes caught a kick and pushed the action to the fence, where he was able to secure another takedown, this time moving to side control. When Belingon looked to escape, Fernandes slipped easily to the back and looked for the rear-naked choke. Belingon tried to resist, but with his hooks in place and his squeeze secure, Fernandes was able to earn the tap at the 2:16 mark of the second, presumably bringing an end to the rivalry that produced a disqualification and a split decision in the past two editions.

In the night’s main-card opener, four-time UFC veteran Arjan Bhullar (10-1) picked up a hard-fought decision win over former Cafe Warriors heavyweight champion Mauro Cerilli (13-4).

The two heavyweights went toe-to-toe for 15 minutes, but it was Bhullar’s crisp jab and well-placed uppercuts that did the most damage, visibly busting up his opponent’s face. Cerilli did his best to answer back with powerful punches, but he couldn’t find the mark frequently enough, and Bhullar walked away with the unanimous call.

MAIN CARD

• Champ Aung La N Sang def. Brandon Vera via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 3:23 – to defend light heavyweight title
• Shinya Aoki def. Honorio Banario via submission (D’Arce choke) – Round 1, 0:54
• Champ Bibiano Fernandes def. Kevin Belingon via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:16 – to defend bantamweight title
• Arjan Bhullar def. Mauro Cerilli via unanimous decision

PRELIMINARY CARD

• Mei Yamaguchi def. Jenny Huang via unanimous decision
• Yosuke Saruta def. Daichi Kitakata via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 0:59
• Shoko Sato def. Rafael Silva via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:30
• Hiroyuki Tetsuka def. Hernani Perpetuo via unanimous decision
• Takasuke Kume def. Koshi Matsumoto via unanimous decision