Jae Woong Kim bounced back from the first defeat of his ONE Championship career in style. The Korean stopped seasoned veteran Tetsuya Yamada in the second round at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
There were three MMA fights on the card at ONE: Big Bang II, which was broadcast on Friday. Featherweights Yamada and Kim were both looking to bounce back from defeats, but it was the Korean who seized the initiative.
He came out looking to land the right hand as Yamada tried to circle out and score with low kicks. The Japanese southpaw tried to secure a body lock as Kim narrowly missed with a spinning back fist on the break.
Yamada wanted to get the fight down, but it was Kim who ended up in top position. He postured up and threw down punches and hammer fists, opening a cut above the Japanese fighter’s right eye.
The Tiger Muay Thai representative eventually escaped and got back to his feet only to try and lock in a standing guillotine. Yamada got the fight to the floor and tried to transition to an armbar, but Kim escaped and the referee paused the action to allow the doctor to inspect the cut.
Yamada jumped guard at the start of the second and ended up on his back with Kim kicking his legs. The referee allowed him to get back up, but the Korean executed a trip and landed in top position where he threw down punches from inside his opponent’s guard.
Kim got back to his feet and the referee allowed Yamada to return to a standing position, briefly pausing the action to allow him to adjust his cup. The Korean immediately produced a text book trip and unleashed a barrage of ground and pound to finish the fight.
The end came at the 4:39 mark and the Korean was immediately overcome with emotion. He improves to 11-4, while Yamada drops to 26-8-2.
Earlier in the night, Tyler McGuire (12-2) comprehensively outwrestled Agilan Thani (10-5) to earn a unanimous decision win in a battle between former welterweight contenders. Meanwhile, Chen Rui (9-1) needed just 1:56 to knock out Ali Motamed (7-5) in their bantamweight battle.
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ONE: Big Bang II results
- Muay Thai: Jonathan Haggerty def. Taiki Naito via Decision (Unanimous)
- Kickboxing: Nieky Holzken def. Elliot Compton via KO (Liver Shot) at 1:36 of R1
- Kim Jae Woong def. Tetsuya Yamada via TKO (Punches) at 4:39 of R2
- Kickboxing: Rade Opacic def. Errol Zimmerman via TKO (Spinning Heel Kick) at 1:35 of R2
- Tyler McGuire def. Agilan Thani via Decision (Unanimous)
- Chen Rui def. Ali Motamed via TKO (Punches) at 1:56 of R1
Jae Woong Kim stops Tetsuya Yamada at ONE: Big Bang II