It was not the result she wanted but Jihin ‘Shadowcat’ Radzuan is confident of bouncing back next year.
The mixed martial artist from Johor Baru suffered her first defeat on home soil last Friday when Denice ‘The Menace Fairtex’ Zamboanga won by unanimous decision at ONE: Mark of Greatness at Axiata Arena.
Jihin dropped to 5-2 in her career, while Zamboanga is now 1-0.
“It was a disappointing result but I will bounce back next year,” said Jihin, who has been touted as a future Atomweight world champion, but conceded the defeat means she has a longer route to the crown.
“I’m not feeling too good now but am not too bad either. It was not a great event for me but there is always next year (to start her journey towards the title).”
Zamboanga was relentless in her takedown attempts as she was able to bring Jihin down at will and control her on the ground in the first two rounds.
Jihin tried to bounce back in the final round, throwing up submission attempt after submission attempt, but it wasn’t enough to sway the judges, as Zamboanga came away victorious.
Another Malaysian, Muhammad ‘Jungle Cat’ Aiman also suffered a defeat, losing on a unanimous decision to China’s ‘The Ghost’ Chen Rui, who was too aggressive for the local lad.
But it was not all bad news for the crowd as Agilan ‘Alligator’ Thani’ scored an exciting split decision win over American newcomer Dante Schiro.
Agilan was able to control Schiro on the ground in the opening round, but the American rallied in the second and nearly finished the bout with a deep rear-naked choke.
After three rounds of action, Agilan walked away with a razor-thin decision win.
In the main event, Muay Thai legend Sam-A Gaiyanghadao made history by becoming a two-sport and two-division World Champion by defeating China’s ‘Golden Boy’ Wang Junguang by unanimous decision to become the ONE Strawweight Kickboxing World Champion.
In a five-round back-and-forth bout, Sam-A’s speed and experience shone through as he outstruck and outmanoeuvred Wang for the majority of the contest.
In the end, it was Sam-A who prevailed, capturing his second World Championship in ONE.
In the co-main event, Alaverdi ‘Babyface Killer’ Ramazanov of Russia survived China’s ‘Muay Thai Boy’ Zhang Chenglong to become the ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing World Champion.
Ramazanov started strong, using his reach to connect on Zhang, leading to a knockdown in the third round.
Zhang came to life in the later rounds, looking to swing the momentum in his favour.
After five rounds of striking action, it was Ramazanov who earned the decision and finally realised his dream of becoming a ONE World Champion.
