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ONE on Prime Video 3 | 5 takeaways & Full Results

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That’s 3 prime video events in the books now for ONE, the latter of which concluding an incredible day of fights in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. From dramatic wars to explosive finishes, yet again the Asian giants delivered. After soaking in the action, here are my 5 key takeaways from ONE on Prime Video 3.

Zatout exits the sport as one of the best

With that effective blend of technical ability and a heavy handed, hard nosed style, Mehdi Zatout never failed to deliver some striking carnage to our screens. Today he rides off into the sun set after a round 1 finish over a debuting Asa Ten Pow, forcing the American to pull out in his corner after a late vicious flurry from Zatout damaged his eye at rounds end. There’s no doubt about it, the man deserved to go out on a high and after a career spanning almost 120 fights and now at 39 years of age he’s decided its time, despite the fact his ability has never seen any sort of noticeable decline. He only fought the best, he beat the best and of course lost to the best too, but regardless of whether he won or lost, his in circle presence will the certainly be missed. Nevertheless, his position at the Venum training camp still stands and I’m sure his expert influence and guidance over a number of other ONE athletes will see him realise that gold strap in a coaching capacity.

Jeremy Miado can’t be overlooked at flyweight

Although he may not be among the big names at flyweight, you can always count on Jeremy Miado to sling heavy and often in the circle to look for that finish. Now however, divisional success is looking like a real possibility, as the Phillipino finds himself on a 4 fight win streak with all 4 being finishes. Miado, to many peoples surprise, managed to stop Danial Williams in the 3rd round during their contest today. With Williams having lethal striking and a wealth of kickboxing experience, not to mention a track record of nasty finishes and a wicked chin, prevailing in a striking battle seemed like a tall order for Miado. The power of the Phillipino was the deciding factor, throwing those hands with bad intentions, not necessarily with emphasis on technique, more so the idea of clattering Williams as hard as he could with every shot. Needless to say it worked, with Williams appearing a bloody mess as the pair reached round 3, with Herb Dean calling it a day after knockdown number 2 by way of a vicious right hand down the barrel. Miado finds himself in a position to start climbing into the rankings now and regardless of his success, a stand up battle with this man involved is guaranteed fireworks.

Gasanov is an immediate threat at featherweight

Making his ONE debut on a card like this, against an opponent ranked at number 2 in the division, Shamil Gasanov was presented with a career altering opportunity and wow did he pounce on it. The undefeated Russian moved to 13-0 after a shut out win over top featherweight contender Jae Woong Kim, taking just over 2 minutes to dispatch of his South Korean opponent with vice like rear naked choke. The Russian’s grappling was on full display, ragdolling Kim with relative ease to secure the finish. Making this sort of statement in a division that’s lacking a clear title contender may work wonders for Gasanov, with 4 of the top 5 either coming off a loss or already losing to the newly crowned champ Tang Kai. With Gasanov and fellow countryman Ilya Freymanov now being the two front runners for a crack at gold after blistering debut performances, one would only assume a title eliminator at the least is next for this undefeated phenom.

Kade Ruotolo is having a year for the history books

Just when he rounds out his gold medal winning ADCC run with 4 submission victories over 4 days against the best BJJ competitors in the world at his weight, you thought it couldn’t get any better right? Wrong. Kade Ruotolo continues to out do himself, securing the ONE lightweight submission grappling world title after a heel hook victory over Sambo ace Uali Kurzhev. All these accolades are super impressive, even for a seasoned Pro, but this man is only 19 years old and he’s already looking unstoppable at the highest level. The creativity he displays throughout his matches with such a high success rate is mesmerising while the speed and efficiency of his transitions almost don’t look real. This is a real BJJ talent and who knows, he may even take his tools to the cage in the future to try and conquer another sport and honestly I wouldn’t be surprised as he radiates greatness. From his win over MMA grappling pioneer Shinya Aoki through his ADDC gold and now a ONE world title, he surely has to be up there in having one of the best years through the world of combat sports in 2022.

Fabricio Andrade gave an excellent account of himself against the champ

Yes the fight may not have ended how we all wanted it to and the division may be left with no champion, but there’s no denying that up until the low blow that sparked the no contest in the 3rd, Andrade was looking excellent. That’s not to say he was dominating because he did face some adversity from the compact power striking on the inside from Lineker but it was few and far between, the composed nature of Andrade saw him utilise multiple key tools to pick Lineker apart. The jab was landing at will, slowly chipping away at Lineker and wearing him down, utilised as a setup for the rapid right hand and as a deterrent for the imminent assault from “Hands of Stone”. His patience and speed allowed him to pick away at Lineker and hurt him a couple of times, the boxing was one side but the intercepting knees to counter Linekers pressure were the real damage dealers, hurting Lineker a couple of times throughout the fight, one of which looked like it may lead to a finish before the following low blow put an end to proceedings. A rematch is definitely on the books as the division needs a champion, both men had their moments but Andrade particularly impressed me. Although the results was frustrating, we get to see these two tear it up again which is something I’m always down for. A disappointing end to the night, but one I’m sure will set up an even better rematch.

Full Results

John Lineker (35-9) vs Fabricio Andrade (8-2) – No Contest due to accidental groin strike

Regian Eersel def Sinsamut Klinmee via split decision

Kade Ruotolo def Uali Kurzhev via heel hook

Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong def Mohammed Boutasaa via unanimous decision

Shamil Gasanov (13-0) def Jae Woong Kim (12-6) via round 1 rear naked choke

Jeremy Miado (12-4) def Danial Williams (6-2) via round 3 TKO

Taiki Naito def Amir Naseri via unanimous decision

Mehdi Zatout def Asa Ten Pow via round 1 retirement

Noelle Grandjean (4-0) def Lea Bivins (0-1) via round 1 TKO