It was another eventful night for ONE Championship at the historic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on August 4, as ONE Fight Night 13 took center stage.
There were finishes galore at the blockbuster event, and the stars of the night duly sounded off after their respective fights.
Here are some of the most memorable quotes from the winners.
Oumar Kane
“Reug Reug” Oumar Kane (6-1) overcame the previously undefeated Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida (4-1) via unanimous decision in a pulsating, back-and-forth heavyweight mixed martial arts battle that was awarded “Fight of the Night” honors on Friday night.
The contest was fought at a frenetic pace, and the fatigue was evident from both competitors in the closing stages.
In his post-fight interview, “Reug Reug” referenced his exhaustion and revealed that it arose from an unlikely source.
“What you guys don’t know is that before the fight, I ate a banana, and I got really sick, and I was vomiting before getting in the ring,” he said.
“I trained really hard. I should be able to handle three rounds because I run every day. I sometimes run for hours, and I can handle it. But, really, what you guys don’t know is that I was feeling very sick before getting in the ring because of the banana that I ate.”
John Lineker
Former ONE bantamweight world champion John Lineker (36-10) pulled off a buzzer-beater knockout against South Korean contender Kim Jae Woong (13-8) at ONE Fight Night 13.
“Hands of Stone” appeared to be behind on the scorecards in the closing stages of the fight, but he landed a signature left hook to close the show with four seconds left on the clock.
The Brazilian star noted, after the fight, that the advice of his corner drove him to dig deep and find what he needed to land the killer blow.
“My coach was telling me that I had to keep on going, and I always go for the knockout. I don’t like to leave it in the hands of the judges,” Lineker said.
“No, I didn’t know (that there was four seconds left), but my corner was telling me, ‘Believe, believe, believe,’ and the knockout came.”
As for his future plans, Lineker was clear of his intentions to reignite his rivalry with the current bantamweight king.
“I’m here to become champion. I’m here to retrieve what’s mine against Fabricio Andrade,” he said.
Mikey Musumeci
Mikey Musumeci was dominant again in the latest defense of his ONE flyweight submission grappling world title.
“Darth Rigatoni” slapped a fight-ending triangle armbar on strawweight MMA king Jarred Brooks to finish proceedings at the 7:30 mark of their co-main event bout, and he was characteristically respectful of his fellow American in his post-fight interview.
“I’ve grappled with so many high-level people, and he’s super tough and durable. I was really impressed how he was hand fighting me in close guard,” Musumeci said.
“Props to him. He’s a warrior. He’s a world champion in MMA, and he took a match with me in jiu-jitsu, going out of his comfort zone. So I just have so much respect for him, and he’s such an awesome guy. I’m such a fan of him.”
Chingiz Allazov
ONE featherweight kickboxing world champion Chingiz Allazov continued his reign of dominance and avenged a defeat he suffered against No. 2-ranked athlete Marat Grigorian 10 years ago in Friday’s main event.
The unanimous decision win means that “Chinga” has virtually cleaned out the upper echelon of his division – aside from the inactive Giorgio Petrosyan.
With his status as the best pound-for-pound kickboxer confirmed, the Azerbaijani-Belarusian star shocked the audience when he teased potential retirement after the fight.
“My skill level? You know, the pound-for-pound rankings in my category have four fighters: myself, Superbon, Sitthichai, and Grigorian. I beat all fighters. In my category, I’m one of the best strikers in the world. One of my dream fights would be against Petrosyan. Maybe he’s ready to fight, and, Inshallah, we will do this. Inshallah God will help me win,” Allazov said.
“This is my last fight in my mind. I have respect for Grigorian. I have respect for Superbon. I have respect for Sitthichai. Now, I’m pound-for-pound No. 1 This is my time. I say that maybe today was my last fight, but I don’t know. I’m going home to relax. I’m going to talk with my manager and my father. Maybe they’ll tell me to stop my career.”
