Askren keeps ONE welterweight belt after Russian challenger failed to pass the weigh in process prior to the title match.
By Diego de la Paz
MANILA, PHILIPPINES (Eagle News) – Ben “Funky” Askren has yet to find his match, as he disposed of Nikolay Aleksakhin via unanimous decision in the main event of ONE Championship: Global Rivals at the Mall of Asia Arena on Friday night.
Askren, who improved his mark to 15-0 (won-lost) with one no-contest, went the whole five rounds with the Russian contender, who lost his title shot after failing to comply with ONE’s new stringent weigh-in policy.
The loss pulled down Aleksakhin’s record to 17-4 (won-lost).
On the other hand, Geje “Gravity” Eustaquio also picked up the nods of the judges after a fierce contest against Malaysian contender Gianni Subba, highlighting Team Lakay’s five-fight sweep of the competition during the night.
Eustaquio was joined by former featherweight champion Honorio Banario, Joshua Pacio, April Osenio, and Danny Kingad as members of the famed Benguet Province stable to have picked up victories.
Banario ended his five-fight losing skid, beating fellow countryman Vaughn Donayre via unanimous decision. Pacio and Kingad, making their respective ONE debuts, picked up stoppage wins each. Osenio, meanwhile, made Natalie Gonzales Hills tap out via armbar with 3:23 in the first round.
In other bouts, American lightweight Lowen Tynanes picked up a decision win over Japanese veteran Koji Ando, while Reece McLaren took Muin Gafurov to the hilt before taking home the win back to Australia.
Complete results:
Catchweight Super Fight (85.3kg): Ben Askren defeats Nikolay Aleksakhin by Unanimous Decision
Bantamweight bout: Geje Eustaquio defeats Gianni Subba by Unanimous Decision
Lightweight bout: Lowen Tynanes defeats Koji Ando by Unanimous Decision
Bantamweight bout: Reece McLaren defeats Muin Gafurov by Unanimous Decision
Lightweight bout: Honorio Banario defeats Vaughn Donayre by Unanimous Decision
Featherweight bout: Martin Nguyen defeats Li Kai Wen by TKO (Strikes) at 4:44 minutes of round 1
Catchweight bout (57.4kg): Joshua Pacio defeats Rabin Catalan by TKO (Strikes) at 3:19 minutes of round 2
Women’s Atomweight bout bout: April Osenio defeats Natalie Gonzales Hills by Submission (Armbar) at 3:23 minutes of round 1
Catchweight bout (67.3kg): Sunoto defeats Burn Soriano by TKO (Strikes) at 3:50 minutes of round 1
Flyweight bout: Danny Kingad defeats Muhamad Haidar by TKO (Strikes) at 2:20 minutes of round 1
Photo credit: Peter Baltazar / Sports On Air
