Askren-Santos ends in 'no contest'
MANILA, Philippines -- Filipino-American fighter Mark ''Mugen'' Striegl had an impressive ONE Championship debut by dominating erstwhile unbeaten American Casey Suire on Friday night.
Electrified by the crowd at the MOA Arena, Striegl showed world-class wrestling by taking down Suire early in the first round of Valor of Champions' co-main event.
The Fil-Am eventually secured his opponent's back and from there it was just a matter of time before he was able to sink in a rear naked choke, forcing Suire to submit.
Two other Pinoys won their matches against their respective foes.
Muay Thai expert Eugene Toquero showed he has grappling skills too by dominating Indonesia's Brianata Rosadhi on the ground. When repeated rear naked choke attempts didn't work, he punished his opponents with sharp elbows. Referee Joey Lepiten then stepped in to stop the bout.
Filipino fighter Edward Kelly, for his part, was able to submit fellow Pinoy Jimmy Yabo also in the first round. He started the match with high velocity kicks and later brought the fight to the ground. There, he was able to trap Yabo’s neck, forcing his opponent to tap the mat.
Team Lakay’s Geje Eustaquio was not as lucky against Anatpong Bunrad, who scored an upset victory in a close fight. Eustaquio was dominating Bunrad early in the match, but the latter was able to secure a couple of takedowns. This proved to be the difference as judges awarded Bunrad with a split decision.
In the main event, the ONE welterweight title bout between champion Ben ''Funky'' Askren and challenger Luis Santos ended in a no contest.
Askren accidentally poked Santos in the eye during their exchange just when the action was beginning to heat up.
After a careful review of the exchange verified the eye poke, referee Olivier Coste gave Santos five minutes to recover. However, after five minutes, Santos' vision was still impaired, forcing the conclusion of the fight.
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
