5 Biggest Takeaways From ONE Fight Night 35: Buntan Vs. Hemetsberger
From epic finishes to a thrilling five-round scrap, here is what we learned last Friday in U.S. primetime.
By Chris Mohan
Sep 9, 2025, 21:18 UTC
ONE Fight Night 35: Buntan vs. Hemetsberger on Prime Video lit up Bangkok’s Lumpinee Stadium with a heart-racing martial arts showcase in U.S. primetime last Friday, September 5.
Every MMA, Muay Thai, and kickboxing match leading up to the fiercely contested headliner between Stella Hemetsberger and Jackie Buntan delivered a highlight-reel finish from almost every imaginable scenario.
History was made, heroes continued to rise, and the global fan base was left in awe.
Following a blockbuster event at one of the combat sports world’s most iconic venues, here are the five biggest takeaways from ONE Fight Night 35.
#1 Hemetsberger’s Spectacular Gold-Clinching Performance
Austrian slugger Stella Hemetsberger arrived inside the Mecca of Muay Thai with her moniker “Always Hungry” printed on her fight shorts.
From the opening bell of her ONE Women’s Strawweight Muay Thai World Title showdown with Jackie Buntan, that appetite to attain the biggest victory of her career and create history was apparent.
Hemetsberger dropped the reigning ONE Women’s Strawweight Kickboxing World Champion twice in the opening frame. While Buntan had her moments in the periods that followed, the Salzburg native matched her foe’s energy and output in the championship rounds en route to a well-earned unanimous decision.
With the win, the 26-year-old moved her record to 9-1, remained unbeaten in ONE, and proved she has the chops needed to hang with the most elite strikers on the global roster.
But Hemetsberger doesn’t plan on stopping at one belt. Austria’s first ONE World Champion has her eyes locked on claiming Buntan’s kickboxing gold next, and if she can remain always hungry, two-sport glory could be well within her reach.
#2 Shadow Could Challenge For Tawanchai’s Belt Next
ONE Fight Night 35 was loaded with one highlight-reel moment after another. But few could match the wow factor of Shadow Singha Mawynn‘s crushing spinning backfist, which crumbled #2-ranked featherweight Muay Thai contender Bampara Kouyate.
Shadow, who currently holds the #3 spot in the divisional rankings, caught the Malian-Frenchman on the temple with the backfist nearly a minute into the second frame. Kouyate answered the eight-count, but after stumbling sideways, referee Olivier Coste waved off the action at the 1:20 mark.
The Thai’s knockout victory earned him a US$50,000 performance bonus, and it may have just placed him as a frontrunner to challenge ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Champion Tawanchai PK Saenchai for the gold.
However, any immediate talk of a World Title fight will be put on hold for now. With Tawanchai injured, he was forced to withdraw from his upcoming kickboxing battle against Liu Mengyang at ONE Friday Fights 126 on September 26. Shadow, however, has agreed to replace him.
#3 Tye Ruotolo Could Become An MMA Superstar
ONE Welterweight Submission Grappling World Champion Tye Ruotolo finally made the transition to MMA at ONE Fight Night 35, and it couldn’t have gone any better for him.
The BJJ prodigy enjoyed a brilliant MMA debut, finishing previously undefeated Adrian “The Phenom” Lee in their lightweight clash to give him the perfect start to life in the all-encompassing sport.
The finish may have been something typical from his grappling textbook, but the lead-up to his rear-naked choke victory at 4:14 of the second round showcased a fighter who didn’t look entirely new to MMA. Ruotolo displayed his ability to blend his never-before-seen striking repertoire with his world-class BJJ, and he fearlessly traded blows with the 19-year-old star.
It’s hard to imagine how much further his MMA game could develop, considering he was able to overcome someone of Lee’s caliber with just one training camp. For now, the signs are looking very bright for him to excel in another discipline in the world’s largest martial arts organization.
#4 Rambolek Plotting His Path To World Title Dream
Fourth-ranked bantamweight Muay Thai contender Rambolek Chor Ajalaboon enjoyed another quick day at the office this year with a show-stopping performance against Russian dynamo Dmitrii “The Silent Assassin” Kovtun.
After an evenly contested opening stanza, the Thai striker drew his foe into a firefight during the second frame. Kovtun bit the bait, and Rambolek unleashed his signature left hook to send his rival crashing to the canvas. The Russian found his feet, but he was clearly unable to continue, forcing the referee to end the proceedings at the 2:01 mark of the round.
With his 66th career win in the bag, and his sixth triumph in ONE, Rambolek is quickly scaling up the loaded weight bracket.
If he continues to put on more displays like he did last week, it won’t be too long before he finds himself within touching distance of ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Champion Nabil Anane‘s belt.
#5 Young Stars Continue To Deliver Big Time
Like 22-year-old warriors Ruotolo and Rambolek, a couple more of the organization’s young stars left their mark inside the iconic Lumpinee Stadium.
Johan “Jojo” Ghazali, still only 18, returned to the winner’s column after a two-bout skid with a first-round TKO of Moroccan slugger Zakaria El Jamari in their flyweight Muay Thai tilt.
Ghazali backed his foe, who is almost twice his age, to the corner with a flurry of combinations, and a final right elbow earned him the spectacular knockout victory.
Meanwhile, 22-year-old Hyu Iwata kept his pristine slate in flyweight kickboxing action, as he handed Jordan Estupinan his first career loss.
The opening two rounds were all Estupinan, though. The Colombian’s tricky spinning and flying attacks kept the Japanese striker at bay. That, however, changed in the third canto.
Hyu earned two successive knockdowns. The first via a cracking overhand left and a second with a flying knee to the chin, a cheeky reminder that he had just as much flair as his dance partner.
A final barrage of one-twos that went unreplied was all the referee needed to hop in and award the Japanese martial artist the TKO at 1:45 of the third frame. Hyu improved to 12-0 and went back home with a US$50,000 performance bonus.
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