ONE Fight Night 45 Muay Thai Results: Suablack, Kovtun, And Black Panther Claim Massive Wins

The Muay Thai action was electric at ONE Fight Night 45: Lessei vs. Rabah in U.S. primetime this past Friday, July 17.

A Thai flyweight survived an early knockdown to stop a Scottish knockout artist with a single devastating elbow, a Russian hard-hitter silenced a two-time ONE World Title challenger to inch closer to bantamweight gold, and a Thai veteran turned his matchup into a war to extend his winning streak to six.

These battles ignited the historic Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. Here’s everything that went down before the ONE Fight Night 45 main event.

Suablack Floors Irvine With Devastating Elbow

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Suablack Tor Pran49 survived an early scare to stop Stephen “El Matador” Irvine via KO at the 1:39 mark of the second round. The co-main event performance, which marked the Thai fan favorite’s flyweight Muay Thai debut, also netted him a US$50,000 bonus.

The 30-year-old Thai looked sharp with his punches early, forcing Irvine onto the back foot. The 26-year-old Scot, however, evaded one shot and countered with a right hand that floored his adversary for an eight-count. Suablack answered, but he was visibly shaken.

Irvine went back on the attack in the second frame, sidestepping and targeting the body and head with uppercuts and straight punches. Suablack retaliated with elbows before a right hand dropped “El Matador” for an eight-count of his own.

The Scot rose and both men locked up in the clinch, but Suablack pushed away and fired punches. As Irvine moved to counter, the Thai stepped in with a left elbow that sent him crashing to the canvas. “El Matador” struggled to rise and couldn’t beat the count.

That finish marked a thunderous flyweight Muay Thai debut for Suablack, who improved his record to 63-23. For Irvine, it was a tough result in his first outing since winning the US$100,000 contract last October.

Kovtun Outclasses Lobo To Edge Closer To Bantamweight Elite

Dmitrii “The Silent Assassin” Kovtun produced a composed and clinical performance, outworking two-time ONE World Title challenger Felipe “Demolition Man” Lobo by unanimous decision in their bantamweight Muay Thai clash.

Kovtun, who represents Thai Foreign Legion, cut angles and worked low kicks throughout the first stanza, closing the distance into the clinch to land elbows and knees. Lobo tried to counter with kicks, but he came up short at every turn.

The 28-year-old Russian opened up with elbows again in the second, making the 33-year-old Brazilian look almost lost as the round turned to one-way traffic. He pinned Lobo on the ropes and blasted away with punches, capping the frame with a telling high kick.

Lobo came out more aggressively in the third round and found some success late, tagging his rival in the closing exchanges. But every time he opened up, Kovtun made him pay with sharp counters.

That performance marked the Russian’s 16th career victory and moved him one step closer to the top tier of the division.

Black Panther Weathers Storm To Win Flyweight Firefight

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Black Panther turned his 99th professional fight into an instant classic, surviving a late rally from 32-year-old Filipino-American striker Sean Climaco to earn a unanimous decision and his sixth straight win in their flyweight Muay Thai clash.

The Team Mehdi Zatout product established his rhythm early, firing right body kicks to pull ahead as Climaco’s unorthodox angles looked to disrupt his timing.

Climaco came out sharper in the second canto, rattling the 26-year-old Thai with straight left hands. However, Black Panther regained control as the round wore on, returning to the body kicks that had been so effective and then capping the frame with a jumping knee.

The third and final stanza was an absolute war. Climaco rocked his opponent with a right hook and then went on the attack, coming within a whisker of the finish. But Black Panther dug deep, rocked the Filipino-American with a right punch of his own, and rallied to see out the round.

That decision victory improved the Thai’s career record to 82-17 and pushed him into the upper echelon of the division.

Source: ONE Championship