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ONE Championship delivers two wild decisions and one dramatic finish at Friday Fights 162

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ONE Championship delivers two wild decisions and one dramatic finish at Friday Fights 162

Adam Benwarwar took two knockdowns and gave one final answer. The Moroccan overcame a torrid start to stop Kongklai Sor Sommai by TKO in the bantamweight Muay Thai main event of ONE Friday Fights 162 on Friday, July 17, at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. The card followed The Inner Circle 22 on the same stacked night in the Thai capital.

Benwarwar came out firing, rocking his opponent with heavy punches early. Kongklai answered instantly, dropping the 23-year-old with a booming left hook for an eight-count.

Benwarwar climbed back to his feet and kept trading, opening a cut over Kongklai's eye before the round ended. Kongklai pressed his advantage in round two, battering the body before scoring a second knockdown with a two-punch combination.

Benwarwar refused to fold. He found his range again, dropped Kongklai with a right cross, then closed the show with a left hook that sent the Thai back down. The referee stopped the contest at 2:44 of round two, improving Benwarwar's record to 25-7.

The Moroccan later revealed in his post-fight interview that he had learned of his grandfather's passing before entering the ring, adding weight to one of the biggest wins of his career.

The co-main event brought its own storyline. Khunponnoi Sor Sommai, 33, leaned on relentless left kicks and clinch control to outpoint game Scotsman Gregor Thom over three rounds, taking a unanimous decision in the flyweight Muay Thai bout and improving to 128-34.

Full ONE Friday Fights 162 results

  • Adam Benwarwar defeats Kongklai Sor Sommai by TKO, round two (Muay Thai, bantamweight)
  • Khunponnoi Sor Sommai defeats Gregor Thom by unanimous decision (Muay Thai, flyweight)
  • Buakaew Sor Sor Pakorn defeats Aldo Cruz by split decision (Muay Thai, flyweight)
  • Watcharaphon Risingmuaythai defeats Singsuek Sakanupong by unanimous decision (Muay Thai, strawweight)
  • Jaxson Hayman defeats Liu Quan by unanimous decision (Muay Thai, lightweight)
  • Petubon Sor Teanchai defeats Lerdsila Jitmuangnon by unanimous decision (Muay Thai, flyweight)
  • Ryunosuke Omori defeats Ali Al-Kinani by unanimous decision (kickboxing, strawweight)
  • Mia Trevorrow defeats Magdalena Pircher by unanimous decision (Muay Thai, atomweight)

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Alexandre Pantoja gives update on return: ‘I have unfinished business with Joshua Van’

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Alexandre Pantoja gives update on return: ‘I have unfinished business with Joshua Van’

Alexandre Pantoja is all healed up and ready to settle the score with Joshua Van.

In December, Pantoja defended his flyweight title against Van in the co-main event of UFC 323, but was beset by disaster when he injured his arm trying to roll away after Van caught a kick just seconds into the bout. Since then, Pantoja has been out of action while he recovers, while Van successfully defended his new title in May with a fifth-round stoppage over Tatsuro Taira at UFC 328.

But now, Pantoja is fit and ready to get back to it.

“I'm ready,†Pantoja told MMA Fighting. “After December, what happened to my arm, two days after that, I went to the gym, started training with just one arm. That's who I am. I'm not done. I'm not done. I have so much to conquer. I have so much to prove. And when you have the belt, your words [mean more]. I want to take the belt again. I want to be UFC champion one more time and keep talking to good things, about the world and things I saw in my life, make people happy. That's what I want.â€

As mentioned, while Pantoja's been out, Van has already added a title defense to his résumé, and other flyweight contenders have been busy as well, with Manel Kape knocking out Kyoji Horiguchi, and Brandon Royval psetting Lone'er Kavanagh. For Pantoja, the continued growth of the division in his absence has been great for him, too.

“Real good fight. Real good fight,†Pantoja said of Van's win over Taira. “Showed a lot of high-level skills. Don't get me wrong, on the same night, you have the Chimaev and Strickland fight, you see the difference about the pace, about the high-level. That's good to prove to everybody the flyweight division is one of the more entertaining divisions in the UFC.

“You see Manel Kape with Kyoji Horiguchi. You see Brandon Royval, all these guys put on very good show to everybody, and I think right now, flyweight is better than ever. I think what happened with me last year made the division more fire. Now I have the opportunity to take over and [beat] everybody again.â€

Pantoja was particularly impressed by Kape's win over Horiguchi at UFC Vegas 119 last month. After the win, Kape lobbied for his shot at the flyweight title, but Pantoja says he's up first. Then he and Kape can run things back.

“Beautiful performance,†Pantoja said. “I think Kyoji Horiguchi gets very close to winning the fight, but Manel is the real deal. Manel Kape, for me, is one of the most dangerous fights in the world in flyweight. He's the next contender.

“Of course, I have unfinished business with Joshua Van. Like, as an athlete, I know I lost the fight. That happened. But like a man, I don't think he beat me. I'm still here. I'm ready to fight. I'm in amazing shape. Let's see what happens next.â€

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Dana White reveals Conor McGregor’s injury details from UFC 329: ‘His knee is f*cked up’

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Dana White reveals Conor McGregor’s injury details from UFC 329: ‘His knee is f*cked up’

Conor McGregor tore his ACL.

Last weekend, McGregor made his long-awaited return to the cage at UFC 329, where he rematched Max Holloway in the main event. Unfortunately, the bout ended before it ever really got started as McGregor injured his knee in the opening moments while throwing a jumping switch kick. And now we know exactly what he did to it.

Speaking with reporters following UFC Oklahoma City, UFC CEO Dana White revealed that, as many speculated, McGregor tore his ACL.

“ACL,†White said when asked about the injury. “His knee is f*cked up.â€

That is a tough blow for McGregor, who spent the past five years out of action, much of that time due to his catastrophic leg break against Dustin Poirier. McGregor previously mentioned he would need surgery on the knee, but a torn ACL means “Notorious†is likely looking at another nine months to a year on the shelf.

Before UFC 329, McGregor mentioned that the UFC was targeting an April date for McGregor's final fight on his current UFC contract; however, given this news, the earliest McGregor can fight is probably next summer. And for White, it's so far out that any speculation about when or where is useless.

“He's having knee surgery. That's it,†White said. “The Conor McGregor discussion isn't even worth talking about. He's got to have knee surgery. He's going to have to go through physical therapy. It's all going to take time. And then when the doctor says you can start hardcore training again, then we start talking about Conor McGregor again.â€

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Video: Belal Muhammad ignites melee with Colby Covington during RAF 11 press conference

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Video: Belal Muhammad ignites melee with Colby Covington during RAF 11 press conference

Belal Muhammad clearly hasn't read the rules about throwing kicks in wrestling.

On Saturday, Muhammad competed at RAF 11 in Milwaukee, defeating Ben Askren via points in Askren's retirement wrestling match. After the match, Muhammad called for a bout with Colby Covington, who would go on to defeat Arman Tsarukyan for the inaugural RAF crossover championship. And at the post-event press conference, Muhammad and Covington nearly came to blows.

Muhammad and Covington have beefed for years, dating back to their time in the UFC, though the two never fought. But once they were on the same podium for the press conference, things quickly spiraled.

“He went against a lightweight!†Muhammad said about Covington. “Tell him to go against a welterweight, somebody his size! Cleveland's right around the corner! Let's go!â€

“Bro, you barely beat the dead guy!†Covington responded. “This guy can only score on dead guy and gargoyles. That's it. You're a bum, bro. Keep talking, you're a nobody. You got teched by a nobody.â€

After this exchange, RAF announced that Covington and Muhammad will face off in the co-main event of RAF 12 in Cleveland next month, prompting both men to up their trash talk.

“It will be the easiest match I get in RAF,†Covington said. “I can't believe they're going to give me a free win like that. Super exciting for me. Easy money. No one's beating me for this belt.â€

“Let's see if he shows up in August,†Muhammad replied.

Their bickering continued, with each man talking over the other until things finally escalated to the point that Covington threatened to smack Muhammad, prompting Muhammad to stand up and charge at Covington. RAF officials got in the way before Muhammad could get to him, leaving the former UFC welterweight champion with few options but to throw a weak kick at Covington, which fell short. Nevertheless, Covington then charged at Muhammad, resulting in a total mess as team members and security all jumped into a pile.

Eventually, cooler heads prevailed, and both fighters were escorted out.

Check out the whole sordid scene below, or the full press conference video above.

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