ONE Championship concluded yet another stellar fight card in Indonesia, Saturday, 20 February at the Istora Senayan in Jakarta. Three Pinoy bets took to the ONE Championship cage in search of victory, with only one fighter falling short of the win.
Jimmy "The Silencer" Yabo (5-2) finally hit the board with a victory, making quick work of Pakistan's Bashir Ahmad (3-3).
Ahmad, who was featured in various high-profile media outlets for his work as a Muslim fighter training in the United States, rushed at Yabo aggressively from the opening bell. Yabo kept his cool throughout the onslaught, backpedalling with composure and defending well against Ahmad's attack.
As Ahmad lunged in to launch a combination, Yabo took a small step back and uncorked a vicious right hook which landed right on the jaw, dropping the Pakistani in one fell swoop. With Ahmad defenseless, referee Yuji Shimada quickly intervened to call a halt to the contest at 0:21 of round one.
Welterweight Trestle "Jun Minion" Tan (4-5) was also successful in his return to the ONE Cage, impressively scoring a rear naked choke submission in just one round over Mexico's Djatmiko Waluyo (5-1). The previously unbeaten Waluyo, who has roots in Indonesia, was returning home in search of a victory when his hopes were spoiled early by the surging Tan.
Anthony "The Archangel" Engelen (4-1) of the Netherlands gave Team Philippines the only dampener of the night with a quick, one-round submission victory over Filipino featherweight prospect Rocky "The Outlaw" Batolbatol (5-2).
Batolbatol used his boxing to keep Engelen temporarily at bay but once the Dutch fighter was able to close the gap, things went south quickly for the Filipino.
An outside leg trip brought the fight to the mat where Engelen was quick to secure Batolbatol's back and lock in the rear naked choke, forcing Batolbatol to tap out.
In the main event of ONE: Tribe of Warriors, Luis "Sapo" Santos of Brazil delivered the goods in a successful return to the ONE Championship cage by making quick work of Portugal's Rafael "The Machine" Silva, winning by technical knockout in the first round.
In the evening's other bouts, American Andrew Leone eked out a hard-fought unanimous decision victory over the tough-as-nails Koetsu Okazaki in a gruelling three-round bout. Yohan Mulia Legowo scored an impressive submission victory over fellow Indonesian warrior, Mario Satya Wirawan, sinking in a deep Guillotine choke early in round one to force the tap. Singapore's Angela Lee notched her fifth straight submission win with a beautiful rear naked choke on the United States' Rebecca Heintzman.