History was made Friday evening inside the Singapore Indoor Stadium at ONE: ASCENT TO POWER, as two new world champions were crowned.
Angela Lee and Mei Yamaguchi capped off an incredible evening, as Lee won a decision to become the inaugural ONE Women's Atomweight World Champion.
For the first time in her career, the 19-year-old Lee (6-0) went the distance-and not just a 15-minute distance-a full five-round 25-minute battle that proved who was the best of the best.
"Unstoppable" used her effective grappling to turn back the challenge of Yamaguchi (15-9-1), who entered with plenty more experience. Lee had finished all five of her previous foes via submission, including three inside of the first round.
Yamaguchi suffered her first loss since a 2014 setback to Ayaka Hamasaki. The 33-year-old has also shared the cage with the likes of Megumi Fujii, Katja Kankaanpaa, and Seo Hee Ham, who are all top-ranked fighters in the world.
Roger Gracie added the first major MMA title to the Gracie family's mantle, scoring a technical submission victory over Michal Pasternak in the co-main event, becoming the first-ever ONE Light Heavyweight World Champion.
Gracie, who has fought in both the UFC and Strikeforce before, locked up a tight arm triangle in the early stages of the first round and never let go. Pasternak, who entered unbeaten in 11 previous fights, refused to tap but was put to sleep by Gracie.
With the win, Gracie is now 8-2 overall, and has won each of his first ONE bouts via finish. Six of his career wins have been from submissions.
Former ONE Featherweight World Champion Narantungalag Jadambaa claimed a third-round submission victory over Kotetsu Boku in a thrilling bout between two former titleholders. Boku previously held the ONE Lightweight World Championship.
Jadambaa was fighting for the first time since dropping the title to Marat Gafurov this past November. The stoppage win was also his first since a 2012 submission over Yui Chul Nam, and he is now 11-4 overall and 3-1 under the ONE banner.
Boku (24-11-2) had his three-fight win streak snapped, suffering the first loss of his career since a 2013 defeat at the hands of current ONE Lightweight World Champion Shinya Aoki that saw the title change hands.
Youngster Christian Lee, the brother of Angela Lee, gave the family a reason to smile early on. Christian Lee, just 17 years old, scored his fourth consecutive finish in the first round in ONE Championship when he locked up a tight D'Arce choke on Cary Bullos.
Lee has now finished Bullos, Anthony Engelen, Mahmoud Mohamed and David Meak since last December, with two submission and two TKO victories to his credit, each showcasing the variety of weapons he has at his disposal.
The loss for Bullos was his third straight submission defeat since signing with ONE back in 2014.
Tatsuya Mizuno completed the early portion of the main card with a second round stoppage win vs. Mohamed Ali. Mizuno landed several hard and precise knees to the head of Ali, rendering him unable to continue, while Amir Khan kicked things off with an overpowering first-round TKO of John Chang.
In the preliminary card, it was evident from the opening bell that this would be a night to remember, as Agilan Thani got the crowd started with a first-round finish of Brad Robinson connecting with a perfectly-placed soccer kick before finishing Robinson off with strikes as the final seconds of the round winded down.
Saygid Guseyn Arslanaliev followed Thani's lead, ending the night for Ma Jia Wen inside of two minutes with a flurry of punches, and Benedict Ang scored himself a third-round stoppage over Jimmy Yabo when Yabo tapped due to strikes.
Complete results from ONE: ASCENT TO POWER can be found below:
Angela Lee def. Mei Yamaguchi via unanimous decision to become the ONE Women's Atomweight World Champion
Roger Gracie def. Michal Pasternak via technical submission (arm triangle) at 2:13 of Round 1 to become the ONE Light Heavyweight World Champion
Narantungalag Jadambaa def. Kotetsu Boku via submission (Von Flue choke) at 1:27 of Round 3
Christian Lee def. Cary Bullos via submission (D'Arce choke) at 2:07 of Round 1
Tatsuya Mizuno def. Mohamed Ali via TKO (strikes) at 3:52 of Round 2
Amir Khan def. John Chang via TKO (strikes) at 3:39 of Round 1
Benedict Ang def. Jimmy Yabo via submission (strikes) at 3:11 of Round 3
Saygid Guseyn Arslanaliev def. Ma Jia Wen via TKO (strikes) at 1:57 of Round 1
Agilan Thani def. Brad Robinson via TKO (soccer kick/strikes) at 4:40 of Round 1