ONE Pursuit of Power Report: Kadestam Outguns Thani In Kuala Lumpur
A new #1 contender for the vacant ONE Championship welterweight title emerged this evening with Zebaztian Kadestam defeating Agilan Thani at ONE: Pursuit of Power.
Kadestam vs Thani served as the main event of ONE Championship’s latest fight card which took place Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur this evening.
Both men had previously been defeated by the former champion Ben Askren, but with the American now retired, both Thani and Kadestam had the opportunity of a lifetime to put themselves at the forefront of ONE’s welterweight division.
Round one saw Kadestam take control of the fight early on the feet but after multiple failed takedown attempts, Thani finally got his arms around the Swede and took him down to the mat on several occasions with body lock takedowns. The Malaysian looked to control Kadestam up against the fence but couldn’t keep him there and the Swede landed several stiff jabs and a jumping knee with a minute left in the round.
The two then exchanged wildly at close quarters with Thani landing a huge uppercut as the opening five minutes finished.
Kadestam looked to utilise his footwork more at the start of round two and stay out of the way of Thani’s takedown attempts. After a brief period pressed up against the cage, Kadestam landed a stiff jab that had Thani back peddling and looking to manoeuvre his way out of his onrushing attacks. The rest of the round saw both men looking to stick behind their jab and set up big overhand rights. Thani landed a nice head kicks with 20-seconds left and the Swede acknowledged the strike with a telling nod of the head.
Kadestam turned up the pressure in round three and opened the round by walking Thani down and hitting with a flurry of strikes that included a flying knee and spinning back kick to the face. The Swede kicked it up another gear and then finished Thani with several overhand lefts to send him down to the mat. The referee dove in and Kadestam celebrated with his arms aloft.
Cold blooded finish by Zebaztian Kadestam against Agilan Thani. The knees, the elbows, "The Bandit" put on a show in this one. #ONEPursuitofPower pic.twitter.com/Z4YNdET8ko
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) July 13, 2018
It was an incredible finish in what was a great show of heart by both men. Kadestam was simply just able to kick into another gear during the final round to get his hand raised.
Elsewhere on the card, another former opponent of Askren Luis “Sapo” Santos was defeated by American Tyler McGuire.
Ariel Sexton also picked on a huge win when he utilised a slick reverse triangle/keylock submission to defeat Kota Shimoishi.
Beautiful reverse triangle/keylock by Ariel Sexton (@tarzancr) #ONEPursuitofPower pic.twitter.com/pHUmkWaBJ1
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) July 13, 2018
Watch the full replay:
ONE: Pursuit of Power Results:
Zebaztian Kadestam def. Agilan Thani via TKO (strikes) – Round 3
Jo Nattawut def. Yohann Drai via KO (strikes) – Round 1
Tyler McGuire def. Luis Santos via unanimous decision
Narantungalag Jadambaa def. Kazuki Tokudome by unanimous decision
Kickboxing: Sergej Maslobojev def. Florent Kaouachi by unanimous decision
Keanu Subba def. Xie Chao by submission (armbar) – Round 1
Ariel Sexton def. Kota Shimoishi by submission (inverted triangle choke) – Round 3
Li Kai Wen def. Emilio Urrutia by TKO (punches) – Round 3
Jihin Radzuan def. Priscilla Hertati Lumban Gaol by unanimous decision
Kickboxing: Petchdam Kaiyanghadao def. Josh Tonna by knockout (knee to the liver) – Round 2
Dae Sung Park def. Trestle Tan by unanimous decision
