Akhmetov Wins by Split Decision Over Eustaquio at ONE Championship Event in Jakarta
Jakarta. ONE Championship's "Total Victory" mixed martial arts event in Jakarta on Saturday night (16/09) saw Kairat Akhmetov of Kazakhstan win by split decision over Filipino Geje Eustaquio in the main bout.
Akhmetov, now 24-1, dominated the Filipino with his fast striking and strong defense, overwhelming Eustaquio. Two of the three judges favored the 29-year-old Kazakh to win after only three rounds.
"I want a rematch with Adriano," Akhmetov repeatedly said after the fight. "I want my belt back. Next time I will beat Adriano," he added.
Akhmetov is a former ONE flyweight world champion who lost to Adriano Moraes of Brazil in Macau in August. Before facing Adriano, Akhmetov was unbeaten in 23 bouts.
Akhmetov's wrestling chops consistently took Eustaquio to the canvas, controlling his dominance on the ground.
Indonesia's Stefer Remains Unbeaten
In another bout, Indonesian mixed martial artists Stefer Rahardian kept his clean 7-0-0 record by finishing Cambodia's Sim Bunsrun in just 37 seconds.
Stefer saw an opportunity to take down Bunsrun in opening seconds and felt the Cambodian was careless. The fight's referee stopped the match after Bunsrun gave up after suffering Stefer's deep rear naked choke.
"I saw he let his back open and I don't want to waste it [by taking him down]," Stefer said. "He was also scrambling all the time, it was a chance not to be wasted. It was a big advantage for me," he added.
"Prior to the match, I actually just intended to finish him with punches on the ground, but he let his back part of his body too open."
Stefer, a former basketball player, has been an MMA fighter for eight years and trains at the Bali MMA.
"I take MMA as my profession. When there's no fight, I do training as usual even though it won't be as intense as when the real fight is coming," he said.
"If there's a ONE Championship event on the horizon, I can train two to three times everyday," he added.
"I just want to keep improving and represent my club, Bali MMA."
Papuan Matheis Happy to Bounce Back
Another Indonesian mixed martial artist, Adrian "Papuan Badboy" Matheis, came back with a win over Cambodia's Phat Soda in the strawweight division.
Prior to the match with Soda, Adrian recorded three consecutive losses and stated he would reclaim a bounce back in Jakarta.
"As a fighter, though we continuously lose, we can't stop training, we're not allowed to do that," Adrian told reporters at the post-event press conference.
"I just keep training, training and the result just came out there [when I finished Soda]. Also, it wasn't only my part, as God also helped me," he said.
Adrian, a graduate in fisheries from a university in Jakarta, is also a member of the Tigershark Fighting Academy, and has a 3-3 record.
"I'm still thinking of my future, whether I want to be a pro MMA fighter or use my fisheries background to work. Life is full of choices," the 24-year-old confessed.
Tags: Keywords: