One Fight Night 20 Review

March 11, 2024

11 months

The 20th edition of ONE Fight Night was a historic and incredible evening of professional mixed martial arts bouts. On International Women’s Day, it featured a card that was headlined by all women’s fights, which is something that is very rare to see in a major mixed martial arts promotion. ONE Championship put on an incredible card on Friday night, and we have a breakdown of each and every fight right here for you. The event took place in Bangkok, Thailand, and it had some fantastic fighters on the card.

The ONE Women’s Atomweight Kickboxing World Title was on the line in the main event, as one of the most important titles in the promotion would finally have one true champion for the foreseeable future. There were eight other fights on the card, including another Atomweight title fight. This time, it was the ONE Women’s Atomweight Muay Thai World Title that would be up for grabs. Several different styles were highlighted on Friday night, as there were multiple Muay Thai fights, a few MMA fights, and even a submission grappling contest as well. There was a variety of different styles and fighters for everyone to enjoy, which made this arguably one of the best events of 2024 so far.

Shir Cohen vs. Teodora Kirilova

This was a fantastic Muay Thai fight between two quality fighters. It was Cohen who picked up the victory in the second round with a knockout over Kirilova. A brutal barrage of punches ended the fight when the referee stepped in in the middle of the second round when it was clear that Kirilova could no longer properly defend herself. She was stumbling around the ring after eating several hard punches and a few elbows from Cohen. It was a debut bout for both of them, and Cohen made a statement with her knockout victory as she looks to rise up the ranks of the Atomweight division. She is only 23 years old and she certainly has a bright future ahead of her if she continues to fight like she did in this matchup tonight.

Mayssa Bastos vs. Kanae Yamada

Bastos picked up the win in a back-and-forth contest by unanimous decision in a fight that went the distance. Early on in the fight, it looked like it would end quickly when Bastos had the ground control and had her legs wrapped around Yamada, and she had the back. She was looking to set up a rear naked choke to put the fight away, but unfortunately, she was unsuccessful at doing so. She still ended up coming out with the unanimous decision victory. It was the first victory of her career against Yamada, and she will look to rise up the ranks and continue picking up wins throughout the rest of 2024.

Victoria Souza vs. Noelle Grandjean

Grandjean picked up the victory by unanimous decision over Souza in an MMA bout. It was a quality fight, and they went back and forth throughout the whole 15 minutes. For Grandjean, it was the second victory of her career in the promotion, and she bounced back from a loss in her previous fight. It is also the first time one of her fights within the promotion has gone the distance. It looked like she was going to finish the fight early in the first round when she caught Souza with a massive punch that stunned her, and then she hit her with a takedown. When they got to the ground, it was all hammer fists from Grandjean, although she wasn’t able to finish the fight. Luckily, for her she still came out on top in the end after a solid back-and-forth fight.

Allycia Rodrigues vs. Cristina Morales

Rodrigues picked up the victory in this fight after a five-round battle that went her way by unanimous decision. She has held the belt since 2020 after returning from a three-year absence to defeat interim champion Janet Todd to reunify the belts. After losing in September in her bid to become a two-division champion, she returned to the Atomweight division to defend her title once again. She has displayed dominance over the division, and she will now await another challenger in her next fight after a fantastic performance. This was her third career victory in four fights within the promotion. For Morales, it was the second loss of her career in the last three fights, and it awaits to be seen what’s next for her.

Janet Todd vs. Phetjeeja Lukjaoporongtom

In what was perhaps the most anticipated fight of the night, Janet Todd came up short and lost her Atomweight Kickboxing championship. It was a slugfest, and in the end, Lukajaoporongtom came out on top in her native country of Thailand to win the title. Lukajaoporongtom had an incredible performance, defeating the incumbent champion, and her reign now starts after an incredible run by her predecessor. She picked up the victory in a fight that went the distance, and she was awarded the win by unanimous decision. She remains undefeated within the promotion, winning her sixth consecutive fight and finally climbing to the top of the mountain, where she will look to remain throughout the future. Todd suffered her second consecutive loss in this fight, and there are plenty of ways for her to go from here. It remains to be seen if she will get an immediate rematch after a solid fight.