Reug Reug is finally a champion.
On Friday night at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, Reug Reug — real name Oumar Kane — claimed the ONE heavyweight title with a narrow split decision win Anatoly Malykhin in the main event of ONE Championship 169.
A former Senegalese wrestler, Reug Reug’s size proved to be difficult for the three-division ONE champion to deal with as he scored a quick takedown early in the fight. Malykhin worked his way back up to the feet but the two remained grappling against the ropes and Malykhin received a yellow card for repeatedly reaching through the ropes.
As the fight progressed, Malykhin began to land big shots on the feet but simply couldn’t crack the chin of his massive opponent, and was himself dropped in the final round of the bout. Still, the bout seemed to favor Malykhin for sheer activity however, two of the judges scored the fight for Reug Reug, delivering Malykhin his first career loss.
Reug Reug wins a split decision over Anatoly Malykhin.
— Nicolas Atkin (@nicatkinONE) November 9, 2024
And new ONE heavyweight MMA champ. Big shock at Lumpinee Stadium.
Yellow card in the first round cost Malykhin big.#ONEChampionship #ONE169 pic.twitter.com/G4dBsWkcUY
In the co-main event, Rodtang Jitmuangnon scored a unanimous decision win over Jacob Smith. This was supposed to be a title defense of Rodtang’s ONE flyweight Muay Thai title, however he failed to make weight and was thus stripped of the title. Nevertheless, Rodtang delivered a vintage performance, outclassing Smith and slicing him open with a nasty elbow over the eye.
Brothers in battle ⚔️
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) November 9, 2024
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In a featured bout of the evening, Jackie Buntan defeated Anissa Meksen to claim the inaugural ONE women’s flyweight kickboxing title. The two women battled back-and-forth for the full 15 minutes but ultimately the judges favored Buntan’s more decisive moments.
AND NEW Jackie Buntan becomes the inaugural ONE Women’s Strawweight Kickboxing World Champion with a unanimous decision over Anissa Meksen!
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) November 9, 2024
Tune in to Prime Video and Sky Sports NOW to catch the rest of ONE 169!#ONE169 | LIVE NOW
Watch Live on Prime … pic.twitter.com/h40JfIv0r5
In one of the featured fights of the evening, Adriano Moraes got back in the win column with a second-round guillotine finish over Danny Kingad. It was the former flyweight champion’s first fight since losing his trilogy matchup with Demetrious Johnson, and may set him up to fight for the vacant title next.