Ken Koo | FCF File Photo
For the second straight time at the same venue with the same move that gave him the title, Koji Oishi puts his Filipino challenger to sleep.
The Japanese fighter, now sporting a 25-9-10 (8 KOs) record, completed his first defense of the ONE Fighting Championship (ONE FC) world featherweight belt against Honorio “The Rock” Banario in the main event of the Moment Of Truth fight card on Friday night in front of a packed crowd at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The Pancrase-trained mixed-martial artist pounced on the Filipino in the third canto and landed a right hand squared to the undefended jaw of Banario, laying him flat on his back just 1:43 into the round.
“I just want to make my fight plans fluid, then find the good opportunity to knock him out,” told Oishi through a translator following the match.
Uncontrollably sobbing and inconsolable following the bout, Banario humbly accepted his defeat and vows to climb the ladder back to the top of the featherweight division.
“Ginawa ko ang lahat ng makakaya ko, pero beterano siya. Yung mahirap lang is natalo ako ng dalawang beses sa isang tao,” Banario said. “Siguro this is not my time. After five years, I’ll go back to the top. It challenges me to train harder.”
Banario (8-3, 3 knockouts), together with Edward Kelly in an undercard tapout loss to Herbert Burns, were the only Filipino casualties of the night as their fellow countrymen successfully flew the flag against foreign opposition.
Kevin Belingon (12-3, 5 KOs) silenced then-undefeated David Aranda Santacana (9-1) with 2:53 into the first round to lay the Spaniard flat on his face in the co-main event, while Eduard “Landslide” Folayang (13-4, 5 KOs) ended his two-match slide with a unanimous decision win over Dutch shooto veteran Vincent Latoel (14-14-2, 5 KOs).
Meanwhile, Geje Eustaquio (5-2, 1 KO) took home a unanimous decision victory over then-unbeaten celebrity MMA trainer Eugene Toquero (4-1, 4 KOs) in the featured-all Filipino tussle, while Ruel Catalan (2-4, 1 KO) struck out Khim Dima (0-1, 1 NC) via punches with 3:35 into the match.
