ONE FC 19 results: Shinya Aoki defends; Ben Askren, Narantungalag claim titles

Shinya Aoki was the lone ONE FC champion to successfully defend his belt with a vintage first-round submission of Kamal Shalorus in the main event of ONE FC 19 from Dubai’s World Trade Centre.

The lightweight championship headliner, which was streamed along with the rest of the card via online pay-per-view, lasted just over two minutes before Aoki (36-6) locked up the rear-naked choke that forced Shalorus (9-4-2) to tap out.

Aoki used familiar tactics when he dragged Shalorus to the ground early in the opening frame. Comfortable in top position, Aoki latched on to his opponent and waited for an opening. Shalorus eventually gave up mount position before turning to this back. Aoki locked on the choke and his first title defense was in the books from there.

The 31-year-old has toyed with the idea of taking more fights in the featherweight division in search of new challenges, but in his post-fight interview, he announced his plans are to stay at 155 pounds and defend his belt.

“I’m going to protect the belt at lightweight,” Aoki said. “My friend Herbert (Burns) will go for the featherweight belt.

Askren stays undefeated, obliterates Suzuki for ONE FC welterweight belt

Ben Askren (14-0) turned in what could quite possibly be the most dominant performance in ONE FC title fight history with a first-round TKO of Nobutatsu Suzuki (11-2-2) to capture the ONE FC welterweight champion.

Askren rushed across the cage at the opening bell and had Suzuki on his back in less than 10 seconds. The finish was imminent from there as the former Bellator MMA champion threw an endless ground-and-pound assault until Suzuki was unable to take any more damage.

All in all, “Funky” needed just 90 seconds to dispatch of his Japanese foe for his fourth consecutive stoppage win and his 14th consecutive MMA victory overall. He improved to 14-0 in professional competition and now has a second championship from a major organization to hang on his mantle.

Narantungalag upsets Oishi for ONE FC featherweight title

At 38, Jadamba Narantungalag (10-3) put on arguably his most complete and impressive performance to date with a unanimous decision victory over Koji Oishi (25-10-10) to win the ONE FC featherweight championship.

The majority of the fight was contested on the feet with Narantungalag implementing the more diverse offensive attack that kept Oishi on his heels. Oishi took a significant amount of damage, but displayed true championship spirit by lasting all five rounds before turning over his belt.

Other than a near-rally in the fifth round, Oishi’s offensive output lacked throughout the contest. That ultimately allowed Narantungalag to settle into a groove, which minimized Oishi’s chance of finding a fight-altering moment.

After starting his MMA career with a 0-2 record, Narantungalag has won 10 of his past 11 fights with the lone defeat in the stretch coming all the result of an injury. He now holds the ONE FC belt and it will be interesting to see if he continues to evolve with age.

Huerta snaps Holley’s undefeated streak, scores first victory since 2010

UFC and Bellator MMA veteran Roger Huerta (22-7-1) returned to competition for the first time since June 2012 with a dominant first-round TKO of the previously undefeated Christian Holley (10-1).

“El Matador” had not been seen in an MMA fight since a gruesome soccer kick knockout loss in his last outing, a defeat that marked his fourth consecutive loss and sixth in seven fights.

Against Holley, though, Huerta looked like a revived spirit as he scored an early takedown and didn’t stop until he scored the finish. Huerta battered Holley with knees and punches on the ground until he took the back and forced the referee to call off the action.

Soccer kick leads McSweeney to quick stoppage of Kaminishi

For several years James McSweeney (14-11) was nothing more than a heavyweight journeyman, but since dropping to the light heavyweight division, “The Hammer” has done nothing but impress.

McSweeney pushed his record at 205-pounds to 3-0 when he crushed Christiano Kaminishi (8-2) in a little more than one minute. The Englishmen dropped Kaminishi with a clean uppercut and followed up with a vicious kick to the head of his downed opponent, which is a perfectly legal technique under ONE FC rules.

It was clear Kaminishi was done after the first kick, and while McSweeney could have easily got away with landing another blow, he showed tremendous restraint and sportsmanship by pulling back on his follow-up strike.

McSweeney has needed just 3:48 of cage time to defeat his past three opponents, and following the win he called for a shot at the vacant ONE FC light heavyweight championship.

Burns stays perfect against Tanaka

Herbert Burns (4-0) continued to show promise as a bantamweight prospect with a well-fought unanimous decision win over Hiroshige Tanaka (10-2). “The Blaze” nearly finished the fight in the opening round with a tight rear-naked choke submission, but someone Tanaka survived and lasted until the final bell.

Burns didn’t let his inability to finish the fight discourage him, though. He refused to give up control of the fight and eventually took home the decision victory after three rounds, improving his ONE FC record to 3-0.

ONE FC 19 results:

MAIN CARD

• Shinya Aoki def. Kamal Shalorus via submission (rear-naked choke) – R1, 2:15 – to defend lightweight tiel
• Ben Askren def. Nobutatsu Suzuki via TKO (strikes) – R1, 1:24 to win welterweight title
• Jadamba Narantungalag def. Koji Oishi via unanimous decision – to win featherweight title
• Roger Huerta def. Christian Holley via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 3:13
• James McSweeney def. Cristiano Kaminishi via knockout (soccer kick) – Round 1, 1:17
• Herbert Burns def. Hiroshige Tanaka via unanimous decision

PRELIMINARY CARD