On Friday, Dec. 5, ONE Fighting Championship hosted its 23rd event, dubbed Warrior’s Way, from the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay, Philippines.
In the night’s main event, the promotion’s bantamweight title was on the line as champion Bibiano Fernandes took on Dae Hwan Kim. The Brazilian Fernandes rode an eight-fight winning streak into the title defense, including wins in all four of his appearances in the ONE FC cage. South Korea’s Kim had never tasted defeat through his first 11 fights. He earned his shot at gold with a first-round submission win over Kevin Belingon in March.
The co-main event of the evening featured the promotional debut of former UFC fighter Brandon Vera, who faced off with Ukrainian Igor Subora. The 37-year-old Vera looked to get back in the win column after a rough stretch over the last five years. Subora, who entered the bout on a five-fight winning streak, aimed to play spoiler.
The card also featured the debut of submission ace Roger Gracie, who clashed with fellow UFC veteran James McSweeney in a light heavyweight affair.
The 10-fight event kicked off Friday at 6 a.m. ET. It aired via online pay-per-view for $9.99.
Brandon Vera def. Igor Subora by knockout (punch and soccer kicks). Round 1, 3:54
Timofey Nastyukhin def. Eduard Folayang by knockout (flying knee and soccer kicks). Round 1, 3:11
Roger Gracie def. James McSweeney by TKO (strikes). Round 3, 3:15
Kevin Belingon def. Koetsu Okazaki by unanimous decision
Herbert Burns def. Honorio Banario by submission (rear-naked choke). Round 1, 3:59
Jake Butler def. Sylvain Potard by unanimous decision
Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke def. Rene Catalan by knockout (knee). Round 1, 2:30
Ana Julaton def. Walaa Abas by unanimous decision
Jujeath Nagaowa def. Tharoth Sam by TKO (punches). Round 2, 3:34