Chatri Sityodtong hands out five US$50,000 bonuses at ONE: Lights Out

ONE: Lights Out lived up to its billing with some fantastic performances, and ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong was clearly impressed with the performances of his athletes.

Five fighters were awarded the US$50,000 prize, reaching a maximum of US$250,000 for the first time since announcing the awarding of performance bonuses.

Thanh Le, John Lineker, Zhang Peimian, Iman Barlow, and Liam Nolan were all rewarded for their spectacular performances at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Friday night.

Nolan earned his bonus with a barrage of knees that led to a first-round TKO win over promotional newcomer Kim Kyung Lock.

Barlow followed it up with a first-round TKO in her first match in ONE Championship. The multiple-time Muay Thai and kickboxing world champion hit a cracking downward elbow on Daniela Lopez’s nose that caused the TKO at the 1:39 mark of the first round.

Later, Peimian opened the main card with a striking clinic against Josh Tonna to introduce himself to fans of ONE Championship in a big way. ‘The Fighting Rooster’ pushed the pace and ultimately knocked Tonna out with a left hook to the body in the second round.

In the co-main event, Lineker shocked the world with a stunning knockout of Bibiano Fernandes in the second round of their heated encounter. ‘Hands of Stone’ justified his nickname and was crowned the new ONE bantamweight world champion.

Finally, Thanh Le capped off the night of stoppages with a first-round knockout in the main event of ONE: Lights Out. Le masterfully avoided any danger from Garry Tonon’s leg locks and turned the lights out on his opponent with beautifully placed punches.

ONE: Lights Out sees nine out of 10 bouts ending before the final bell

Perhaps no card has been more appropriately named as ONE: Lights Out, where nine out of 10 bouts did not reach the judges’ scorecards.

While the five winners of the performance bonus deserved every bit of it, four other fighters scored impressive finishes that were arguably bonus-worthy.

Eko Roni Saputra increased his first-round finishes to six as he forced Chan Rothana to tap in just 94 seconds to close out the lead card on a high note.

Later, Adrian Mattheis got a win over his idol, Alex Silva, after the referee stopped the contest just five seconds into the second round of their encounter.

Kickboxing heavyweight Iraj Azizpour followed up that performance with a come-from-behind knockout of promotional newcomer Ismael Londt in the second round of their match.

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Finally, Martin Nguyen returned to winning ways with a sensational performance against another debuting fighter in Ukraine’s Kirill Gorobets.