Auckland's Ev Ting has made a statement to the rest of the lightweight division with an emphatic first round TKO win over Nobutatsu Suzuki at ONE Championship: Quest for Greatness in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday morning (NZT).
After withstanding an early opening barrage in their co-main event clash, the Kiwi-Malaysian made light work of the Japanese veteran, adopting a measured approach early as he kept the former champion at bay with his more technical counter-striking.
"E.T" eventually stung his opponent with a searing combination punctuated with a straight-right hand, taking Suzuki to the mat and swarming him with follow-up shots and forcing the referee to step in and put a stop to the contest.
It was a convincing return to the winner's circle for the 27-year-old, who should now find himself back among an elite group of title contenders in his pursuit of a rematch with Filipino champion Eduard Folayang, and he wasted no time in making those very intentions clear.
"I believe I'm a complete athlete," Ting told a rapturous crowd of his supporters inside Stadium Negara.
"Eduard Folayang — I know you watched this, I’m coming back for that title!"
In the event's headline fight, Australia's Martin Nguyen scored a stunning upset win over Marat Gafurov to claim the featherweight title and put an end to the Russian's 15-fight win streak.
Nguyen's counter overhand right sent Gafurov chin-first to the canvas midway through the second round, with some swift strikes from the top secured himself the biggest win of his career.
In other results, Agilan Thai overwhelmed Sherif Mohammed of Egypt on his way to a unanimous decision victory, while Kevin Belingon starched Australia's Reece McLaren via TKO barely a minute into their bantamweight contest.
ONE Championship now shifts to Shanghai where Welterweight champion Ben Askren defends his title against Swedish sensation Zebaztian Kadestam on September 2.
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