3 Grand Highlights From ONE: ETERNAL GLORY
ONE Championship kicked off the new year in style as ONE: ETERNAL GLORY took place in beautiful Jakarta, Indonesia on Saturday, 19 January.
The crowd at the Istora Senayan was entertained with an action-packed 12-bout card, which featured a plethora of the best martial artists in the world, as well as a troop of promotional newcomers.
Here are three grand highlights from ONE’s first event of 2019.
#1 A New Strawweight World Champion
In the main event, the ONE Strawweight World Title was on the line as the division’s reigning king, Joshua “The Passion” Pacio, had his first World Title defense against Japan’s Yosuke “Tobizaru” Saruta.
An emerging talent, Saruta made his promotional debut last December and earned a unanimous decision against Evolve’s Alex “Little Rock” Silva.
With a very impressive debut over a former World Champion, “Tobizaru” quickly found himself challenging for the gold. Evidently, he made the most of his opportunity.
Though Team Lakay’s defending titleholder had his moments, it was the constant pressure and effective wrestling that ultimately convinced two of the three judges to crown Saruta as the new ONE Strawweight World Champion.
As hungry competitors line up for their shot at the belt, the new strawweight king will undoubtedly have his hands full in 2019.
#2 “Puccibull” Is Triumphant In Return
Bruno “Puccibull” Pucci could not have asked for a more prosperous evening.
Pucci, a two-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi World Champion, kicked off the main card by defeating former ONE Lightweight World Champion Kotetsu “No Face” Boku in a featherweight affair.
He diligently worked for a takedown, managed to get the Japanese veteran’s back, and sunk in a rear-naked choke to force the tap inside the first round.
The Evolve representative gets on a two-bout win streak, and he could find himself facing a top contender in his next match-up.
#3 Christian Lee Completely Dominant In Jakarta
Four bouts later, Pucci’s brother-in-law and Evolve teammate Christian “The Warrior” Lee put on another commanding performance.
The 20-year-old prodigy dominated Team Lakay representative and former foe Edward “The Ferocious” Kelly.
With superior grappling, Lee made it look easy. Halfway through the first round, he took full advantage of his full-mount position and rained down a barrage of strikes until the bout was stopped.
Now, with two dominant performances in his back pocket, he could vie for the ONE Featherweight World Title once again by the end of the year.
