ONE 172 results: Phetjeeja vs. Kana
In the first of four massive ONE world title clashes at ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang, ONE atomweight kickboxing world champion Phetjeeja put her 26 pounds of gold on the line against four-time K-1 titleholder Kana Morimoto.
With wins over Anissa Meksen and Janet Todd in her last two outings, Phetjeeja has quickly established herself as one of the best kickboxers in the world—but she'd never faced a striker as dangerous as Kana.
Let's take a look at what transpired when they both met at ONE 172:
Round 1: Kana looks light on her feet as Phetjeeja takes control of the ring and lands an early calf kick. Kana goes high with a kick, followed by another. Kana throws a combination but eats a counter right from Phetjeeja. Kana throws a combination of her own and follows it with a leg kick. Kana connects with a spinning back fist. Phetjeeja comes back with a push kick right to the face.
Phetjeeja appears to be having some trouble with Kana’s speed and the first round comes to a close with Kana landing another front kick to the body of the defending champ.
Round 2: Kana switches to southpaw and lands a nice leg kick to open the round. Phetjeeja connects with a left. Phetjeeja backs Kana into a corner and lands a combination in close before Kana circles away. Phetjeeja is doing a much better job of closing the distance in the second and nearly lands a knee up the middle. Kana connects with another spinning back fist and Phetjeeja sits her down with a push kick in the center of the ring.
Phetjeeja is starting to open up, landing a flurry of strikes against the ropes. Kana switches back to orthodox as Phetjeeja delivers a jab. Phetjeeja looks for a skip-in knee as the 10-second clacker sounds. Kana throws a kick and Phetjeeja makes her pay with a sharp right hand before the bell.
Round 3: Kana and Phetjeeja stand and trade in the center of the ring to start the third round. Phetjeeja gets caught clinching near the ropes. Referee Olivier Coste makes it clear that if she does it again, he will issue a yellow card. The fight resumes with Kana landing kicks in close, but Phetjeeja comes right back with a combination that forces Kana to clinch up.
Phetjeeja lands a right and tries to connect with a head kick. Kana gets caught clinching and gets a warning from the referee. The fight resumes and they exchange strikes in close. Kana tries to put the pressure on Phetjeeja as we reach the final 30 seconds of the round. Kana throws a couple of push kicks and misses on an uppercut. They clinch up and the bell sounds just as Coste separates them.
Round 4: The fast and furious pace continues with the two immediately meeting in the middle of the ring and trading combinations. Kana rips to the body as Coste separates them. During a clinch, the referee separates the fighters and issues a yellow card to Kana for clinching. As the fight resumes, they meet in the corner and Phetjeeja connects with a head kick as Kana attempts to circle out.
Another timeout from Coste comes. This time, he gives Phetjeeja a yellow card for clinching. Moments later, they get right back to it with Kana backing Phetjeeja to the ropes. Phetjeeja intercepts Kana as she tries to put combinations together, catching the former K-1 queen with a nice left hand. Phetjeeja goes high with a head kick and Kana snaps back with a nasty calf kick.
Round 5: Phetjeeja comes out with a big right hand and nearly lands a high kick on Kana. Both athletes have appeared to switch gears with two minutes to go in the fight. Kana has Phetjeeja moving backwards and they trade body kicks. Phetjeeja lands a right hand and Kana comes back with a combination. Phetjeeja uncorks a power leg kick that takes Kana off her feet.
Phetjeeja is content to sit back and wait for Kana to throw first as the time ticks down. Kane looks to keep Phetjeeja pressed against the ropes and throws a knee up high. Phetjeeja ties her up and forces the break. Kana resumes her pursuit and both women let the fists fly for the final 10 seconds.
ONE 172 - Phetjeeja vs. Kana Official Result
After five close rounds of kickboxing action, we went to the scorecards where all three judges saw the bout in favor of Phetjeeja.
Speaking with Mitch Chilson immediately following her win at ONE 172, ‘The Queen’ had nothing but positive things to say about her opponent, lauding Kana’s impressive speed.
As far as what comes next, Phetjeeja wants an opportunity to become a two-sport ONE world champion and called for a clash with ONE atomweight Muay Thai world champion Allycia Hellen Rodrigues.
Official Result: Phetjeeja defeated Kana via unanimous decision (ONE atomweight kickboxing world championship)