ONE 172 results: Rak Erawan vs. Nadaka Yoshinari
In one of the most intriguing bouts of the evening, multi-time Muay Thai champion Nadaka Yoshinari made his ONE Championship debut at ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang, taking on Thai striking sensation Rak Erawan in atomweight Muay Thai action.
Round 1: Rak comes out and quickly lands a low kick. Nadaka fires back with a quick kick to the body. Both fighters trade kicks near the corner and Nadaka rips to the body with a straight left.
Nadaka continues to punish the body of Rak, landing a front kick followed by another left. Rak comes right back with a front kick right up the middle. Nadaka lands a nice one-two.
Nadaka kicks his way out of the corner, lighting up Rak’s lead leg. Rak closes the distance and partially connects with a right hand. Nadaka connects with another shot to the body just before the bell.
Round 2: Rak continues to put on the pressure, but can’t connect with the counter shots as Nadaka is simply too fast for him. Nadaka keeps the distance with kicks to the leg leg and body of Rak.
Nadaka catches Rak with a stiff kick that sends him crashing to the canvas, but the kick connected with Rak’s groin. As a result, the knockdown is waved off and an injury timeout is taken.
As the fight resumes, Nadaka lands a pair of stinging front kicks to the body. Every time Rak closes in, Nadaka hits him with a quick push kick.
Rak is also showing some damage on his lead leg. Rak appears to have been wobbled from another nasty calf kick and Nadaka turns up the heat in the final seconds of the second round.
Nadaka looks for a high kick, but Rak fends it off and makes it back to his stool.
Round 3: Nadaka goes right after Rak’s lead leg. Nadaka attacks the body with a kick before launching another kick that connects with Rak’s head. Rak eats it and keeps moving forward, landing a couple of calf kicks of his own. Nadaka rips to the body and is putting on a masterclass against the Thai warrior.
Nadaka pumps the jab as Rak approaches and sweeps the leg, taking Rak off his feet. With 20 seconds left in the round, Nadaka unleashes a straight left that catches Rak clean and sends him crashing to the canvas.
Referee Olivier Coste immediately recognizes that Rak is out cold and calls for the stoppage with only seconds left on the clock.
ONE 172 - Rak Erawan vs. Nadaka Yoshinari Official Result
The 10-time Muay Thai world champion made a big impressive in his promotional debut at ONE 172, scoring a dominant victory over a tough Thai striker.
Official Result: Nadaka Yoshinari defeated Rak Erawan via KO (straight left) at 2:40 of round three (Muay Thai - atomweight)