ONE Fight Night 21: Eersel vs Nicolas - Who won the $50,000 bonuses?
Returning to the legendary Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, ONE Championship delivered the goods once again with its latest Amazon Prime Video offering, ONE Fight Night 21.
Three fighters took home $50,000 bonuses for spectacular finishes inside the Mecca of Muay Thai.
Kade Ruotolo scored the first $50,000 bonus of the night from ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong following his slick rear-naked choke submission victory over Brazilian debutant Francisco Lo. The newcomer came out aggressive in the early going, but his overzealousness ultimately cost him as Ruotolo was able to take the back and cinch in an arm-in RNC just under the five-minute mark.
During Ruotolo's post-fight interview, the Atos Jiu-Jitsu star revealed that he will make his MMA debut on June 7 when ONE Championship returns to Impact Arena in Bangkok for ONE 167.
Collecting the second bonus of the night was undefeated heavyweight standout Ben Tynan. 'Vanilla Thunder' moved to 6-0 in his mixed martial arts career, landing a brutal first-round technical knockout over Duke Didier. Clinched up against the ropes, Didier landed uncorked a nasty inside elbow that immediately sent Didier crashing to the canvas.
Tynan jumped on his man and unleashed a hellacious round of ground-and-pound that left referee Herb Dean with no choice but to call for the stoppage just past the halfway point of the first.
Immediately following his win, Tynan called out three-division world champion Anatoly Malykhin.
Not to be outdone by his twin brother, Tye Ruotolo delivered in his first defense of the ONE welterweight submission grappling world title, dispatching Aussie newcomer Izaak Michell in less than five minutes with the exact same rear-naked choke/arm-triangle hybrid finish that Kade Ruotolo put on his opponent hours earlier.
As a result, Tye Ruotolo walked away with his own $50,000 bonus, meaning that the Ruotolo twins banked a combined 100k for their stellar submission victories at ONE Fight Night 21.