ONE 158: Gurdarshan Mangat knocks out Yodkaikaew Fairtex via split decision

Singapore, June 4 (ANI): ONE Championship (ONE) rocked the Singapore Indoor Stadium with a thrilling night of martial arts action at ONE 158. The exciting 13-bout card featured an exhilarating MMA Flyweight fight between Gurdarshan Mangat and Yodkaikaew Fairtex in the lead card event.
Explosive strikers Gurdarshan "Saint Lion" Mangat and Yodkaikaew "Y2K" Fairtex battled hard for 15 minutes in hopes of boosting their status in the stacked flyweight MMA ranks.
Mangat wisely utilized more of his wrestling against the Muay Thai specialist and dominated long stretches of the first two rounds with takedowns and back control, but the durable Fairtex athlete fended off submission attempts and bounced back with a strong final frame.
Yodkaikaew wobbled "Saint Lion" with a pair of damaging straight lefts that swung the momentum in his favour, but two of the judges sided with Mangat's overall body of work to grant him a split-decision victory.
Speaking about his win, Mangat said, "The last few fights have been victories all because of the hard work that I have put in towards each of these fights. Today's win was exceptionally special because I carry a lot on my shoulders, representing my country and community.
"This week was indeed a heavy as we had the passing of a very influential music idol, Sidhu Moosewala. All of India has been mourning his death and this win today has given my country and people a reason to celebrate," he added.
When quipped about his opponent, Mangat said, "For me, it was all about beating somebody with the name Fairtex. It felt cool to beat a true Muay-Thai warrior over here in ONE. I'm hoping that my next fights in the future are even better."
In the main event, Tawanchai PK Saenchai was too slick and too powerful for Niclas "Dreamchaser" Larsen when the pair clashed in their ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Title eliminator at ONE 158.
Despite his foe's aggression, the Thai superstar dominated the main event showdown and ended proceedings with a second-round knockout at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Friday. (ANI)