Adriano Moraes Submits Tilek Batyrov, Claims Interim 135-Pound Crown at One Championship 45

Adriano Moraes vs Tilek Batyrov #ONEFightNight GIF pic.twitter.com/IIBYzLkfHq

— Zombie Prophet (@ZPGIFs) August 13, 2016

Adriano Moraes captured the interim flyweight championship with a second-round submission of short-notice foe Tilek Batyrov in the One Championship 45 headliner on Saturday at the Cotai Arena in Macau, China.

Moraes controlled his foe from full mount late in the second stanza, peppering Batyrov with short punches to the face. Batyrov then surrendered his back and rolled frantically to escape Moraes’ clutches. His efforts were to no avail, however, as “Black Diamond” secured both hooks and elicited the tapout at the 4:49 mark of the frame.

Moraes did most of his best work on the mat throughout the flyweight contest. He landed a takedown in the opening round and landed some moderate ground-and-pound inside Batyrov’s guard before fending off a choke from his adversary. Moraes nearly put the contest away earlier in round two with a north-south choke, but Batyrov was able to escape. However, the 24-year-old Kyrgyzstan native offered very little in the way of offense before Moraes ended the fight.

The victory could set up a rematch with with reigning One Championship flyweight king Kairat Akhmetov, who defeated Moraes via split decision to capture the belt this past November. Moraes improved to 15-2 with the victory, while Batyrov falls to 10-2 in defeat.

In earlier main card action: Eduard Folayang (16-5) took a unanimous decision against Adrian Pang at lightweight; Eddie Ng (7-4) outpointed Honorio Banario (10-6) at 155 pounds; and Martin Nguyen (7-1) upset 18-year-old prospect Christian Lee (5-1) via guillotine choke 4:30 into the first round at featherweight.