Agilan Thani Spoils Yoshihiro Akiyama's Promotional Debut At One: Legendary Quest

One Championship converged on Shanghai once again as One: Legendary Quest went down on June 15. In the MMA main event of the evening, Japanese mixed martial arts legend and Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Yoshihiro Akiyama made his highly-anticipated One debut against Malaysian contender Agilan Thani. In Akiyama’s first bout after nearly 4 years out of the sport, Thani (10-3) though wasn’t impressed by his opponent’s résumé, and he eventually left another loss on Akiyama’s record, winning the contest via unanimous decision.

In the MMA co-main event of the evening, Koyomi Matsushima faced South Korean contender Kwon Won Il. Former Shooto Welterweight Tournament champion Matsushima arrived to this contest after successfully making his One debut with a TKO victory over Marat Gafurov. “Pretty Boy” Il secured a TKO victory in his last fight too. The action between these two contenders went back and forth for the entire duration of the match, with Matsushima taking advantage of his superior wrestling skill, while Il answered with his vicious striking. In the end, the judges awarded Matsushima (11-3) a unanimous decision victory.

In the first bout of the main card, Dutch fighter Reinier de Ridder manhandled Gilberto Galvao and handed him a TKO loss. Thanks to his reach advantage and far superior grappling skills due to his judo background, de Ridder (11-0) managed to dictate the pace of the action. On the feet, de Ridder held off Galvao’s strikes with his jab, but it was in the wrestling and grappling phases that “The Dutch Knight” showed off his full arsenal, working from the clinch and taking his opponent to the ground. It was right after a takedown that de Ridder hit Galvao with three vicious knees to the head, which forced the Brazilian fighter to tap in order to prevent taking further damage. Referee Olivier Coste called a stop to the action at 0:55 of the second stanza.