Sam-A Gaiyanghadao Squashes Josh Tonna at One: Reign of Dynasties

WHAT A FINISH
Sam-A knocks out Josh Tonna in the second round to retain the ONE Strawweight Muay Thai World Title! #ReignOfDynasties #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/NnsN646la0

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) October 9, 2020

One Championship returned to Singapore with a solid MMA card and a muay Thai title on the line in the main event.

One: Reign of Dynasties was headlined by a strawweight championship clash pitting Sam-A Gaiyanghadao against Josh Tonna. It took one round to Sam-A to figure Tonna out, as the opening stanza developed at a slower pace than expected. In the second round, the Thai champion pressed on the accelerator and dropped his opponent three times. The final count came after a series of devastating combinations that mixed punches in with head kicks. The bout’s official end came at the 2:30 mark, courtesy of the promotion’s muay Thai three knockdown rule.

Reece "Lightning" McLaren finishes Aleksi Toivonen with a DEVASTATING knee to the body! @ReeceMclaren91 #ReignOfDynasties #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/B7wUa1pnJi

— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) October 9, 2020

In the co-main event, Reece McLaren (14-7) ripped off a first-round knee knockout victory at the expense of Aleksi Toivonen (7-1). McLaren attempted to move the action on the floor as soon as the contest started, but Toivonen blocked his opponent’s initial takedown attempt. Forced to fight on the feet, “Lightning” showed off surgical striking that forced Toivonen to defend himself with his back against the fence. At the beginning of the fourth minute, McLaren dropped his opponent with a vicious overhand right. Even though Toivonen seemed to have recovered from the shot and bounced back on the feet immediately, he couldn't escape from McLaren’s relentless pressure. The Australian fighter found the decisive strike with a knee to the body that folded Toivonen. Referee Mohamad Sulaiman had no choice but to stop the match at the 4:18 mark.

In a lightweight affair, Amir Khan (13-7) smashed Rahul K. Raju (7-5) in the opening frame. Khan struggled with his opponent’s wrestling initially, but he changed the course of the battle after landing a violent elbow that knocked down his opponent. Khan forced the referee to intervene at the 4:47 mark after landing a few follow-up shots. In his post-fight interview, the Singaporean fighter dedicated his victory to his father suffering from stage IV cancer.

Elsewhere, Eko Roni Saputra (3-1) tapped Murugan Silvarajoo (3-2) with a slick keylock using his legs at 2:29 of the first round; Getu Hexi (7-3) edged Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke (11-6) via split decision; and Roshan Mainam Luwang (5-2) submitted Pengshuai Liu (6-5) at 2:27 of Round 2 via rear-naked choke.