High Fives: Devastating Knees, TKOs and Rarely Seen Submissions

The Ultimate Fighting Championship and Bellator MMA did not have a monopoly on the mixed martial arts stage during the weekend of May 10-12. One Championship “Warriors of Light” on Friday offered some thrilling clashes at Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand, while Legacy Fighting Alliance 66 in West Valley City, Utah, featured a “Submission of the Year” contender.

Gogoplata set up from mount. Andrew Tenneson submits Westin Wilson in R1. Shouts to Shinya. #LFA66 pic.twitter.com/gOqMTIgYxj

— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) May 11, 2019

DO NOT PASS GOGO … Andrew Tenneson squared off with Westin Wilson in a featherweight showcase at LFA 66. Tenneson faced early adversity when he found himself in bottom position and trapped in a guillotine choke, but he survived and sprang a reversal. Late in the first round, Tenneson achieved full mount. From there, he brought up his right shin and pinned it to the throat of his adversary. Having grabbed the back of Wilson’s head with both hands, Tenneson rolled to his back and continued to tighten the choke until the Bellator alum was forced to succumb 4:29 into Round 1. With the rarely seen gogoplata finish and the fifth submission win of his career, Tenneson moved to 8-1. Wilson slid to 6-4.



FIRST IMPRESSION … Shooto champion Shoko Sato made his promotional debut opposite New Zealand’s Mark Abelardo in the One Championship bantamweight main event. Abelardo had his moments on the feet in the first round, but in the second, he found himself with his back to the mat and his Japanese opponent standing over him, unleashing a barrage of ground-and-pound. Because the New Zealander offered no resistance, the referee stepped in at the 1:58 point of Round 2. The TKO triumph saw Sato move to 31-16-3, while Abelardo slipped to 18-6.



CRUSHING KNEE … Thailand’s Pongsiri Mitsatit was paired with Filipino standout Robin Catalan in a One Championship strawweight feature. The fight was fought at a frenetic pace from the outset. Catalan came close to ending the match with a heel hook attempt, but Mitsatit successfully defended the maneuver and returned to his feet. Later in the frame, the Thai unleashed knees from a standing clinch position. After driving the Catalan to the fence, Mitsatit connected with a knee to the midsection that sent his counterpart crumpling to the canvas. It gave Mitsatit his eighth knockout win 3:05 into first round and moved his record to 10-2. Catalan dipped to 9-5.



STRIKING MASTER CLASS … Japan’s Kazuki Tokudome met Papua New Guinea’s Adrian Pang in a One Championship lightweight affair. In the first round, Pang landed some heavy left hooks and dazed the Japanese combatant. Round 2 entailed Tokudome employing his superior reach to land crisp jabs and crosses on the increasingly marked up New Guinean. The relentless punches led to the TKO stoppage 1:27 into the second stanza. Tokudome put the brakes on a three-fight losing streak and in doing so upped his record to 19-10-1. The setback saw Pang fall to 23-13-2.



DUTCH DEVASTATION … A lightweight clash which matching organizational newcomer Peter Buist with Kota Shimoishi highlighted the One Championship undercard. In the first round, Shimoishi enjoyed a period of sustained control against the Dutchman while in top position on the mat. The end came in the second, where, having dropped the Japanese pugilist to his knees with a straight right, Buist delivered three knees to his prone opponent. The third strike prompted the referee to jump in and call a halt to proceedings 3:55 into Round 2. Buist, now 13-4, has won his last six contests, all by stoppage. The loss saw Shimoishi dip to 21-8.