Undefeated former M-1 Global featherweight champion Marat “the Cobra” Gafurov made a stunning ONE FC debut on Friday night in Kuala Lumpur as he derailed “Ruthless” Rob Lisita’s comeback plans by choking him out a little over a minute into the first round.
Australia’s Lisita entered the fight with a chip on his shoulder, coming off a shock submission loss against Eric Kelly in the main event of ONE FC’s first Taiwan event in Taipei in July.
Russia’s Gafurov, fighting outside his native country for the first time, entered the fight with an unblemished 9-0-0 record, donning a Brazilian jiujitsu gi and his black belt for his ring walk.
Photo courtesy of ONE FC
He went in saying that he planned to exploit what he saw as Lisita’s lack of stamina, but there was no need, as he made short work of the Australian.
The two wasted no time engaging, with the heavy-handed Lisita landing a hard overhand right only seconds after the opening bell, but in the very next exchange, Gafurov landed a brutal roundhouse kick to Lisita’s head that dropped him to the canvas. The Russian pounced, landing a quick succession of punches before taking Lisita’s back, locking himself into position with a body triangle and working to sink a rear naked choke.
Lisita held on, but was unable to free himself, and Gafurov forced the tap-out at 1 minute, 8 seconds into the round.
Photo courtesy of ONE FC
Lisita stormed out of the cage without waiting for the result to be announced before officials led him back, with blood still streaming from his nose, while ONE FC commentator Brandon Vera told an elated Gafurov during his post-fight interview that he was smiling for the first time all week.
“Usually I smile all the time, but these days, I was very focused,” he said through a translator.
“I wasn’t planning to take him out in the first round, I was just trying to gas him out, but what happens happens,” he said.
Photo courtesy of ONE FC
In the co-main event, hometown hero Peter Davis had the crowd on their feet as he engineered a stunning reversal to knock out Vaughn Donayre of the Philippines with only 10 seconds left of the first round in a lightweight battle.
Davis is a former London financial consultant who lost his job during the 2008 financial crisis. Finding himself with time on his hands, he took a trip to his mother’s native country, Malaysia, where the Eurasian achieved minor celebrity as a model and actor, and turned his martial arts hobby into a career after signing with ONE FC.
The fight began with Davis establishing his jab and Donayre finding a home for sharp straight rights.
The fighters clinched and went to the ground, more by accident than by design, with Davis attempting a guillotine choke.
Donayre escaped to take half-mount and unsuccessfully attempted a kimura, with Davis improving to full guard. Donayre then stood, and Davis landed sharp heel kicks from his back that had blood streaming from the Filipino’s nose.
Donayre attempted to ground-and-pound, but Davis suddenly swept him to take full mount and administered a ground-and-pound of his own, raining down vicious elbows until referee Oliver Coste stopped the fight at 4:50.
Elsewhere on the undercard, Malaysia’s Ev Ting knocked out Edward Kelly of the Philippines with a kick to the head at 4:28 of the second round, while his compatriot, Ann “Athena” Osman, stopped Egypt’s Aya Saeid Saber via elbows delivered from full mount at 3:15 into the first.
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