“Reug Reug” reigns supreme.
In the ONE 169 main event Friday at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, Oumar Kane took one of then-triple champion Anatoly Malykhin’s titles away. Kane (7-1) defeated Malykhin (14-1) by split decision after five rounds of heavyweight fighting.
The bout was largely lackluster, with both men grinding into the ropes. During separations, Malykhin appeared to be the aggressor. He struggled with range a bit, coming up short on many of his punches, but he was still able to crack Kane on several occasions.
Kane never faltered. Conversely, he cracked Malykhin with a hard blow that resulted in a Round 4 knockdown (though it was tough to tell if it was more of a slip).
Ultimately, two of the three judges thought Kane did more and he was declared the winner by split decision. A massive celebration ensued as confetti fell from the ceiling, and referee Herb Dean was nearly taken out by an enthusiastic Kane corner.
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— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) November 9, 2024
In victory, Kane became the first African champion in promotion history. A Senegalese wrestler, Kane turned heads when he pivoted to MMA in 2019 because of his size, physique, and athleticism. As he’s developed, Kane has continued to rack up wins, outside of an April 2021 loss by TKO to Kirill Grishenko.
Malykhin lost one title but still has two others in his trophy case. Entering the bout, he held three divisional titles: middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight. Friday’s defeat was his first professional loss.
Full ONE 169 results include:
- Oumar Kane def. Anatoly Malykhin via split decision – for heavyweight MMA title
- Rodtang Jitmuangnon def. Jacob Smith via unanimous decision – for flyweight muay Thai title
- Jackie Buntan def. Anissa Meksen via unanimous decision – for strawweight kickboxing title
- Adriano Moraes def. Danny Kingad via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 2, 4:14
- Kongthoranee Sor Sommai def. Tagir Khalilov via unanimous decision – muay Thai
- Kade Ruotolo def. Ahmed Mujtaba via submission (D’Arce choke) – Round 1, 1:04
- Sam-A Gaiyanghadao def. Zhang Peimian via unanimous decision – kickboxing
- Marcus Almeida def. Amir Aliakbari via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:15
- Mohamed Younes Rabah def. Eddie Abasolo via unanimous decision – muay Thai
- Ayaka Miura def. Macarena Aragon via submission (scarf-hold) – Round 1, 2:20
- Aliff Sor Dechapan def. Walter Goncalves via unanimous decision – muay Thai
