ONE returned today with ONE: Full Circle, back with a full 12 bout card, 2 title fights and a ridiculous amount of crowd pleasing action. I’ll be running through the action and giving my 5 main takeaways from todays event.

Inocente is still as exciting and deadly as ever

Kickboxing and MMA veteran Guto Inocente prevails in his long awaited ONE super series debut. The Brazilian takes out a game Bruno Susano in round 2 with a selection of venomous shots. He drilled at the body, chipped away at the head and even forced a pause in the action with a lovely wheel kick, an Inocente staple. His kickboxing expertise shone through and as always, he delivered an exciting and deadly display, always enjoyable for us fans. He certainly has the pedigree to go very far very quick in a kickboxing heavyweight division that is still very much a work in progress. Could a blockbuster contest with Rade Opacic be next for a vacant title or will Guto try his hand in MMA or Muay Thai on his quest to be a 3 sport champion? Either way, he’s must watch TV and his journey in ONE is going to be a fun one.

Ozcans versitility will take him to the top

First of all, what a fight, It lived up to all my expectations. Kehl was as game as ever, he didn’t stop fighting until the final bell as we’ve come to expect from him, you can never count this man out and he’s a credit to kickboxing. Never in a boring fight. Tayfun embraced the war, remained patient and calculated and when he picked his moments he struck first and struck hard. Although Kehl was more active, Tayfun was more effective and really showcased his composure, boxing ability and shot selection. His combination work is beautiful, especially with that lead hand and he’s already proven he can adapt to different top tier opponents. A close outing against Sitthichai and now a victory against a very different competitor in Kehl, if Tayfun continues to fine tune his game he has real championship potential.

Bigdash is next in line

Statement made! Vitaly Bigdash puts the Aung La trilogy to bed. The two former champions go to war for three rounds with Aung La yet again struggling with the grappling exchanges and ultimately losing the fight because of it. Vitaly, as expected, utilised his grappling advantage, maintained any dominant positions he found himself in and ultimately nullified any offensive advancements from Aung La. Granted of course he ate some heavy shots, that much is hard to avoid when fighting a guy as tough and gritty as Aung La but nevertheless, a superb performance from Vitaly and one would only assume a title shot must be next. 2-0 since his return, both fairly dominant victories and he continues to showcase his well rounded skill set, the only way is up for the Russian.

Kryklia is too good

It doesn’t matter whether he fights on the back foot using his range or whether he engages in close quarters combat, Kryklia is yet to be truly challenged at light heavyweight. On paper, Murat Aygun looked to be a guy who would take Kryklia into deep waters, give him a 5 round fight and keep marching forward but no, Kryklia is a virtuoso and yet agan, he finds a way. The first time Aygun has been stopped and stopped he was, a beautiful right hand counter puts him down before the subsequent barrage ends the night for the Turk. Although Kryklia put himself in harms way and made a point to be more aggressive, I don’t think he needed, to but it worked nevertheless, it speaks to his versatility as a kickboxer. He looks untouchable right now and I think with a lack of opponents at light heavyweight, maybe a title clash between Opacic or Inocente is the way to go. Either way don’t miss it, that’s now two title defences for the Ukrainian with the win at Full Circle, Kryklia is guaranteed fireworks.

De Ridder is a legitimate pound for pound MMA talent

15-0 in MMA, two ONE world titles and nothing but dominant performances. Its hard to deny that Reinier De Ridder is one of the best fighters in MMA right now. De Ridder makes the first defence of his middleweight title with an absolute beat down of ONE welterweight champ Kiamran Abbasov. Takedowns secured at will, top position maintained for however long he wanted and transitions appearing seamless, De Ridder puts on one of the most dominant performances in recent memory, finishing Abbasov via arm triangle in round 3. What a performance, there is nothing more to say, Abbasov was out matched and manhandled for all but 3 rounds, the BJJ ability of De Ridder looking unstoppable. Still undefeated, looking absolutely unstoppable, what’s next for De Ridder, can anyone stop this man? One would imagine a title defence against Bigdash is next but who knows. He even mentioned a move to heavyweight for a third world title, what a spectacle that would be and for this man, its certainly not a tall order. The sky is the limit for this man.

The best of the rest

Drex Zamboanga vs Rahul Raju

Despite a huge jump in weight, Drex Zamboangas jump from flyweight to lightweight couldn’t have gone any better. The healthier option proving to be the much better one here, as Drex puts Rahul Raju down with essentially the first exchange of the fight. A lovely barrage of punches against the cage gets it done, the lightweight power evident, the talent remaining, a positive change at just 28 years old putting Drex in good stead for lightweight success.

Smilla Sundell vs Diandra Martin

Smilla Sundell makes good on her ONE debut with a 3rd round stoppage over Diandra Martin. The swede set an impressive pace, walking her opponent down while chipping away at the body all to open up those all important headshots. The opportunity arose and a clubbing left hand renders Martin unable to continue, culminating in a priceless first round debut finish for Smilla.

Vladimir Kuzmin vs Chris Shaw

Vladimir Kuzmin makes his mark on ONE’s bantamweight Muay Thai division with a clinical performance, dismantling Chris Shaw over 3 rounds, putting together some vicious combinations at an electric pace to secure a dominant decision win. Shaw was left with a face resembling something out of a horror movie, but his heart was undeniable. Kuzmin is ridiculously talented and undoubtably one to watch at bantamweight.

Zebaztian Kadestam vs Valmir Da Silva

In a must win MMA affair, former ONE welterweight King Zebaztian Kadestam gets back to winning ways with a beautiful first round finish over the debuting Valmir Da Silva. The Bandit was riding a 3 fight skid which he now leaves in the past, with his grappling struggles not even coming in to play here, instead his Muay Thai base doing all the talking. A lovely 4 punch combo puts a stamp on the contest to give the former champ some momentum to build on in his ascension back to the divisions summit.

Fabricio Andrade vs Jeremy Pacatiw

Fabricio Andrade, what a fighter. The Brazilian shoots to 4-0 with his win at ONE: Full Circle, breezing past Team Lakays Jeremy Pacatiw, who many thought would be one of his toughest tests yet. His Muay Thai prowess leads him to victory once again, timing a beautiful knee to an oncoming Pacatiw’s liver to shut the Philipino down. 4-0 in ONE, 3 finishes and a whole lot of confidence. A crack at the belt may be arriving sooner rather than later for this talented bantamweight.

Another great night of ONE action and a lot more to come, what a run of events we have to look forward to, ONE: Lights out up next with 3 title fights and then of course the highly anticipated ONE: X. What a time to be a combat sports fan.

Find the full ONE: Full Circle results below:

Reinier De Ridder def Kiamran Abbasov via round 3 arm triangle choke

Roman Kryklia def Murat Aygun via round 1 TKO

Vitaly Bigdash def Aung La N Sang via unanimous decision

Tayfun Ozcan def Enriko Kehl via unanimous decision

Guto Inocente def Bruno Susano via round 2 TKO

Fabricio Andrade def Jeremy Pacatiw via round 1 TKO

Zebaztian Kadestam def Valmir Da Silva via round 1 KO

Vladimir Kuzmin def Chris Shaw via unanimous decision

Smilla Sundell def Diandra Martin via round 3 TKO

Daniyal Zainalov def Yuri Simoes via split decision

Daniel Puertas def Jiduo Yibu via split decision

Drex Zamboanga def Rahul Raju via round 1 KO