“It was everything or nothing” – Marat Grigorian says all gloves were off in the final round of his duel with Sitthichai 

Second-ranked ONE featherweight kickboxing contender Marat Grigorian knew he needed to put in every ounce of his energy left to put away his eternal rival Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong.

Dueling for the sixth time in the last 10 years, the pair of kickboxing greats left it all on the line in their highly entertaining encounter at ONE 165 last Sunday, which went down inside Tokyo’s Ariake Arena.

Grigorian started off slow in the first round, but bounced back big time in the ensuing stanza where he dropped ‘Killer Kid’ with a brutal knee.

However, the referee waived the Armenian’s knockdown since it came from the clinch position, which is prohibited under kickboxing rules.

The resilient Grigorian found another opening in the final round, finishing off Sitthichai with another powerful body blow to seal the knockout win.

Post-match, Marat Grigorian discussed what went through his mind before his brilliant fight-ending sequence.

The three-time GLORY world champion said:

“In the second round, I won, and I was glad. I thought I’d have given him an eight-count, but the referee didn’t count it because he said I was holding him. So it was 1-1. So the last one was a decision, so whoever won the round would get the win. For me, it was everything or nothing.”

If you missed any of the action or want to relive an epic night in ONE Championship history, the ONE 165 replay can be watched on demand via watch.onefc.com.

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Marat Grigorian eager to avenge setbacks against Chingiz Allazov, Superbon

While transitioning to Muay Thai is another possibility for Marat Grigorian, he wants to right a few wrongs in kickboxing before donning the four-ounce gloves.

The Hemmers Gym product has fallen short twice in six appearances inside the circle, suffering defeats in title fights against world-class foes Chingiz Allazov and Superbon.

For now, Grigorian may need a win or two to challenge the reigning featherweight kickboxing king Allazov, while a rematch with Superbon may very well be in his near future.