ONE 171 results and recap: Mauro Cerilli vs. Kirill Grishenko

Heavyweight MMA contenders Mauro Cerilli and Kirill Grishenko figured in a thrilling and all-important bout on Thursday evening as part of the stacked ONE 171: Qatar card, which went down inside the Lusail Sports Arena.

Both fighters were looking to secure their second straight victory and fourth triumph under the world's largest martial arts organization. A win for either man should help them move toward a potential shot at the world title.

See the blow-by-blow action of this crucial heavyweight MMA fight.

Round 1: Grishenko landed the first strike in the match with a stiff jab against Cerilli. Both fighters are cautious against each other's power and weren't throwing much in the first minute of the bout.

Cerilli utilized his leg kicks by attacking the lead leg of Grishenko, but Grishenko reciprocated it with strong jabs and front kicks. The Italian MMA knockout artist started to let go of his hands two minutes into the round, and he was able to stun Grishenko multiple times. However, Grishenko weathered the storm and tried to engage in a clinch battle.

The fight was halted with an accidental eye poke by Grisenko on the left eye of Cerilli. After a few minutes of an official timeout, the action resumed.

After the break, Grishenko continued to fire his kicks and punches, but Cerilli answered with his own power punches. In the last 90 seconds of the match, Grishenko connected an atomic leg kick on Cerrilli's calf, which caused his opponent to be unable to continue due to a leg injury.

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ONE 171: Qatar - Mauro Cerilli vs. Kirill Grishenko official result

Belarusian MMA contender Kirill Grishenko shrugged off an early onslaught from Mauro Cerilli during their heavyweight MMA contest at ONE 171: Qatar on Thursday evening to score an opening-round TKO victory at the Lusail Sports Arena.

Kirill Grishenko perfectly timed an atomic leg kick on Cerilli's calf to cause an injury to his leg and make him unable to continue the match. It was a beautiful counter shot that the 33-year-old engineered to neutralize the offense and poweful punches from 'The Hammer.'

This was the M2G and MGC representative's second consecutive win and fourth overall under the world's largest martial arts organization.

Kirill Grishenko defeated Mauro Cerillo via first-round TKO in their heavyweight MMA match.