The opening match of ONE Fight Night 27 featured a bantamweight Muay Thai match between Suablack Tor Pran49 and Dmitrii Kovtun, who both sought to return to the win column after their previous matches.
Suablack and Kovtun thrilled fans inside the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. The former aims to snap his two-fight skid and collect his seventh win under the promotion, while the latter aims to record his second ONE Championship victory.
See the blow-by-blow action from this thrilling Muay Thai clash.
Round 1: Kovtun opened up with two jabs, and Suablack swung back with solid leg kicks. The Russian pressed forward by letting go of his hands and elbow to force Suablack to cover up. Midway into the round, Suablack continued to attack the legs. With under one minute left in the round, Kovtun caught Suablack with a powerful left elbow that knocked him down the canvas. Kovtun tried to finish the fight, but Suablack survived the round.
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Round 2: The round began with Kovtun pressing forward, connecting several punches and elbows against Suablack. After the first minute, the Thai contender changed his approach by engaging Kovtun in clinch battles, landing knee strikes from close range.
But Kovtun broke the clinch battles and continued to pressure Suablack with his looping punches and stiff jabs. Before the round ended, Suablack landed a Superman punch to clip the Russian and end the round on a high note.
Round 3: Suablack started the round with more urgency and targeted Kovtun's lead leg with multiple powerful kicks. The Thai turned the tables against Kovtun, with him being the aggressor and moving forward. However, midway through the round, a cut on Suablack's left eye became more visible from the elbows that Kovtun landed throughout the match.
The match ended in a flurry between the two athletes, who inflicted damage on each other until the final bell rang.
ONE Fight Night 27: Suablack Tor Pran49 vs Dmitrii Kovtun official result
Russian bantamweight Muay Thai contender Dmitrii Kovtun picked up his second victory under the world's largest martial arts organization by beating Thai star Suablack Tor Pran49 in their bantamweight Muay Thai showdown in the opening match of the ONE Fight Night 27 card inside the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on Saturday morning.
'The Silent Assassin' was the more aggressive fighter throughout the match as he imposed his will against Suablack. He used his punches and elbows to find success. Kovtun's best moment happened in the first round when he landed a beautiful left elbow counter that knocked down his Thai opponent and stamped the victory.
Kovtun improved his promotional record to two wins and one loss.
Dmitrii Kovtun defeated Suablack Tor Pran49 via unanimous decision in their bantamweight Muay Thai fight.