WATCH: Heavyweight monster Kirill Grishenko goes chopping in brutal leg kick knockout of Mauro Cerilli at ONE 171

Kirill Grishenko found himself in the good graces of Lady Luck as he pulled away with a pivotal win over former ONE heavyweight MMA world title challenger Mauro Cerilli.

The two behemoths clashed on the supporting card of ONE 171 on Thursday, Feb. 20, thrilling a packed Lusail Sports Arena in Qatar.

Watch the highlights of that matchup below:

Despite having his hand raised in victory, the Belarusian’s triumph was anything but easy.

Cerilli came out aggressive, pressing Grishenko early. However, the 33-year-old utilized his reach and size advantage, mixing in push kicks to the midsection and heavy leg kicks to slow the Italian down.

An accidental eye poke led to a brief injury timeout, but when the action resumed, Grishenko wasted no time capitalizing. A thudding left kick to Cerilli’s lower leg left him visibly compromised, forcing the referee to wave off the contest at 3:28 of the opening round.

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Kirill Grishenko keeps title hopes alive with win at ONE 171

With the win at ONE 171, Kirill Grishenko improved his professional record to 7-2 and established a two-bout winning streak — keeping himself firmly in the hunt for a shot at the ONE heavyweight MMA world title, currently held by Oumar 'Reug Reug' Kane.

Interestingly, Grishenko is no stranger to the reigning champion. The two previously met at ONE on TNT IV in April 2021, where the Belarusian handed Kane the first loss of his career via second-round TKO.

In that encounter, Kane attempted to impose his grappling, but Grishenko picked him apart with striking. A well-timed right hand to the chin ended the bout, as 'Reug Reug' was unable to continue.

However, since that setback, Kane has transformed into a dominant force, stringing together four straight victories under MMA rules — including a shocking upset over Anatoly Malykhin to become the heavyweight kingpin at ONE 169 in November 2024.

If a rematch is on the horizon, Grishenko can expect a very different version of 'Reug Reug' this time around.