Zebaztian Kadestam ONE Fight Night 31: WATCH: Relive Swedish knockout monster Zebaztian Kadestam's world title triumph ahead of ONE Fight Night 31

'You never forget your first' is a saying that best applies to Swedish MMA great Zebaztian Kadestam, particularly when he captured his first ONE world championship back in November 2018 at ONE: Warrior's Dream, defeating the battle-hardened Tyler McGuire.

Over a year since he failed to dethrone then-reigning ONE welterweight MMA world champion Ben Askren in September 2017, Kadestam saw a golden opportunity waiting for him when he came to blows with McGuire over the then-vacant welterweight MMA crown.

Recognizing his immense striking advantage over the grappling-focused McGuire, 'The Bandit' enjoyed piecing up the American standout until he eventually landed the knockout blow with about 30 seconds remaining in the fifth and final round.

The promotion shared highlights of Kadestam's championship-winning performance on Instagram.

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Check out the video below:

Following a masterful beatdown of Georgiy Kichigin in March 2019 to defend the gold, Kyrgyz-Russian star Kiamrian Abbasov unceremoniously ended his reign in October that year, which marked the beginning of a three-fight skid.

However, Kadestam has returned to world-beating form after posting three straight knockout wins between February 2022 and May 2023.

Zebaztian Kadestam hints at honing his technical prowess

Zebaztian Kadestam will return to the circle at ONE Fight Night 31 on Friday, May 2, in a welterweight MMA bout against the hardy Isi Fitikefu, and believes he has done the work necessary to emerge victorious.

In a recent interview with ONE, he shared:

"[I've done] a lot of technical work trying to improve everywhere, but since I haven't been anywhere near a fight camp, I kind of focused a lot on the technical aspect.

ONE Fight Night 31 will emanate from the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. The entire event will be available live and free to all Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.

About the author

Karl has been an MMA writer at Sportskeeda since 2023. He holds a Bachelor of Arts major in history, which helps him pay attention to the finer details while writing, and also has first-hand experience in boxing. He has a total experience of 5 years, and has worked for the International Business Times.

Karl turned into an MMA fan back in 2011 after watching Tito Ortiz defeat Ryan Bader via first-round submission at UFC 132. He has interviewed ONE world champions like Eduard Folayang, Joshua Pacio, Stamp Fairtex, and Tawanchai in his career so far.

On the non-MMA side of things, he interviewed WWE superstar Matt Riddle in 2021 and his question about Roman Reigns elicited an interesting answer which was widely covered by outlets like Sportskeeda and Cultaholic Wrestling's YouTube channel. He has also interviewed NBA stars Dwight Howard, Nick Young, Andre Roberson, Shabazz Muhammad, Jason Williams and Brian Scalabrine plus Filipino women's volleyball star Alyssa Valdez.

Karl ensures to double-check facts before using them in articles, and reads up on potential topics for pieces a day before. In his off time, he likes to play video games, and keep up with basketball and pro wrestling.

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Edited by Tejas Rathi