ONE Friday Fights 19 recap: Kulabdam clobbers Ilyas Musaev in three-round thriller

Two-time Lumpinee Stadium world champion Kulabdam Sor Jor Piek Uthai defended home turf by outlasting Ilyas Musaev in their bantamweight Muay Thai clash at ONE Friday Fights 19 inside 'The Mecca of Muay Thai' on June 2.

Both fighters had a feeling-out process in Round 1, each trying to gauge the other’s pace and tempo.

Kulabdam struck first by asserting his kicking game early on, assaulting Musaev’s leg and body. The Russian answered back near the end of the round, scoring with short punches in the clinch, followed by a clean elbow to the temple of the crowd favorite.

The action picked up in Round 2 as Kulabdam’s thumping leg kick reverberated inside the legendary arena.

Musaev once again tried to bring the fight to close quarters where he found success early on, but the elusive Thai read his game plan and circled away.

The 21-year-old scored with a gorgeous punch combination to the body, but the Thai KO artist finished the round strong by aggressively moving forward and trying to find a home for that one hitter quitter of his.

Kulabdam seemed to have found the distance by Round 3, as he continued beating up the Venum Training Camp fighter’s lead leg. This opened up his opponent's guard and ‘Left Meteorite’ fully capitalized by unleashing a series of left hooks that found their mark repeatedly.

The Sor. Jor. Piak Uthai Gym standout went for broke before the final horn, throwing everything but the kitchen sink to secure the decisive victory.

Final result: Kulabdam Sor Jor Piek Uthai defeats Ilyas Musaev via unanimous decision (Muay Thai - bantamweight)

Kulabdam improved his record to 69-18 and is now 4-3 under the ONE Championship banner.

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ONE Friday Fights 19 full results

Kulabdam Sor Jor Piek Uthai defeats Ilyas Musaev via unanimous decision (Muay Thai - bantamweight)

Ronachai Tor Ramimntra defeats Aekkalak Tor Samarngarment via unanimous decision (Muay Thai - catchweight 124 lbs)

Rittidet Sor Sommai defeats Jalill Barnes via KO at 0:20 of Round 3 (Muay Thai - catchweight 133 lbs)

Petrapha Sor Sopit defeats Den Sitnayoktaweeptapthong via split decision (Muay Thai - catchweight 122 lbs)

Kohtao Petsomnuk defeats Amnartdet Sitnayokmot via TKO at 2:54 of Round 3 (Muay Thai - catchweight 116 lbs)

Soroush Akbari defeats Parnpet Sor Jor Lekmuangnon via split decision (Muay Thai - catchweight 126 lbs)

Elbrus Osmanov defeats Kaonar Sor Jor Thongprajin via unanimous decision (kickboxing - bantamweight)

Ferzan Cicek defeats Panrit Lukjaomaesaiwaree via KO at 0:26 of Round 3 (Muay Thai - bantamweight)

Pongsiri Sor Jor Wichitpadriew defeats Noelisson Silva via unanimous decision (Muay Thai - catchweight 128.8 lbs)

Natalia Diachkova defeats Lena Nocker via TKO at 1:58 of Round 1 (Muay Thai - women’s strawweight)

Chen Rui defeats Drex Zamboanga via split decision (MMA - bantamweight)

Murad Umachiev defeats Ibragim Shaymanov via unanimous decision (MMA - lightweight)