Le, Zhang, Musumeci Take Home US$50,000 Performance Bonuses At ONE Fight Night 15 (original) (raw)
ONE Fight Night 15: Le vs. Freymanov on Prime Video went down in U.S. primetime on October 6, and the event in Bangkok, Thailand, was packed with high-action bouts from start to finish.
Three ONE superstars put on truly spectacular showings. To that end, ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong awarded US$50,000 performance bonuses to main event winner Thanh Le, grappling superstar Mikey Musumeci, and Chinese dynamo “The Warrior” Zhang Lipeng.
Former undisputed featherweight MMA king Le shined in his headlining clash with Ilya Freymanov, securing a heel hook finish after just 62 seconds of high-paced action.
The surprising submission – just the second ever from a man known for knockout victories – netted the Vietnamese-American the ONE Interim Featherweight MMA World Title and a well-deserved bonus.
Musumeci was in top form throughout his openweight submission grappling clash against former lightweight MMA king Shinya Aoki.
The reigning ONE Flyweight Submission Grappling World Champion ultimately scored the win using his opponent’s own trademark “Aoki Lock” in a beautiful display of jiu-jitsu technique.
“Darth Rigatoni” needed just over three minutes to earn his third straight submission, his sixth victory in ONE, and an extra US$50,000.
Chinese MMA veteran Zhang took home the evening’s first performance bonus thanks to his electrifying knockout of former ONE World Title challenger Timofey Nastyukhin.
The finish came in the first round after a wild exchange of punches on the feet, with “The Warrior” finding a home for his concussive punches en route to a thrilling TKO after just over three minutes of action.