Eric Kelly returned to headline ONE FC 18 after an 18-month layoff due to contractual issues. The Filipino made the most out of his opportunity as he submitted Rob Lisita after a grueling back and forth affair that saw a bloodied Kelly display massive heart.
Both men pushed the pace and traded shots often and early, with Kelly suffering what seems to be a broken nose that made the contest one of the bloodiest in the promotion's history. Lisita managed to get dominant positions, but each time he tried to finish, Kelly found ways to slip out. Both men had their moments, but none bigger than when the Filipino managed to get a reversal and a no-hook rear naked choke, at a time when people were already starting to count out him out. [Gif]
The victory managed to earn Kelly a $50,000 performance bonus, which with the cost of living in the Philippines, could go a long way for the Baguio native. The 'Natural' now improves to 11-1, and thrusts himself back in title contention after defeating Lisita, who was coming from a very impressive run of his own.
Also on the card, former Legend FC champion Koji Ando stamped his dominance and quickly choked out Rafael Nunes [Gif], and Koetsu Okazaki stopped the very gritty Yusup Saadulaev.
Check out complete results below:
ONE FC 18 Results:
Eric Kelly def. Rob Lisita via submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:43 of R2
Koji Ando def. Rafael Nunes via submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:43 of R1
Koetsu Okazaki def. Yusup Saadulaev via TKO (punches) at 4:21 of R2
Jake Butler def. Mohamed Ali via TKO (punches) at 1:21 of R3
Paul Cheng def. Mahmoud Hassan via TKO (corner stoppage) at 5:00 of R2
Chi Lewis Parry def. Alain Ngalani via KO (elbow) at 4:11 of R1
Sung Ming Yen def. Nicholas Lee via submission (guillotine choke) at 1:10 of R1
Jeff Huang def. Bala Shetty via TKO (punches) at 3:20 of R1
Eliot Corley def. Rayner Kinsiong via KO (elbow) at 1:36 of R1
Nathan Ng def. Florian Garel via submission (north/south choke) at 1:23 of R1