MMA News: Stamp Fairtex's Shocking Victory And Other Takeaways From ONE: Winter Warriors

ONE Championship set off the holiday season with a solid card in ONE: Winter Warriors last Friday, December 3.

Here are some key takeaways from the massive event.

All eyes on 'Buchecha'

The decorated Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner in Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida proved that his first-ever mixed martial arts victory over fellow heavyweight Anderson Silva in September was no fluke.

Almeida stepped into the cage against South Korean knockout artist Kang Ji Won and gave him his first-ever loss.

The Brazilian measured Kang’s striking range before shooting in for a takedown that lifted the South Korean off his feet, entering into Almeida’s area of expertise on the ground.

Almeida softened up his opponent while in top position and as Kang was rising to his feet, he kept control of his opponent and made him tap out with a rear-naked choke midway through the first round.

“I don’t know, man. It’s just an honor to be here and a part of all that. That’s just my second fight so I just want to keep learning and keep growing, day by day, step by step,” an elated Almeida told commentator Mitch Chilson after the fight.

Stamp Fairtex proves her weight in gold

In what could arguably be described as the surprise of the night, Stamp Fairtex claimed victory over India’s wrestling phenom in Ritu Phogat in the finals of the ONE Women's Atomweight World Grand Prix with, of all things, an armbar.

Both fighters were measuring each other’s abilities for the earlier part of the first round, and Phogat had Stamp against the cage and successfully took her down to the mat soon after.

Phogat’s high-energy output in the first round had her sucking in air in between rounds, one of the rare times that fans ever saw her look so tired.

“The Indian Tigress” stuck to her game plan despite her apparent exhaustion and was able to get Stamp on the ground, but the former two-sport champion defended it perfectly and had her in an extremely deep triangle.

Stamp countered Phogat’s transition with an armbar, fully stretching out her foe’s right arm, forcing the Indian heroine to tap.

A surprising masterclass of close-quarters combat from the newly-crowned ONE atomweight grand prix champion proved that she was not just a one-trick pony and will look to do the same when she faces reigning atomweight queen Angela Lee in 2022.

Who can stop Regian Eersel?

In the main event, Regian Eersel proved he is still the man to beat in the ONE lightweight kickboxing division as he successfully defended his title against a very game Islam Murtazaev.

As noted by Eersel himself in the pre-fight hype video package, the Singapore-based promotion had to go and find a worthy contender for his belt, which led to the signing of Murtazaev.

A deeply-motivated Murtazaev sought to put the pressure on Eersel to perform as the Russian pulled off a variety of strikes to keep the champion on his heels.

However, Eersel remained in step with Murtazaev as the latter’s energy levels started to drop.

The reigning ONE lightweight kickboxing king put his foot on the gas and went after Murtazaev with all his might, battering the challenger for most of round three onwards.

“I'm not satisfied with the outcome. I need to improve my skills. I'm not really the fighter that I want to be,” Eersel told Chilson when asked about the split decision victory.

The 28-year-old’s winning streak now extends to 18, with no potential challengers in sight.