John Lineker suffered his first loss in Muay Thai at ONE Battle Evening 27, although the scorecards left some confused as to how precisely the previous UFC fighter misplaced regardless of touchdown an early knockdown.
Lineker got here out swinging huge early and trapping Kulabdam towards the ropes. A mere 45 seconds into the competition, Kulabdam hit the mat after consuming a left hand adopted by a brief uppercut from the previous ONE bantamweight MMA world champion.
Kulabdam answered the referee’s 10-count however was compelled to face one other barrage of strikes from Lineker. Nevertheless, ‘Left Meteorite’ was greater than keen to interact and caught ‘Hands of Stone’ with a collection of stiff lefts that had Lineker backing away and attempting to clear the cobwebs.
After a quick and livid first spherical, each fighters have been far more measured within the second. However with the combat on the road, all bets have been off within the third. Kulabdam regarded to punish Lineker with a slew of physique kicks as ‘Hands of Stone’ tried to deliver his signature hooks excessive.
Kulabdam’s repeated assaults to the physique appeared to have Lineker slowing down considerably, however due to the knockdown in spherical one, the Thai would probably want a end to go away The Land of Smiles with a win.
… Or would he?
Kulabdam turned up the warmth with 15 seconds to go, forcing Lineker to clinch up and trip out the rest of the clock.
With the Thai unable to attain a knockdown of his personal, it appeared like ‘Hands of Stone’ would transfer to 3-0 within the artwork of eight limbs. Nevertheless, the three judges noticed issues in another way.
Official End result: Kulabdam def. John Lineker through unanimous resolution.
Clearly, Kulabdam needed to have earned a 10-8 spherical both within the second or the third for a unanimous resolution to make sense. Sadly, ring announcer Dom Lau didn’t elaborate on the scorecards, leaving many, together with ONE coloration commentator Mitch Chilson, scratching his head in confusion.
Take a look at highlights from John Lineker vs. Kulabdam at ONE Battle Evening 27:
