FILIPINO-Kiwi Mark Abelardo ends his ONE Championship skid in emphatic fashion after knocking out Mark Urrutia in the second round of the ONE: “Fists of Fury II” curtain raiser last Friday night, March 5, 2021, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore.
Abelardo landed a picture perfect counter downward elbow to the jaw that dropped Urrutia like a sack of potatoes in the 3:20 mark of the second round.
The 29-year-old Abelardo was very effective with his leg kicks early on, while Urrutia kept the distance and took advantage of his longer reach by throwing his jabs.
Abelardo landed an overhand right that stunned and backed Urrutia to the cage. Abelardo unleashed a barrage of punches and elbows that rocked Urrutia, but the tough American somehow survived the round.
Urrutia still looked wobbly going into the second round. He attempted to take the fight to the ground a couple of times, but Abelardo defended the take down really well.
Abelardo continued to pepper Urrutia with punches to the head and leg kicks before finally scoring the impressive knockout finish.
Abelardo had his back on the wall coming into this fight after losing back-to-back contests to Troy Worthen and Fabricio de Andrade in 2020. He ended his slump and improved to 20-8.
The 34-year-old Urrutia lost his fourth straight fight and dropped to 11-8.
In the main event, South Korean Kang Ji Won (6-0) scored a huge upset after knocking out much-hyped Iranian Amir Aliakbari (10-2). (EKA)