By CARLO ANOLIN
Filipino-Kiwi Mark Abelardo finally got the elusive win in ONE Championship after knocking out American foe Emilio Urrutia in ONE: Fists of Fury II at the Singapore Indoor Stadium Friday night.
Abelardo, who improved to a 20-8 record, caught Urrutia off guard with a crunching elbow strike that floored the American fighter at the 3:20 mark of the second round.
“It was a real tough fight coming into, especially after two losses y’know. It’s something I don’t wanna go through again so I did everything I could on this camp to prevent that,” Abelardo, 29, told ONE Championship commentator and analyst Mitch Chilson after the fight. “I’m very happy I came away with the win tonight. Especially with a tough guy like Emilio.”
Before the end of the opening round, Abelardo unloaded a right hook that wobbled Urrutia and followed up the punishment with vicious elbow strikes, thanks to his intense muay thai background.
The two fighters traded a flurry of blows but he elbow from the Fil-Kiwi proved lethal.
The New Zealand-born fighter, who trains in Thailand stable Fairtex Training Center, started 2021 on a good note since suffering two straight defeats against American Troy Worthen and Brazilian Fabricio Andrade last year.
Urrutia, for his part, sustained a four-match skid since April 2018 and slid down 11-8 record.
