‘He was about to leave a dead body’: Fans hail referee’s intervention after MMA fighter lands CRAZY standing elbow KO (VIDEO)
Mark Fairtex Abelardo produced a KO-of-the-year candidate as he laid out rival Emilio Urrutia with a sensational standing elbow strike at ONE Championship’s ‘Fists of Fury 2’ event in Singapore.
As both men shaped up to land blows in the second round of their bantamweight bout, it was the Filipino-Kiwi fighter who got there first, landing a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it elbow strike so rapid that it needed replays to do justice to quite how devastating it was.
Mark Fairtex Abelardo ???????????????? elbows Emilio Urrutia OUT! @MarkAbelardoMMA #ONEFistsOfFury2 #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/QEklU1D2lj
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) March 5, 2021
What’s better – the tomahawk elbow or the referee’s save? ???? @MarkAbelardoMMA #ONEFistsOfFury2 #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/9bZw30fbJf
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) March 6, 2021
The concussive blow handed the 29-year-old victory – but fans were also quick to praise the fight official who stepped in rapidly as Abelardo appeared primed to land further damage on his stricken opponent.
“The ref needs a bonus for saving this man from the follow up shot,” wrote one fan, while another added: “Really great job by him, Abedelardo [sic] was about to leave a dead body.”
Really great job by him, Abedelardo was about to leave a dead body
— Jax (@NoMarriageTito) March 5, 2021
The ref needs a bonus for saving this man from the follow up shot????
— William Sanders (@William75135586) March 5, 2021
It looks like a ghost hit Mark in the back of the head with an invisible baseball bat and his elbow just happens to catch Emilio on his way to the ground. ???? Absolutely insane KO.
— Dalton Raforth (@DaltonRaforth) March 5, 2021
The victory meant Abelardo bounced back from successive defeats under the ONE Championship banner and improved his overall MMA record to 20-8.
‘The Honey Badger’ Urrutia meanwhile slipped to 11-8 and suffered a fourth loss on the spin, after starting his ONE Championship tenure with back-to-back wins.
“I could see him reaching with his hooks, he was kind of overextending so I waited for him to throw a couple more, then I just timed it and I landed it thankfully,” Abelardo said of his decisive strike.
In the main event at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, undefeated South Korean heavyweight 'Mighty Warrior' Kang Ji Won stunned Iranian Greco-Roman wrestling world champion Amir Aliakbari with a spectacular first-round, one-punch knockout.
Kang Ji Won ???????? springs a MASSIVE upset, stopping Amir Aliakbari in Round 1! #ONEFistsOfFury2 #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/zje6KvjwkA
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) March 5, 2021