Here’s how all the action unfolded.

Le retains title with quick KO, calls for spot on ONE X

Garry Tonon was hailed as one of the toughest challenges of Thanh Le’s career, but the featherweight champion did not seem to get the memo.

Tonon, a decorated BJJ black belt, pulled guard early in pursuit of a submission. Le, in an impressive display of guts, showed zero reluctance to follow his opponent to the mat. Tonon briefly threatened with his trademark leg locks, but Le stayed calm and ultimately stopped his challenger with a tempest of strikes from standing position.

“I don’t want to play down there with a guy of his calibre, his skill level,” Le told commentator Mitch Chilson after his successful title defence. “What matters in here is MMA, and I feel like I do that really, really well.”

“Garry, thank you so much for bringing out the best in me,” he added.

The win over Tonon marks Le’s first defence of the featherweight title after winning it with a knockout win over Martin Nguyen in 2020. After a long lay-off, he is now hoping for a quick comeback – potentially as soon as the ONE X event on March 26.

“I’m here for ONE X,” he said, addressing ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong. “I’m in Singapore for a couple of weeks.

“I’m trying to get a quick turnaround. I waited too long to defend this [belt]. Let’s go. Another one, and other one, and another one.”

Lineker stops Fernandes to claim title

The Bibiano Fernandes era is over – at least for the time being. The long-reigning bantamweight champion, arguably ONE’s most accomplished fighter, returned to the cage in the Lights Out co-main event, taking on his fellow Brazilian John Lineker.

Lineker made the most of the opportunity, dethroning the long-time champion with a vicious second-round knockout – the 17th KO victory on his resume.

“I’m feeling good,” he said after the win, which also earned him a USD $50,000 bonus. “I trained very hard to be here tonight.”

“Thank you ONE Championship, thank you everyone, thank you Bibiano.”

While Lineker left the cage with the belt, he was not without adversity in the fight. In the first round, he was knocked to the ground by a blistering Fernandes punch.

“Bibiano, he’s very strong, but I believe in my hands,” the new champion said.

Nguyen gets back on track against Kirill Gorobets

After back-to-back knockout losses to Thanh Le and Kim Jae-woong, former featherweight champion Martin Nguyen needed a win at ONE: Lights Out. He got the win he sought at the expense of debuting Ukrainian Kirill Gorobets.

Gorobets started strong, succeeding on a takedown in the first round. But as the fight progressed, Nguyen began to crank up the offence. By the time the third round began, it looked like a matter of time, and the TKO came soon thereafter.

“It’s been three years since I’ve got a win,” Nguyen said in his post-fight interview. “I was at my lowest of lows, even contemplating do I have what it takes any more. I’ll be straight up honest – I’m honest from the heart – if it was not for my wife and kids, I would not be here today.”

After the win, Nguyen called for a grappling match with former ONE lightweight champ Christian Lee, whom he has defeated twice in MMA.

“If Christian wants to stay relevant, I know he’s not going to come down to featherweight to fight me, so let’s do a grappling match, man,” he said, targeting ONE X on March 26 as the setting for the bout. “I’m sure he wants that one back. I choked him out the first time we fought. I’m sure he wants it back, let’s make it happen.”

Azizpour flattens ‘Mr. Pain’ in heavyweight fire fight

Heavyweight kick-boxers Iraj Azizpour and Ismael Londt wasted no time trying to take each other’s heads off at ONE: Lights Out – and in the end it was the latter who hit the deck.

The hulking Surinamese-Dutch fighter Londt started strong, pressuring Iran’s Azizour against the cage and connecting with some massive shots. But Azizpour survived that first-round onslaught and surged back in round two, flattening his foe with a huge punch.

“He was a very great champion,” Azizpour said in his post-fight interview with commentator Mitch Chilson, giving his vanquished foe respect. “I’m very happy to beat him.”

With the win, Azizpour is now 2-0 in ONE after a win over Anderson “Braddock” Silva in his debut. While he is just getting started with the promotion, he has already got his sights set on the title.

“ONE Championship: I am here for getting the belt.”

Mattheis scores comeback KO over ‘idol’ Silva

Indonesia’s Adrian Mattheis picked up the biggest win of his career on the ONE: Lights Out lead card, defeating former strawweight champion Alex Silva – a man he considers a personal hero – by second-round stoppage.

Mattheis’ win over the Brazilian grappler did not come easy. The Indonesian spent almost the entirety of the first round on his back, defending against ground-and-pound and submission attempts. But he turned the tables abruptly in round two, flattening his oncoming rival with a sizzling straight right hand.

Silva briefly protested the stoppage, but it was not egregious.

“Thank you Jesus I can fight and defeat my idol,” Mattheis said after the win, which separated him from a decision loss to Stefer Rahardian.

China’s Zhang snags a bonus on debut

Zhang Peimian put in a relentless display to stop former Muay Thai title challenger Josh Tonna in the second round of their strawweight kick-boxing bout.

Australia’s Tonna went down just before the bell in the first round, but was able to answer the 10 count.

However, China’s “Fighting Rooster” peppered “Timebomb” with shots to the boy and dropped him three times after the restart to get the TKO – and a US$50,000 performance bonus.

“I think my opponent Josh, he’s really phenomenal,” Zhang said. “I want to thank him and ONE Championship, this is my debut in this international competition, it’s really a great experience.”

“My coach told me I need to find a focal point and keep punching,” he added. “So this is exactly what I did.”

Eko Roni impressive again

Indonesia’s Eko Roni Saputra continued the theme of the lead card, getting a quick first-round finish over Chan Rothana in their strawweight MMA bout.

Saputra jumped on the Cambodian’s back, dragged him to the ground and slapped on a rear-naked choke, with Rothana tapping out at the 1:34 mark.

“Easy fight,” he told Mitch Chilson. “Give me a top-five fighter – all of them.”

Barlow scores bonus with ‘textbook’ elbow

Things could not have gone much better for Iman Barlow at ONE: Lights Out. The British strawweight took on Argentina’s Daniela Lopez on the event’s lead card, and needed less than a round to get the job done, slicing her foe open with an elbow to force a stop.

“You won’t find a better elbow than that,” commentator Michael Schiavello said after the Muay Thai fight ended. “A textbook downward elbow.”

The win marked a successful ONE debut for Barlow – and earned her a USD $50,000 bonus for her handiwork.

“I didn’t think I’d get the stoppage that quick,” she said in her post-fight interview. “I wanted to showcase my skills a bit, but I’m not going to moan. I’ve waited two years for the pandemic. Now you know who the ‘pretty killer’ is.”

Nolan swarms Kim in first round

British kick-boxer Liam Nolan did not need much time to win his 79.55 KG catchweight Muay Thai bout with South Korea’s Kim Kyung-lock.

Nolan swarmed his rival with knees early, and the referee was diving in to spare the Korean fighter before the first round was over.

With the win, Nolan is now on a two-fight streak, having rebounded from ONE Championship losses to Enriko Kehl and Bangpleenoi Petchyindee Academy with triumphs over Brown Pinas and Kim.

China’s Lin sees off Lopez

Lin Heqin kicked off Friday night’s lead card with a unanimous decision victory over Argentina’s Milagros Lopez on her ONE Super Series debut.

The Chinese fighter made a quick turnaround from her atomweight MMA win over Bi Nguyen last month, taking this strawweight kick-boxing contest on short notice.