VICTIM OF FIRST STRIKE
Audreylaura too slow to react against Indonesian rival
FARAH AZHARIE farahazharie@nstp.com.my
SABAHAN Audreylaura Boniface thought she was braced for the quick strikes from her Indonesian rival. But she was still too slow to counter Priscilla Hertati Lumban Gaol in their One: Kings of Courage fight in Jakarta on Saturday.
Audreylaura’s dream of registering her maiden MMA victory in the One franchise was all over in three minutes 23 seconds in the first round itself.
Priscilla pummeled Audreylaura and won on TKO.
The Malaysian admitted that she had reacted slowly. “It finished quite fast. My opponent was really good at striking.
“I tried to tackle her but she came on stronger as well. I should have tackled her to the ground earlier.
“After the early side kick (from Hertati just 30 seconds into the fight), I tried to recover and my game plan was to bring her down within the first minute,” said Audreylaura, who has a black belt in taekwondo.
This is Audreylaura’s third straight loss with the previous defeat coming against Thailand’s Rika Ishige on TKO in the first round in last March’s One: Warrior Kingdom.
The main event of the night saw China’s Xiong Jing Nan being crowned as the inaugural One Women’s Strawweight World champion after the referee stopped the fight in her bout against Singaporean Tiffany Teo.
Nicknamed “The Panda”, Jing Nan relied on her accurate striking, where she tagged Tiffany repeatedly with her overhand rights and stinging left hooks.
“I feel great and I’m overwhelmed. This is a message to all the women across the world, you can achieve anything.
“This win is dedicated to my grandmother and grandfather who passed away recently,” said Jing Nan.
In another bout on Saturday, Indonesian flyweight Stefer Rahardian drew the loudest cheers from the home crowd when he defeated Pakistan’s Muhammad Imran to remain undefeated with eight wins.