Agilan Thani was handed a very tough match-up in the main event of ONE: Pursuit of Power. The Malaysian was matched with Swedish striking specialist Zebaztian Kadestam and held his own for the first ten minutes before being stopped in the third round at the Axiata Arena.
The venue, which will play host to Manny Pacquiao’s boxing match on Sunday, was packed with Malaysian fans who would have been delighted by the early exchanges. Thani initially struggled to score with takedowns, but was not afraid to stay in the pocket and seemed to be holding his own in the striking exchanges.
The second stanza saw Kadestam backtracking some more with Thani looking increasingly confident. However, the Swedish welterweight connected with a right hand towards the end of the round and blood was soon streaked across the face of the young Malaysian.
The momentum was with the Swede by this stage and he landed a solid low kick at the start of the third. A takedown attempt by Thani was easily stuffed and the Malaysian was dropped with a left hook as Kadestam started to move in for the kill.
https://twitter.com/ONEChampionship/status/1017807483434225664
Another takedown from Thani was unsuccessful and, as Kadestam started to attack with elbows and knees, the referee stepped in to save the Malaysian from further punishment. After the fight, his opponent revealed that he had suffered a broken hand right at the beginning of the opening round, which had hampered his striking ability.
The win takes Kadestam to 10-4 and sets up a potential title shot with the welterweight belt currently vacant. His opponent drops to 9-2, although at the age of 22, time is very much on the side of Thani, as he showed some much improved striking in this bout.