Abolfazl Alipourandi ends Liam Nolan's ONE Championship return in just 59 seconds
Abolfazl Alipourandi seized his opportunity in emphatic fashion with a 59-second walk-off knockout against Liam Nolan at ONE Fight Night 31 on Saturday.
Advertisement
The Englishman had briefly retired after losing to Nauzet Trujillo last year but was inspired to return in hopes of exacting revenge in a rematch.
However, when the Spaniard pulled out, Alipourandi jumped at the chance to make his ONE Championship debut.
And with less than a minute gone, unleashed a perfect kick to his opponent's head, leaving the former WBC Muay Thai world champion folded on the canvas.
'The high kick is my favourite,' Alipourandi told the Post. 'I noticed when I was kicking Liam, I saw an opening. I was doing low kicks – it looked like I'd do another one, but instead I went straight up to the neck.
Abolfazl Alipourandi connects with a brutal kick to Liam Nolan's head at ONE Fight Night 31. Photo: ONE Championship
'I felt amazing. My emotions are so high because Liam is really good, and I came in on short notice. For me now, because I've beaten Liam – and he's high level, just like most of the guys in the division – it's anyone, anytime, anyplace.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTHK
2 days ago
- RTHK
'Rested' Pacquiao relishing boxing comeback at 46
'Rested' Pacquiao relishing boxing comeback at 46 Pacquiao is set to return to the ring four years after hanging up his gloves. Photo: AFP Manny Pacquiao shrugged off concerns about his decision to return to boxing at the age of 46 as he prepares for next month's world welterweight title comeback against Mario Barrios. The charismatic Filipino boxing icon stunned the sports world last month after announcing he would take on World Boxing Council (WBC) champion Barrios on July 19 in Las Vegas, four years after his last fight ended in a disappointing defeat. Pacquiao, who won 12 world titles in eight different weight classes during a glittering professional career that began in 1995, told reporters on Tuesday that the glamour of championship boxing had prompted his return. "I'm returning because I miss my boxing," Pacquiao said at a press conference in Los Angeles. "Especially these situations – being interviewed, press conference, training camp, everything like that. "I missed that. But it has been good for me – I've rested my body for four years. And now I come back," he added. Pacquiao said that he had been left devastated following his decision to retire in the wake of his loss to Yordenis Ugas in 2021. "I always thought, even when I hung up my gloves, 'I can still fight, I can still feel my body, I can still work hard,'" Pacquiao said. "That moment when I announced hanging up my gloves four years ago – I was so sad. I was crying, I cannot stop the tears coming out my eyes." Pacquiao, though, revealed that working out at his home in the Philippines persuaded him he still had the fitness and strength to fight. "I realized when I'm playing basketball, training at the gym my house – I have complete sport facilities in my house – that I still have that passion. I still have that speed and power," he said. Some in boxing have expressed concerns about whether Pacquiao's comeback against Barrios, who is 16 years his junior, represents a risk to the Filipino's safety. Addressing those concerns, Pacquiao noted that his family and loved ones were firmly behind his comeback. "I'm thankful for them for their concern," Pacquiao told AFP. "But the people who really concern me, is my family. My family saw how I move, saw how I train, saw my my body condition. They support me because they can see the old Pacquiao style." Pacquiao, who has reunited with veteran trainer Freddie Roach for next month's fight, is able to challenge immediately for a title due to a WBC rule that allows former champions to request a title fight when coming out of retirement. WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman told AFP on Tuesday that Pacquiao had been cleared to return to the ring by the Nevada Athletic Commission after undergoing medical exams, describing the fighter's comeback as "low risk". "Manny Pacquiao is at no higher risk than any fighter going into the ring," Sulaiman said. "Manny has rested his body for four years. He's not a drinker. He's not a drug user. He's a family man that has taken care of himself. So of the different aspects of dangers, he's at the lowest risk." Pacquiao's opponent, Barrios, said he would set aside the Filipino's status as one of the most beloved fighters of his era. "There's nothing but good things to say about him outside the ring," Barrios said of Pacquiao. "He's a hard guy to dislike. But at the end of the day, you know it's kill or be killed. "And I know if at any point he has me hurt, you know he's going to get me out of there. So I just have to go in there and make sure that my hand is raised at the end of the fight." (AFP)
South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- South China Morning Post
Manny Pacquiao going all in on boxing return, says he's done with politics in Philippines
Manny Pacquiao says he is done with politics in the Philippines, and he's back in boxing to stay. The 46-year-old said his return was not for just one farewell bout either, the former eight-division world champion intends to fight on indefinitely. And Pacquiao, who lost in his bid to reclaim his senate seat this year, said the 'book of politics' was closed. 'It's not even in my mind,' Pacquiao told Associated Press in Los Angeles. 'I'm focusing on my career as a boxer again.' That comeback starts on July 19, when Pacquiao returns from a four-year lay-off and attempts to break his own record by becoming the oldest welterweight champion in boxing history. The former Philippines senator and presidential candidate will take on WBC champ Mario Barrios in Las Vegas. Mario Barrios will put his WBC welterweight title on the line in Las Vegas. Photo: AFP As Pacquiao's fame and fortune grew in the previous decade, he added a second career as a politician to his already busy life. He was a senator from 2016 until 2022, when he finished third in the Philippines' presidential election.
RTHK
2 days ago
- RTHK
'Amazing' Alcaraz cruises into French Open last four
'Amazing' Alcaraz cruises into French Open last four Alcaraz's victory sets up a final four showdown with Lorenzo Musetti. Photo: AFP Reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz glided into the semi-finals of Roland Garros, blowing away American 12th seed Tommy Paul for the loss of just five games in the night session on Court Philippe Chatrier. The Spaniard needed just one hour 34 minutes to dismantle former world number nine Paul 6-0, 6-1, 6-4 and set up a last-four meeting with Italy's Lorenzo Musetti. Musetti, seeded eighth, earlier beat Paul's compatriot and 15th seed Frances Tiafoe in four sets. It will be the third time Alcaraz and Musetti meet this clay-court season. Alcaraz has dominated that series, beating the Italian in the final in Monte Carlo before also stopping him in the last four on his way to the Rome title. And the 22-year-old's blistering performance under the lights on centre court in Paris will have many backing him to make it three from three against Musetti as he seeks to defend his title. "It was, I could close my eyes and everything went in, my feeling today was amazing. Today was one of those matches where everything went in, I'm just pleased with everything," said Alcaraz. Alcaraz fired 40 winners on his way to victory over Paul for just 22 unforced errors as he emphatically put inconsistent displays in the previous rounds behind him. "This kind of match is never easy," he said. "I've played Tommy many times and he's beat me twice." Despite previous success against Alcaraz, it took the 28-year-old American eight games to get on the scoreboard as his opponent raced out of the blocks, mixing powerful groundstrokes with perfectly-weighted drop-shots and lobs. Paul put up determined resistance in the third set but couldn't deny Alcaraz, who broke in the ninth game before holding to love for victory. "I know you wanted to watch more tennis," an apologetic Alcaraz told the crowd on centre court. "I have to say sorry for that. But I had to do my work." Paul has now lost his last four meetings with Alcaraz, including at the same venue last year in the last eight of the Olympic Games. (AFP)
