Rifdean's Japanese rival sympathises his situation

KUALA LUMPUR: Muay Thai exponent Rifdean Masdor suffered further disappointment in Tokyo when Japanese star Yoshinari Nadaka stopped him in the second round at the Ariake Arena on Saturday.

The Sarawakian had already lost his chance to become the second Malaysian to hold a ONE Championship world title after failing Friday's hydration test despite meeting the 115-pound (52.16kg) weight limit.

The bout proceeded at a catchweight of 118.6 pounds (53.8kg), with the 23-year-old forfeiting 50 per cent of his fight purse to the ONE atomweight Muay Thai world champion.

Rifdean made his presence felt in the opening round, with Nadaka revealing afterwards that the Malaysian had broken his nose.

"For this fight, I got some damage. In the very first round, I broke my nose," said Nadaka in the post fight interview.

However, the Japanese fighter dropped Rifdean with a left hook in the first round. The Malaysian was able to bounce back to his feet to end the round.

Rifdean continued to find openings in the second round, but Nadaka delivered the decisive blow after catching a push kick.

As Rifdean attempted a spinning attack, Nadaka read the move and countered with a head kick that landed flush on the Malaysian's chin.

Rifdean went down and could not recover, prompting referee Olivier Coste to stop the contest at 2 minutes and 12 seconds.

Nadaka paid tribute to his opponent afterwards, acknowledging the difficulties Rifdean had faced before entering the ring.

He said Rifdean's conditioning might have been affected by his weight issues and thanked the Malaysian for the fight.

"Everybody, please give a big round of applause for Rifdean, too," said Nadaka.

The Japanese champion also hoped the contest had helped showcase Muay Thai to a wider audience.

"I've been doing Muay Thai since I was very young. I want to keep spreading the fun of Muay Thai to the world with ONE Championship," he said.

Nadaka's victory also earned him a 15 million yen (RM388,000) performance bonus, his first with the promotion.

"This is my first bonus. I'm very happy. It's because we had the support from all of you," he added.

Malaysian misery continued on the ONE Samurai 4 card after Hayatun Najihin "Shadowcat" Radzuan lost a unanimous decision to Japan's Itsuki Hirata in a women's Atomweight MMA bout.