MMA: Banario falls to Oishi, loses ONE FC featherweight title

The weight of the a country was on Honorio Banario's shoulders as he stepped into the ONE FC cage. One by one his Team Lakay members fought and went back to the dugout defeated, Friday.

Geje Eustaquio, Rey Docyogen, Eduard Folayang, and Kevin Belingon all lost their matches in the undercard.

The pressure was already high for Banario. He was defending his ONE FC featherweight title for the first time in front of packed MOA Arena, in the main event of ONE FC: Rise to Power.

Banario was focused on the cage as he walked out. He didn't touch the outstretched hands of fans. He just looked straight, zeroing in on the task at hand.

All of his defeated teammates walked behind him. For Team Lakay, for the Philippines, Banario needed to win.

Banario was winning the first round comfortably until he got caught by his opponent, Koji Oishi, who floored him with a huge right.

Down 0-4 in the night, their last hope lying in the cage floor, the fans let out a collective gasp. They were ready to give up.

Luckily for them, Banario was not finished yet. He made it back to his feet and proceeded to connect with a flurry of punches that almost ended the fight. Oishi was eating a steady stream of Banario right hands until the first round bell saved him.

Banario was fighting beautifully again. His combinations were crisp and his opponent was reeling.

He shot a soft jab and Oishi countered with a right hook. The moment was surreal. The Filipino fight fans saw this happened before.

The right was similar to the punch Juan Manuel Marquez used to knock out Manny Pacquiao.

Now another right hand from hell took another Filipino champion down.


Banario walked out dazed. His hand was wrapped around his trainer's shoulder for support. He was met with a smattering of applause and a few high fives from a disappointed crowd.

His reign as ONE FC featherweight title was ended the moment Oishi's right met his jaw.  - AMD, GMA News