ONE FC 7 results: Banario wins title in bizarre finish, Kojima earns title shot

Honorio Banario is ONE FC's new and inaugural featherweight champion, but his title win over Eric Kelly came with a bizarre finish.

In the headliner of today's "ONE FC 7: Return of Warriors" event, Banario stopped the fight with a fourth-round punch, though Kelly complained of an eyepoke after the blow landed. The ref, though, quickly waved off the bout and awarded Banario the TKO victory.

The event took place at Putra Indoor Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It streamed in North America as part of an online pay-per-view.

The first round of the title saw a bit of a feeling-out process. Banario fired off numerous kicks, but little landed as Kelly used a conservative plan to spend little energy.

Kelly briefly came to life in the second round as he connected on a big overhand right, but it was one of his few highlights in the fight. He briefly dragged his opponent to the mat but couldn't keep him there, and Banario then continued with leg and body kicks, as well as a brief barrage of ground and pound after a drag-takedown.

As the fight entered later rounds, Kelly never really came to life. Banario remained the more active fighter and landed kicks often at will. Then, early in the fourth round, he connected with a looping left that caught Kelly right under the eye. After hitting the mat, Kelly, who immediately began bleeding from a cut right under his eye, waved to the ref and appeared to signal he had been poked.

Replays, though, showed what appeared to be a close fist from Banario. Regardless, the ref halted the fight and awarded the TKO victory 61 seconds into the fourth round.

Banario (8-1), who looked sharp despite struggling to make weight for the fight, picks up his eighth stoppage in eight career wins.

Kelly (9-1), meanwhile, suffers the first loss of his career, which had included a 3-0 run with ONE FC.

Kojima earns No. 1 contender's status

In the day's co-headliner, Japanese veteran Shinichi "B.J." Kojima (13-5-5) earned No. 1 contender's status and a guaranteed title shot with a second-round submission victory over previously unbeaten Filipino flyweight Rey Docyogen (10-1).

The first round proved a close. Kojima scored an early takedown and popped his opponent with knees as he got back to his feet, but Docyogen ultimately escaped. However, Docyogen was briefly wobbled with a right hand to the ear before he ultimately reset, shook it off, and unloaded a nice high-, low- and mid-kick combo. He then scored a flash knockdown with a right hand as the round ended.

The second round seemed as thought it'd belong to Docyogen, who connected with loud low kicks and some heavy punches during a brief slugfest. However, though Docyogen was able to fend off an initial guillotine-choke attempt, he couldn't shake one late in the round. Kojima slapped on the choke, secured a body lock and torqued the hold to force a frantic tap-out at the 4:47 mark of the round.

Kojima, whose post-fight interview consisted of little more than screaming and bowing, was once considered one of the world's top flyweights. Since his return from a two-year layoff, the former Shooto champion has won three of four fights in his return to relevancy.

The full "ONE FC 7: Return of Warriors" results included:

Honorio Banario def. Eric Kelly via TKO - Round 4, 1:01 - wins inaugural featherweight title
Shinichi Kojima def. Rey Docyogen via submission (guillotine choke) - Round 2, 4:47
Lowen Tynanes def. Vuyisile Colossa via submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 3, 4:37
Peter Davis def. Leo Krishna via TKO (doctor's stoppage due to cut) - Round 1, 2:01
Adam Kayoom def. Zuli Silawanto via submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 1, 3:41
Thanh Vu def. Ryan Diaz via TKO (punches) - Round 1, 1:03 - bantamweight grand-prix quarterfinal
Melvin Yeoh def. Raymond Tiew via submission (triangle choke) - Round 2, 3:29 - Malaysian featherweight-tourney opening round
Jian Kai Chee def. A.J. Lias Mansor via unanimous decision - Malaysian featherweight-tourney opening round
Gianni Subba def. Saiful Merican Gianni Subba via submission (armbar) - Round 2, 4:08
Jake Butler def. Antoni Romulo via TKO (strikes) - Round 1, 2:46

http://www.mmajunkie.com/news/2013/02/one-fc-7-results