“Reug Reug” Oumar Kane picked up a win in his latest ONE Championship outing this past weekend, and he now has no further distractions ahead of his next clash. The Senegalese powerhouse knocked out his compatriot Boucher Ketchup in the first round of their heavyweight kickboxing match at ONE Fight Night 23 last Friday, July 6, inside the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

The bout was thrown onto the stacked card at the last minute, but the animosity between the pair had been going on for years via social media, so the anticipation was high.

“Reug Reug” dominates Ketchup in ONE Championship debut

For the most part, Ketchup was the antagonizer in their feud, and “Reug Reug” was pleased to make him pay for it.“This is [just a] fight. In a fight, you come in hungry,” Kane said in his post-fight interview. He further added, “You come in [here] all the time, and you’re hungry. You just got to beat this guy. He’s talking too much, this guy, since [before] the fight.”

With both fighters coming from wrestling backgrounds, it was interesting to see how they fared under kickboxing rules. “Reug Reug” has shown that his punches are formidable while competing in MMA in ONE Championship, but promotional newcomer Ketchup was a mystery to fans.

Kane utilized his venomous strikes throughout the short affair, leaving his countryman unable to put any sort of momentum together, and he was satisfied with his performance afterward. “[He’s] somebody coming for business. You have nothing but you can only control the game. But this was an easy fight,” he said.

“[It’s] good. I’m happy. I’m happy for ONE Championship for giving me the fight. I’m very, very happy.” With the win, “Reug Reug” is now on a four-fight streak. And he’ll need all the momentum he can get ahead of his next bout.

Oumar Kane’s confidence soars ahead of high-stakes showdown

At ONE Championship’s second show in the United States this year, ONE 169: Atlanta on Friday, September 6, inside Ball Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, the 32-year-old star will face arguably the most important fight of his career when he challenges three-division ONE MMA World Champion Anatoly “Sladkiy” Malykhin for the heavyweight MMA crown.

Given the size of that battle in just a few months, many were surprised that Kane took a risky kickboxing fight. However, he made it clear that he was happy to have showcased his boxing skills while scratching Ketchup off his list.

“This fight finished only in the first round, but this guy has a [big following] in Senegal. Everybody knows this guy. He’s a good guy. He has good wrestling in Senegal. But this guy is not [at] a high level. Everybody should know this guy is, [we’re not on the] same high level. My boxing is much better now,” he said.