Hong Kong fighter Yu announces herself on world stage with dominant win at ONE Fight Night 20
- Yu Yau-pui completes one-sided decision victory over Lara Fernandez in event shown on Amazon Prime
- Only blemish on 31-year-old’s weekend is being too heavy ahead of atomweight Muay Thai bout
Yu Yau-pui showed the aggression which she is quickly becoming famous for in a dominant win over Lara Fernandez at ONE Fight Night 20 on Saturday.
The Hongkonger earned a one-sided decision victory, walking her Spanish rival down from start to finish at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok.
Pui only knows how to fight one way, although Fernandes initially coped quite well with the relentless pressure, countering with elbows as her opponent closed the distance.
It made for an entertaining but relatively even opening round. Pui kept coming forwards behind an onslaught of straight punches, but Fernandez found success with the elbows from close range.
Fernandez’ nose bore the brunt of the damage with some of Pui’s jabs and crosses having clearly found their mark. But it was the Spaniard who drew blood at the start of the second, opening up a cut by the Hong Kong fighter’s left eye.
Pui kept coming forwards and there were signs that Fernandes was starting to wilt, and the Hongkonger started to mix things up and teeped the Spaniard off her feet not once but twice.
The 31-year-old started the third with another teep to the face, and Fernandez looked absolutely exhausted. The Spaniard did connect with a spinning back kick to the midsection, but Pui simply smiled and kept coming forwards.
In the closing seconds she landed a barrage of elbows from the clinch, with one landing to the back of the head. The referee paused the fight to warn Pui and Fernandez was probably grateful for a few seconds respite before the final bell.
There was no question who the winner would be with Pui announcing herself on the global stage with a decision victory. The card was broadcast live in North America by Amazon Prime and fans could not have failed to be impressed by the Hong Kong native’s sheer heart and determination.
Afterwards she credited her corner with helping to make the necessary adjustments after the opening round.
“I couldn’t get the pace at the first round but I listened to my corner and they reminded me who I am and what I should do,” Pui said. “I was distracted by her distance, she was moving a lot so they reminded me to go forwards and use the teep.”
The only disappointment for Pui was missing the weight by 3½ lbs ahead of the atomweight Muay Thai contest, which may well have cost her a US$50,000 bonus.
