It was his investment in body work that ultimately saw Anh Do earn the TKO victory, with a straight kick to Kim’s stomach sending the South Korean to the canvas. It had been a kick-heavy fight from Anh Do, who mixed up his targets well with attacks to the head, body and legs.
Anh Do is one of several New Zealand fighters to have featured on the One Championship Friday Night Fights show, which provides a pathway on to the main roster of one of the biggest promotions in combat sports.
Dunedin’s Kasib Murdoch is looking to forge his way on to the main roster of one of the other top promotions, moving into the semi-finals of Road To UFC in Macau on Thursday night.
The Australian-based bantamweight overpowered his Japanese opponent Yunosuke Minami to claim a third-round submission via arm triangle choke.
Murdoch, who won a world championship in the amateur ranks, admitted he took a few shots early in the bout but said he expected he would be able to outwork Minami as the fight went on.
“I did know he’d have good distance and it would be hard to deal with, and it was at the start,” he said in the post-fight press conference.
“I had to get him tired before I could start capitalising on everything, so I suppose they’re just areas on my game I need to work on.”
Murdoch will fight against Nepalese athlete Rabindra Dhant in the semi-finals, which are expected to take place later this year.
While the Road To UFC cards are not considered proper UFC fights as the athletes are all working towards being signed, they are this year being headlined by a UFC bout.
In Macau, City Kickboxing-trained Chinese fighter Rongzhu was in that spot and claimed a first-round TKO win over Victor Martinez.
Since making the move to join the Auckland gym in early 2025, the 26-year-old is unbeaten in three bouts.