RESULTS KNOCK OUT RS15: Kobayashi KOs Mafia Petmongkondee in 59 seconds, asks for Dec. 30

Airina Kobayashi needed less than a minute to extend her KNOCK OUT run. Against Thai striker Mafia Petmongkondee, she closed the distance at the opening bell and finished the fight with a body shot, as she did in her first two KNOCK OUT fights.

She went to the body with a left jab, then landed a left hook as Mafia answered with a front kick, and that put Mafia down. Mafia got up and continued. Kobayashi threw two more left hooks and pinned Mafia against the ropes to stop the clinch. After the break she landed another left body jab. She blocked Mafia's left elbow and answered with a left to the body. Then she blocked a middle kick and countered with a right body straight. Mafia curled up holding her stomach, and the referee stopped it.

The finish matched what Kobayashi had said before the fight. She expected a Thai opponent who comes forward and told interviewer MMAPLANET: "I think the next fight will end sooner" (translated). She also said she wanted to win by KO with the same attack. Her August win over Sanergam Sakchamni, which took 1:27 and won her the belt, was already faster than she had planned.

Mafia was a different kind of test. She was making her KNOCK OUT debut and wearing open-finger gloves for the first time. Before the fight she called the matchup a chance to prove herself and measure her level. She had earlier challenged for a title in K-1 and, in October of last year, beat a Japanese opponent in New Japan Kickboxing for the WMA title, according to Gong Kakutogi. Kobayashi had said she thought a forward-pushing opponent suited her style better than one who keeps distance.

With the microphone, Kobayashi asked for a place on the year-end show: "Can Dec. 30 be considered settled? I want strong opponents." No opponent or booking has been announced. Watch for KNOCK OUT's answer on that date, and for whether the promotion finds her a stronger test than the three Thai fighters she has stopped so far.