The battle against Yuki Kondo (42-year-old athlete with an impressive record of 107 professional fights and 61 wins, PANCRASE champion on multiple occasions) at ONE CHAMPIONSHIP: REIGN OF KINGS in July 2018 in the Philippines is notable not only for being victorious, but above all because of the fact that Renzo was 51 years old at the time.
 
51 years old – which makes him one of the oldest fighters in the entire history of MMA.
 
Apparently little happened in the first round, with Renzo and Kondo studying each other and measuring distances.
 
The referee complained to them; Renzo replied that he knew what he was doing.
 
(At the end of the match, it would be Renzo's turn to question the referee: “Do you understand now?”)
 
The apparent lack of action masked a strategy: having studied Kondo's previous fights, Renzo knew the Japanese would act on the counterattack.
 
“He was anxiously waiting for a rash attack on my part. But I wouldn't give him that”, declared Renzo after the fight.
 
Having frustrated the Japanese's expectations throughout the first 5 minutes, the second round began. And that's when Renzo acted, precise and relentless: with 1 minute of combat, he grabbed Kondo's right leg and took him to the ground, after positioning himself on his opponent's back. Then he landed a perfect choke, leading Kondo to give up in a few seconds.
 
“I did what my family has been doing for 100 years: choking people”, joked Renzo.
 
After the fight, in an emotional speech, Renzo stated that if he at the age of 51 could step into the ring and claim victory, then anything was possible for those who believe.
 
RENZO: People think that when you get to a certain age, it's like you've reached the highest possible height in your life, and then you start going downhill... I tell you: when you go downhill is when you gain more speed!
 
The thousands of people in the stadium gave him a standing ovation.