7 Thunderous KOs From Heroes On A QUEST FOR GOLD

All the warriors in ONE Championship are driven to win, but capturing a victory with a knockout is solid gold on anyone’s highlight reel.

On Friday, 23 February, the heroes of ONE Championship will descend upon the Thuwunna Indoor Stadium in Yangon, Myanmar, for the promotion’s latest blockbuster, ONE: QUEST FOR GOLD.

ONE Middleweight World Champion Aung La “The Burmese Python” N Sang will look to claim a second world title, as he challenges Brazilian grappling juggernaut Alexandre Machado for the vacant ONE Light Heavyweight World Championship.

They are joined on the card by several knockout artists looking advance their careers with a definitive stoppage. With that in mind, here are the seven best KOs from the heroes competing at ONE: QUEST FOR GOLD.

Aung La N Sang Knocks Out Mahmoud Salama

Myanmar’s foremost sporting hero Aung La N Sang may have mostly submission wins in ONE, but he also happens to possess dynamite in his hands, too.

In his promotional debut in June 2014, “The Burmese Python” clashed with Egypt’s Mahmoud Salama.

The two threw some heavy leather almost immediately. But when they hit the mat, Aung La N Sang took to the top position, where he rained down heavy strikes. Salama had no defense for the power that was behind the Myanmar icon’s fists, and was knocked out at the 1:07 mark of the very first round.

That was the start of Aung La N Sang’s rise to superstardom, and he can rise even higher by defeating Machado in two weeks to become ONE’s second-ever two-division world champion.

Alexandre Machado’s TKO Of Alain Ngalani

Alexandre Machado and Alain Ngalani figured in a heavyweight match-up between two contrasting contenders at ONE: HEROES OF THE WORLD in August 2016.

While the Brazilian’s expertise is on the ground with his black belt Brazilian jiu-jitsu, the Hong Kong-based Cameroonian native is a four-time kickboxing and Muay Thai word champion.

The first round saw Machado neutralizing Ngalani’s striking power by keeping the bout on the ground, including a stretch where he relentlessly pounced on “The Panther,” who gave up his back trying to get to his feet. Ngalani put up a valiant effort in unleashing some offense of his own, but could not keep it up. He was quickly tiring out.

The Hong Kong hulk’s fatigue was evident once the bell rang for the second round, as he lost the bounce in his step. Once the action restarted, it did not take long for Machado to take Ngalani’s back. After another flurry of punches, the colossus had enough, and fell to the TKO.

Phoe Thaw’s 22-Second Demolition Of Kat Pali

Local sensation Phoe “Bushido” Thaw is no stranger when it comes to competing in front of his home country.

Phoe Thaw has appeared inside the ONE cage on five separate occasions, knocking out four of his five opponents. His most memorable performance came in October 2016, when he knocked out Kat Pali just 22 seconds into the contest.

After a brief touch of hands, “Bushido” charged forward with aggressive combinations. He backed Kat Pali against the cage fence, brought him to the mat, landed in full mount, and kept dropping punches and elbows until the referee stopped the bout. At the time, it was the fastest KO and stoppage in ONE featherweight history.

The rising star will showcase his talent once again against Sor Sey at ONE: QUEST FOR GOLD.

Ev Ting KOs A Former Welterweight World Champion

Following a failed lightweight world title challenge in April 2017, Malaysia’s Ev Tingmade a thunderous return by knocking out a former world champion four months later.

“E.T.” clashed with inaugural ONE Welterweight World Champion Nobutatsu Suzuki in the Japanese athlete’s lightweight premiere. But a change in weight class did not translate into success for Suzuki.

Ting’s unsuspecting leg kick pushed Suzuki back, and a flying knee sent the Japanese competitor even further to the cage wall. The Malaysian then picked him up for a big slam, and threw rapid-fire punches until the referee called off the bout.

Now, “E.T.” will look to follow-up on that stellar victory with another one against Ariel Sexton.

One Of Amir Khan’s Record-Setting Knockouts

Amir Khan holds the record for most knockouts in ONE history at seven, and he had an unforgettable one in May 2016 against John Chang.

The Singaporean showed relentless pressure in that contest, as he was able to get Chang to the mat, and gained a dominant mount position.

Though Chang attempted a heel hook, Khan escaped, regained full mount, and dropped punches and elbows until the referee stopped the action at 3:39 of the first round.

In two weeks, Khan meets a fellow knockout artist in Timofey Nastyukhin, and an impressive victory could put him in line for a lightweight world title shot.

Timofey Nastyukhin KOs Eduard Folayang

Timofey Nastyukhin brings knockout power to the ONE cage with every strike he throws.

He drew a heavy task in his promotional debut against future ONE Lightweight World Champion Eduard “Landslide” Folayang in December 2014. Nonetheless, the newcomer created a prolific highlight reel knockout.

Roughly at the 3:11 mark of the opening round, Nastyukhin came soaring across the cage with a perfectly-timed flying knee that landed flush on the Filipino warrior’s chin, and instantly dropped him to the canvas.

Nastyukhin made a statement in his first promotional appearance, and will look to make another one against Khan.

Saw Min Min’s Electrifying ONE Debut

Myanmar’s very own Saw Min Min experienced a true battle in his cage debut back in June 2017. He clashed with Kyar Ba Hein in the ONE Myanmar Featherweight Tournament 2016 Semi-finals.

The bout featured an eclectic mix of takedowns, clinching, and ferocious lethwei striking, which excited the crowd from beginning to end. But the end came when Kyar Ba Hein, and the hometown audience, least suspected it.

As the two Myanmarese athletes were clinched up, Saw Min Min created some separation, and then catapulted a sharp knee to the midsection. He followed that up with a sneaky right hook, which instantly put his rival to sleep.

Saw Min Min will look to replicate that success against Ye Thway Ne at ONE: QUEST FOR GOLD.