4 Outstanding Submissions From The World Champions Of ONE: A NEW ERA

ONE Championship is getting ready to hold its biggest event of all time in Tokyo, Japan on Sunday, 31 March.

Four World Title bouts will be featured in the promotion’s most historic martial arts spectacle yet, ONE: A NEW ERA, and many of the ONE World Champions appearing on the showcase are grappling wizards.

Now, just a few weeks before the world’s largest martial arts organization arrives in “The Land Of The Rising Sun,” check out four of the finest submissions from the athletes competing in the main and co-main events.

Aoki Puts “E.T.” To Sleep

Former ONE Lightweight World Champion Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki is one of the most prolific submission wizards the martial arts world has ever seen. He has forced 26 of his opponents to tap out in his 51-bout career.

Five of those came in ONE, but none have been quite as clinical as his 57-second finish of Ev “E.T.” Ting at ONE: KINGDOM OF HEROES in October 2018.

The Japanese superstar took Ting down immediately, and the Malaysian-Kiwi striker made his first mistake as they tumbled to the mat. “E.T.” kept his right arm gripped around Aoki’s neck, and he unwillingly invited the submission.

Aoki passed his rival’s butterfly hooks to achieve the mount position, where he locked up the grip behind Ting’s head. With the choking mechanism in place, he passed to a knee-on-belly position, where he used his bodyweight to tighten up the choke and free Ting’s arm.

The Japanese legend cinched his grip even tighter and forced the weight of his shoulder down onto his foe, quickly putting Ting to sleep and ending the bout.

“Tobikan Judan” has a World Title rematch against Eduard “Landslide” Folayang in Tokyo, and he may follow a similar route to victory in the night’s main event.

“Unstoppable” Lands A Rare Twister

ONE Women’s Atomweight World Champion “Unstoppable” Angela Lee has the most diverse array of submission finishes in the world’s largest martial arts organization, as she has utilized her Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt skills seamlessly in the cage.

The most memorable of all was her rare twister finish of Natalie Gonzales-Hills at ONE: PRIDE OF LIONS in November 2015.

“Unstoppable” took the mount position on her rival and, after freeing her head, smoothly rode Gonzales-Hills’ bridge attempt and started to attack her back.

Lee maintained her control by using her left leg as a single hook inside “The Kilapino’s” own left leg. Instead of opting to chase the rear-naked choke with both hooks in, as is most often seen, the Evolve athlete had another idea.

She triangled her legs and worked underneath Gonzales-Hills’ right arm. From there, she secured her rival’s head and pulled it towards herself, forcing the painful crank that elicited the tap halfway into the opening round.

Lee’s grappling acumen will be key in her attempt to become the first two-division women’s ONE World Champion when she challenges “The Panda” Xiong Jing Nan for the ONE Women’s Strawweight World Title on 31 March.

Persistence Pays Off For “The Burmese Python”

Aung La “The Burmese Python” N Sang met Alain “The Panther” Ngalani in the promotion’s first Open Weight Super-Bout at ONE: HERO’S DREAM in November 2017, and he encountered the worst case scenario in the beginning of the contest.

The two-division ONE World Champion failed in a takedown attempt, and the hulking Ngalani threw him to the mat, landed on top, and rained down strikes.

Aung La N Sang worked back to his feet, and then tried his first guillotine on the fence. “The Panther” freed himself, but when they returned to the same position shortly after, the Myanmar hero would not let it slip away.

He locked up the guillotine choke again and jumped to guard to put on the squeeze. This time, he landed perfectly, with his right hand deep under the chin and Ngalani’s head wedged into his armpit. The Hong Kong behemoth submitted with just 29 seconds remaining in the first stanza.

“The Burmese Python” has already used his striking skills to defeat his upcoming opponent Ken Hasegawa, but it may take a different approach the second time around.

Fernandes Submits Belingon In Their First Meeting

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Champion Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes became the most dominant World Title holder in ONE history thanks to his aggressive ground game, and he has a slew of submissions to his credit.

He even holds one over Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon — the current ONE Bantamweight World Champion who stripped him of his belt last November.

In their first meeting back in January 2016, “The Flash” needed less than a round to finish the Team Lakay man. He took “The Silencer” down in the opening seconds, and dominated the contest from there.

Fernandes tried several submissions from side control, but it was a kimura that sealed the deal. As Belingon tried to frame away to make some space, the Brazilian isolated his left arm by shoving it to the mat with his right arm. Then, he locked up a figure-four grip.

As soon as the grip was established, “The Flash” stepped his left leg over the Filipino’s head and pulled him on to his side to create a space to take the arm. He torqued Belingon’s limb up his back, and ended the bout with the tight shoulder lock.

The two bantamweights are now level at one victory each, and it will be a battle of striker versus grappler in their upcoming World Title rubber match at ONE: A NEW ERA.