4 Super Submissions From The Heroes OF ONE: REIGN OF VALOR

When ONE Championship takes the world’s most exciting martial arts action to Yangon, Myanmar, the results are always spectacular, and ONE: REIGN OF VALOR promises to be no different.

Gold is on the line in an unmissable main event as Swedish knockout artist Zebaztian “The Bandit” Kadestam defends his ONE Welterweight World Title against Georgiy “Knight” Kichigin, who has achieved 16 of his 20 wins by tapout.

The Kazakh is not the only man on the card who can use his offensive grappling skills to finish a contest in an instant, however. The undercard features a collection of international superstars who only need an inch to lock on a submission.

Ahead of ONE Championship’s return next Friday, 8 March, check out four of the best stoppages from the superstars who will appear at the Thuwunna Indoor Stadium.

Naito’s Slick Back-Take And Choke

After winning the ONE Strawweight World Title in his promotional debut, Yoshitaka “Nobita” Naito took on Team Lakay’s Joshua “The Passion” Pacio in the first defense of his crown.

The challenger started strong, but as the bout wore on, “Nobita” took control. In the third stanza, he worked relentlessly on a single-leg takedown against the fence, but the Filipino defended well.

However, Naito capitalized on a momentary opportunity as “The Passion” looked for an underhook with his left arm. As he tried to dig it underneath his opponent’s body, Naito trapped the arm and circled to drag the contest to the mat.

With Pacio’s limb isolated, Naito immediately threw his own left arm around the young Filipino’s neck. Before he knew what was happening, the Japanese World Champion had an unbreakable grip.

Naito took even more control by throwing his hooks in to secure “The Passion’s” body, and fell to his left to force the Filipino further into his choke. The tap came swiftly after.

Naito goes back on the World Title hunt in Yangon when he takes on a surging contender.

Catalan Controls And Cranks The Arm

Rene “The Challenger” Catalan entered ONE: QUEST FOR POWER with impressive striking credentials as a Wushu World Champion, but it was his grappling acumen that brought him victory against Adrian “Papua Badboy” Mattheis.

Catalan threatened with a tight armbar at the end of round one, but Mattheis was saved by the bell. However, “The Challenger” went straight back on the offensive in the second period.

He took his rival down, passed to side control, and chipped away with punches and elbows. Using his right arm to isolate the “Papua Badboy’s” far-side arm, Catalan moved around to north-south position and used his grip to elevate Mattheis’ right shoulder.

With a gap to insert his right leg, Catalan moved deftly to attack for the arm lock and threw his left leg over his rival’s head to secure the position. From there, he elevated his hips and torqued hard to elicit the tap.

Catalan is hoping to punch his ticket to a World Title opportunity by usurping Naito on 8 March.

Tauru Traps A Team Lakay Star

Former ONE Bantamweight World Title challenger Toni “Dynamite” Tauru showed how dangerous his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu skills were when he took on a future World Champion at ONE: AGE OF DOMINATION.

The Finnish athlete picked up a first-round submission victory against Geje “Gravity” Eustaquio, with an aggressive grappling attack that began with a single-leg takedown after just 30 seconds.

The Filipino briefly defended and tried to reverse with a kimura grip, but the Finn worked to his opponent’s back and established a solid control with a body triangle.

“Gravity” resisted the choke attempts for three minutes, but in the end, the pressure was too much. Tauru used his right leg to trap Eustaquio’s right arm, which left the Team Lakay man exposed.

With his opponent’s ability to defend with two hands compromised, Tauru slid his left arm under the chin and connected it to his right bicep. He applied a tight squeeze, and the Filipino’s only option was to submit.

Tauru returns for the first time since 2017 to welcome Gurdarshan “Saint Lion” Mangat to the ONE cage on 8 March.

Torres Stuns Ishige In Standout Debut

Jomary “The Zamboanginian Fighter” Torres’ impressive ONE debut saw her defeat popular Thai star Rika “Tinydoll” Ishige at ONE: KINGS AND CONQUERORS.

Ishige had plenty of success with her grappling output in the first stanza, but in round two, Torres’ power began to tell.

She dropped “Tiny Doll” with a hard right and swarmed with punches on the hunt for a TKO stoppage.

The Thai tried to turn in for a single-leg to avoid the punishment, but Torres was savvy enough to switch her attack, and she countered the takedown by throwing her left arm underneath her rival’s neck and locking up a choke.

The angle wasn’t perfect, but the “The Zamboanginian Fighter’s” crushing squeeze made up for it as she forced a tap from Ishige.

Torres will be back in action at ONE: REIGN OF VALOR, where she will take on “MMA Sister” Lin Heqin in an atomweight battle.