5 Epic Knockouts From The Stars Of ONE: ONLY THE BRAVE
ONE: ONLY THE BRAVE features a hard-hitting lineup with some of the greatest kickboxers and mixed martial artists on the planet.
From top to bottom, the card is littered with concussive strikers who are ready to unleash their powerful offense at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Friday, 28 January.
To give you a taste of the action coming your way, here are five of their greatest knockouts in the Circle to date.
#1 Kim KOs Nguyen With Slick Counter
“The Fighting God” Kim Jae Woong has scored knockouts in all three of his ONE Championship victories, but the best of the bunch came in his most recent outing.
At ONE: REVOLUTION in September, the South Korean took out former two-division ONE World Champion Martin “The Situ-Asian” Nguyen with a spectacular first-round KO, becoming the #1 featherweight contender in the process.
Nguyen looked in control early on, but “The Fighting God” found his own range as the round wore on and started to connect more with his strikes.
With both men building momentum, “The Situ-Asian” tried to find a home for his famous overhand right. His opponent was prepared, however, and saw the shot coming.
As the Vietnamese-Australian teed it up, Kim beat him to the punch with a thunderous right hand that came down the middle and sat Nguyen down. From there, “The Fighting God” sealed the deal with a swift ground-and-pound salvo.
At ONE: ONLY THE BRAVE, the rising star will put his #1 ranking on the line in a pivotal mixed martial arts contest against the next man on our list.
#2 Tang Starches Yoon With Left Hook
Opposite Kim will be fellow featherweight knockout machine Tang Kai, who brings just as much firepower to the Circle.
The Chinese star pushed his ONE slate to 5-0 and earned his third stoppage win when he dispatched “The Big Heart” Yoon Chang Min at ONE: NEXTGEN II in November.
Tang looked slick as he picked off the South Korean with his jab and stuffed takedown attempts. He landed to the head and body with his punches and sent fast kicks sailing in Yoon’s direction.
“The Big Heart” ate the shots well but let his concentration slip late in the opening frame. Tang saw his opponent’s lead hand drop – and he instantly fired off a fast left hook.
The strike landed clean on the jaw and dropped Yoon to the ground, while a follow-up flurry forced the referee to intervene.
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#3 Grigorian Gets Off Canvas To Knock Out Kondratev
Pound-for-pound kickboxing superstar Marat Grigorian announced his arrival in ONE with a thrilling second-round victory over Russian striker Ivan Kondratev at ONE: BIG BANG in December 2020.
To the surprise of many, the Armenian slugger was actually the first to go down. Grigorian hit the canvas in the first round when Kondratev clocked him with a right hand, but that only fired him up for the second stanza.
With a fresh hunger, Grigorian lunged forward at his rival and winged heavy punches toward the head and body. He then continued to grow stronger while his foe slowed down after taking a string of hard punches to the midsection.
And after racing forward with a combination of looping shots, Grigorian went after Kondratev’s liver with a scooping left hook that plunged into the target and put him down for the count.
On 28 January, the Hemmers Gym representative will face our next featured striker in the ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Grand Prix semifinals.
#4 Allazov Blasts Through Sana With Early Blitz
After reaching the final of the 2019 ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Grand Prix but coming up short, Samy “AK47” Sana planned to redeem himself in the current edition.
But Chingiz “Chinga” Allazov had other plans for their quarterfinal matchup at ONE: FIRST STRIKE in October.
The Gridin Gym man needed just 39 seconds to secure his own future in the colossal kickboxing tournament by shocking Sana in the first round.
“AK47” tried to walk Allazov down early, but the Azerbaijani-Belarusian striker slowed the onslaught with a solid left hook to the body. Turning on his own offense, he rocked the French-Algerian with a head kick – and then saw his chance to rally for the finish.
Allazov flew at his man with a furious barrage of hooks that pushed Sana to the Circle Wall. From there, a final thumping liver shot crumpled his opponent into a heap and wrote him out of the match.
Next up, Allazov will look to score an upset over #1-ranked Grigorian in the Grand Prix semifinals.
#5 Opacic Takes Out Zimmerman With Spectacular Head Kick
Breakout sensation Rade Opacic exploded onto the global stage with a stunning KO over one of kickboxing’s toughest veterans.
The Serbian faced off against Errol “The Bonecrusher” Zimmerman at ONE: BIG BANG II in December 2020 and left with his name firmly imprinted in the minds of ONE Super Series fans.
In the opening frame, Zimmerman worked overhand rights and low kicks, but Opacic kept his foe at bay with his stiff jab and left kicks.
“The Bonecrusher” kept pressing forward in round two, but that ended up being his downfall.
He waded in with a left hook – just as Opacic ripped an incredible spinning heel kick. The shot landed right on the jaw and sent Zimmerman reeling to the canvas. Despite managing to pick himself up, the Dutchman was in no fit state to continue, and Opacic earned the victory.
At ONE: ONLY THE BRAVE, the rising star will take on promotional newcomer Francesko Xhaja as he aims to improve his stellar 3-0 mark in ONE.
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