5 Fiery Finishes From The Stars Competing At ONE: NEXTGEN III
Twelve fighters from three martial arts disciplines will step into the Circle and battle it out at ONE: NEXTGEN III on Friday, 26 November.
Some of those athletes will be making their organizational debuts, others will be competing against former opponents, and many of them will be looking for a first or second shot at ONE Championship gold.
To get you hyped for all the action, we look back at five of the best finishes from the stars competing on the card.
#1 Adiwang Bounces Back With Knockout Victory
Lito “Thunder Kid” Adiwang scored five straight wins across ONE Warrior Series and ONE’s main roster before suffering his first loss in the organization last year. However, he quickly overcame that setback in his next outing.
Three months after falling to Shooto Champion Hiroba Minowa, the Filipino mixed martial artist faced Namiki Kawahara at ONE: UNBREAKABLE this past January. Kawahara was coming off two wins in Japan’s Deep – both via finish – and many thought he’d score a breakout win over Adiwang in his ONE debut.
“Thunder Kid” proved to be the slicker striker, though, and he finished Kawahara in the second round with a left hook that lifted the Japanese athlete off his toes.
Now, he’s scheduled to face Jarred “The Monkey God” Brooks in the main event of ONE: NEXTGEN III. The brash American is 16-2 (1 NC) and will undoubtedly present Adiwang’s toughest challenge to date.
#2 Ramazanov Stuns With First-Round Win
Alaverdi “Babyface Killer” Ramazanov set himself up for a shot at the inaugural ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing World Title with a frantic foray against an experienced opponent.
At ONE: DREAMS OF GOLD in August 2019, Ramazanov defeated experienced tactician Ognjen Topic in a ONE Super Series Muay Thai bout that lasted less than three minutes.
The first-round finish came by way of TKO, as “Babyface Killer” flustered the Serbian-Armenian with push kicks to the face and then hammered home the victory with punches to record three knockdowns in one round.
From there, Ramazanov went on to win the ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing World Title but later lost it to Capitan Petchyindee Academy.
The Russian, however, is now returning to Muay Thai to defend his #5 contender spot against crowd-pleasing Thai striker Pongsiri PK.Saenchai Muaythaigym in the co-main event of ONE: NEXTGEN III.
#3 Silva Secures Slick Submission
On the same night that Ramazanov claimed his victory on the feet, #4-ranked strawweight mixed martial arts contender Alex “Little Rock” Silva scored the seventh submission win of his storied career against a fellow wrestling ace.
Silva battled Indonesia’s Stefer “The Lion” Rahardian, and the matchup was nothing short of a spectacular grappling clinic. Rahardian did his best to defend “Little Rock’s” submissions, which came from all angles and intensities.
In the second stanza, though, Silva slapped on an armbar that forced Rahardian to tap with just five seconds left in the round.
The Brazilian – a former ONE Strawweight World Champion – hopes to climb the divisional mountain once again, and he’ll need to get past old foe Rene “The Challenger” Catalan, whom he defeated via armbar in 2013.
#4 Catalan TKOs Former World Champion
After losing his first career mixed martial arts fight to Silva, former Wushu World Champion Rene Catalan conquered many of the strawweight division’s top athletes – one of whom was an ex-titleholder.
Catalan faced former ONE Strawweight World Champion Yoshitaka “Nobita” Naito at ONE: REIGN OF VALOR in March 2019 and handed the Japanese athlete the first – and only – TKO loss of his career.
The end began in round one when Naito attempted a takedown. Catalan stuffed the shot and took control before dropping a barrage of hammerfists on “Nobita,” which eventually forced the referee to stop the fight.
Catalan will now look to show Silva that he’s grown tremendously since their first meeting. And by beating his former tormentor, he could earn another crack at divisional king Joshua “The Passion” Pacio.
#5 Rodlek Scores Walk-Off KO
After “The Steel Locomotive” Rodlek PK.Saenchai Muaythaigym successfully ran through one of the United Kingdom’s most prestigious Muay Thai fighters in Liam “The Hitman” Harrison, he turned his attention to another of the sovereign country’s superb strikers.
Rodlek took on Andrew “Maddog Fairtex” Miller at ONE: DAWN OF HEROES in August 2019, and he shook up the Scottish Muay Thai fighter’s career with a third-round KO finish.
After two rounds of hard striking on the outside, the men fought from inside the pocket in round three, and Rodlek caught Miller with a right hook that dropped him where he stood.
“The Steel Locomotive” will now step back inside the Circle to face Felipe “Demolition Man” Lobo in the curtain-raiser of ONE: NEXTGEN III.
Read more: How Stamp And Ritu Reached The Atomweight World Grand Prix Final
