5 Sensational KOs From Manila's GLOBAL SUPERHEROES

Following a historic event in Jakarta, Indonesia, ONE Championship is set to deliver another night of the world’s most exciting martial arts action.

On Friday, 26 January, ONE: GLOBAL SUPERHEROES will broadcast around the world from the Mall Of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines. The headlining bout sees local favorite Geje “Gravity” Eustaquio rematch former flyweight kingpin Kairat “The Kazakh” Akhmetov for the ONE Interim Flyweight World Title.

Aside from the epic main event, many of the stars featured throughout the card have some incredible knockout victories on their record. As they look to add to their highlight reels at the upcoming event, we take a moment to revisit some of their moments in their careers.

Geje Eustaquio’s Perfect Counter Of Saiful Merican

Team Lakay standout Geje “Gravity” Eustaquio (38-2 wushu) is one of the highest level strikers in the entire organization. The Filipino national wushu champion displayed that elite striking against Muay Thai expert Saiful “The Vampire” Merican at ONE: CLASH OF HEROES in January 2016.

Confident in his abilities, Eustaquio entered Merican’s hometown of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and challenged him to a stand-up battle. That confidence paid off in a highlight reel finish.

Just beyond the opening minute, “Gravity” delivered one of the most destructive strikes of his career. His counter-striking prowess was on full display against Merican, who opted to pressure and stalk Eustaquio around the cage. When the Malaysian threw a jab, Eustaquio countered with a powerful left hook. It instantly dropped “The Vampire” to the canvas.

The Filipino would love to replicate that stellar performance against Akhmetov (24-1) in the main event of ONE: GLOBAL SUPERHEROES this Friday.

Edward Kelly’s Ferocious Fists

Edward “The Ferocious” Kelly (9-4) certainly lived up to his nickname when he battled Dutch-Indonesian Vincent Latoel at ONE: TITLES & TITANS in August 2016.

The Team Lakay stalwart opened the first round light on his feet and landing punches at will. He then opened up his kicking arsenal and connected with a wide array of sidekicks, front kicks, and head kicks on Latoel, who continued wading forward and absorbing the damage. After an incredibly exciting back and forth stand-up battle, the opening stanza ended with a test of wills, as the two athletes were pressed against the cage jockeying for position.

The second round began with a dizzying array of strikes, with Latoel hitting a solid flying knee perfectly on Kelly. As the Dutch-Indonesian looked to establish his rhythm, “The Ferocious” turned the tide with an overhand right out of nowhere, which knocked Latoel out immediately. The finish came 57 ticks into the second round.

Kelly looks to thrill yet again in Manila, this time against unbeaten Cambodian Meas Meul (6-0).

BJJ No-Gi World Champion Bruno Pucci’s First TKO

In a classic striker versus grappler matchup, the world wondered how Jimmy “The Silencer” Yabo would fare if Bruno Pucci (5-2) managed to get the bout to the ground in their featherweight clash at ONE: LIGHT OF A NATION in June 2016. Conversely, everyone was equally curious how the contest would play out if the two kept it on the feet.

Those questions were answered almost immediately, as two-time BJJ No-Gi World Champion Pucci scored a takedown just moments into the contest. The Evolve MMA product postured up on the downed Yabo and unleashed heavy hands against the cage.

Pucci then pulled “The Silencer” away from the cage, secured side control, and transitioned to full mount. That signaled the beginning of the end, as he unloaded fierce punches and elbows until the referee was forced to call the contest halfway through round one. It served as Pucci’s first-ever TKO victory.

The Brazilian will face a more experienced cage veteran in Emilio “The Honey Badger” Urrutia (10-4) in Manila.

Joshua Pacio Spins It To Win It In Manila

Two of the strawweight division’s most devastating knockout artists clashed at ONE: LEGENDS OF THE WORLD this past November, when Filipino warriors and former world title challengers Joshua “The Passion” Pacio (10-2) and Roy “The Dominator” Doliguez collided.

The first round was a seesaw battle, highlighted by Pacio pushing the action with a number of powerful kicks. Unexpectedly, the bout hit the floor, as both athletes traded top position. “The Passion” nearly ended the contest with a deep guillotine choke, and offered various submission attempts throughout the stanza, but could not secure a tap.

As everyone anticipated, the bout would end with a spectacular knockout. Pacio opened the second frame with an arsenal of spinning strikes. After a low kick thrown by “The Passion,” he immediately spun around and executed a picture perfect spinning back fist on his unsuspecting opponent. Doliguez immediately hit the canvas, and the referee ran over to stop the contest before he could take any more damage.

Pacio looks to create another lasting memory this Friday, as he meets China’s Lan Ming Qiang in the co-main event.

Zhang Ze Hao Knocks Out A Muay Thai Champion

“The Ghost” Zhang Ze Hao (4-2) is known as a BJJ and sanda specialist, but in his match against eight-time Indian Muay Thai Champion Bala Shetty at ONE: HERO’S DREAM in November 2017, he proved to be the superior striker.

After taking damage from the relentless pressure of his opponent throughout the first few minutes of the opening round, Shetty succumbed to a single leg takedown by the Chinese ground wizard.

Zhang landed a few hammer fists, but the Indian quickly scrambled back to his feet. Merely seconds later, however, “The Ghost” dropped him with a looping left hook that Shetty did not see coming. The Chinese athlete followed up with another punch for good measure before the bout was stopped two minutes and one second into the first round.

At Manila, he draws another Indian kickboxing champion in Rajinder Singh Meena.