A Look At ONE's Incredible Roster Of World Champions
There’s good reason why ONE Championship is known as the biggest martial arts organization in the world.
The ONE roster is stacked with world-class talent from across the globe, spanning the full gamut of martial arts. From striking to grappling, from traditional disciplines to modern-day mixed martial arts, ONE has the largest roster of world champion martial artists anywhere in the world with 118.
Together, they test their skills the best martial artists in the world to stack ONE’s cards with thrilling action, celebrate the beauty of martial arts, and showcase their greatness to 1.7 billion potential viewers.
Here, we take a look at just some of the biggest names ONE has to offer.
Superstar Strikers
The planet’s most spectacular, eye-catching strikers regularly compete in ONE Super Series, which is reserved for the organization’s striking-only contests.
Since April 2018, the best of the best from Muay Thai and kickboxing have gone head-to-head in dynamic bouts, with legends of Thailand’s historic Muay Thai stadiums and superstars of the western kickboxing scene displaying their excellence in front of ONE’s colossal global audience.
Multiple-time Muay Thai world champions such as Nong-O Gaiyanghadao, Yodsanklai IWE Fairtex, Panpayak Jitmuangnon, and Petchmorrakot Petchyindee Academy have been thrilling Thai audiences for years, but now they are finally able to showcase their beloved art of Muay Thai on the global stage.
The kickboxing arena has been equally well represented through the technical excellence of two-time K-1 World Max World Champion Giorgio Petrosyan — widely considered one of the greatest kickboxers of all time — as well as multiple-time kickboxing world champions Andy Souwer and Nieky Holzken.
What’s more, celebrated strikers who have been competing under mixed martial arts rules in the ONE cage are now also able to go back to their roots and display their pedigree, such as Kun Khmer world champions from Cambodia, and Lethwei Gold Belt holders from Myanmar.
ONE superstar and four-time Muay Thai and Kickboxing heavyweight world champion Alain “The Panther” Ngalani is a prime example, having already made his ONE Super Series debut this year.
Plus, new ONE signing “Super” Sage Northcutt, a 77-time karate world youth champion and undefeated 15-0 kickboxer, has also expressed an interest to compete in mixed martial arts, Muay Thai, and kickboxing.
Grappling Wizards
Grapplers across different disciplines such as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, wrestling, sambo, and judo have also been showing off their ground wizardry in ONE.
In fact, several Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champions have successfully transitioned to mixed martial arts under the ONE banner.
The most prominent of which are 10-time world champion Roger Gracie, who put his legendary skills to use to capture the ONE Light Heavyweight World Championship, and former ONE Strawweight World Champion Alex Silva, a Copa Do Mundo World Champion.
Eight-time women’s BJJ world champion Michelle Nicolini and four-time Eddie Bravo Invitational World Champion Garry “The Lion Killer” Tonon have also made a major impact inside the ONE cage, with the latter also defeating former ONE Lightweight World Champion Shinya Aoki in a Grappling Super-Match.
Mixed Martial Artists
While some athletes arrive in ONE as world champions in a singular discipline, others have joined ONE having captured mixed martial arts titles in other organizations.
ONE recently signed two of the very best mixed martial artists on the planet in the form of 12-time UFC Flyweight Champion and pound-for-pound great Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson, and former UFC and Bellator Lightweight Champion Eddie “The Underground King” Alvarez.
They join the likes of Ken Hasegawa, Mei Yamaguchi, and Masakazu Imanari in vying for the greatest prize in martial arts today – a ONE World Title.
However, with the likes of Brandon Vera, Eduard Folayang, Aung La N Sang, and Angela Lee currently holding on to these coveted belts, every one of them knows they have to be the absolute best in the world to realize their dreams.
With so much world-class talent ready to set the world alight, 2019 truly looks set to be ONE’s most exciting year yet.
