The 4 Most Thrilling Knockouts Of This Quarter

Everyone loves knockouts. That’s why we love looking back and celebrating them. Instant replays showcase them perfectly, highlighting the amount of skill and power they each possess. It’s an amazing sight. The last three months in ONE Championship have been absolutely incredible, and the promotion has gotten 2017 off to a fast and furious start.

Let’s take a quick look at the best knockouts of the past quarter in ONE Championship.

#4 Anthony “The Archangel” Engelen Drops AJ “Pyro” Lias Mansor With A Right Hook At ONE: QUEST FOR POWER, 14 January, Jakarta

It hasn’t been an easy run in ONE Championship for 31-year-old Dutch-Indonesian fighter Anthony “The Archangel” Engelen. Five fights into his promotional stint, and he has registered a handful of big wins as well as a couple of painful losses. His most recent victory, however, showcased tremendous promise moving forward.

At ONE: QUEST FOR POWER earlier this year, Engelen electrified his adopted home crowd of Jakarta with a masterful display of striking, turned the lights out on his opponent and bringing everyone up to their feet.

Just two minutes into the very first round against Malaysian MMA veteran and coach AJ “Pyro” Lias Mansor, Engelen put together a stunning boxing combination, punctuated by an emphatic right hook that connected right on Pyro’s jaw. The Malaysian fighter was out cold before he even hit the ground.

Now having won his last two fights — both spectacular finishes — Engelen’s next outing becomes very interesting.  

#3 Shannon “OneShin” Wiratchai TKOs Richard CorminalWith A Powerful Combination at ONE: WARRIOR KINGDOM, 11 March, Bangkok

 Shannon Wiratchai has been one of the best strikers in ONE Championship. The way he flows effortlessly, with a rhythm that is as unpredictable as it is dangerous, is a thing of beauty as he stalks his opponent in the cage.

“OneShin” recently made his second appearance inside the ONE Championship cage in Bangkok, this time against Filipino journeyman Richard Corminal, on the night’s main card. Once again, Wiratchai put on a show.

A little past the halfway mark in the first round, Wiratchai downed Corminal with a looping right hand. With Corminal reeling, Wiratchai tagged him again with another monstrous right, followed by a left hook, and then another right. After missing with a flying knee, another right hand finishes off the Filipino, and Wiratchai is awarded his fifth-straight victory.

Now on a five-fight win streak, including four wins via impressive finish, Wiratchai is without a doubt Bangkok’s main attraction.

#2 Martin “The Situ-Asian” Nguyen Knocks Out veteran Kazunori Yokota With A Monstrous Right Hand at ONE: QUEST FOR POWER, 14 January, Jakarta

Fans are claiming that Martin Nguyen has definitely earned a rematch with reigning ONE Featherweight World Champion Marat “Cobra” Gafurov. His performances inside the ONE Championship cage as of late have certainly alluded to that. In fact, none more so than his most recent victory – a TKO of Japanese veteran Kazunori Yokota.

Yokota posed a significant challenge for the young Nguyen. The Japanese fighter’s experience was supposed to test Nguyen’s development. How would Nguyen fare against an intelligent, crafty veteran who had over 30 professional fights on his record? Nguyen needed less than one round to answer.

After a feeling out period where both fighters took their time to size each other up, Nguyen began timing Yokota with a monstrous overhand right. Some of them hit the mark, while some of them missed, but past the midway point of the first round, a huge one landed to floor Yokota. Nguyen swarmed, and seconds later the fight was over.

It was quick, shocking, and perfectly executed. Nguyen is now riding four straight finishes. A rematch with Gafurov is certainly getting closer and closer. 

#1Angela “Unstoppable” LeeShowcases New Striking Skills In TKO Of Jenny Huang at ONE: WARRIOR KINGDOM, 11 March, Bangkok

The fight is still fresh in the minds of fans who witnessed it at ONE: WARRIOR KINGDOM. Bangkok played host to a great showcase of immense talent and skill, but none more so than the one put on by the youngest MMA world champion in history – 20-year-old Angela “Unstoppable” Lee.

Lee won the inaugural ONE Women’s Atomweight World Championship in May of 2016, but she chose to spend a few months out of competition to go back to the gym and focus on improving her skills, tightening any holes in her elite MMA game.

The challenger, Jenny Huang, certainly had no plans of letting her first opportunity at a world title go to waste, but nothing could prepare her for what was to come.

Lee blasted Huang with smooth combinations, connecting on lefts, rights, elbows, and knees. It was a tremendous display of what Lee had worked so hard on to improve: her stand-up. It was the only facet of her game that needed immediate attention, and like a true champion and martial artist, Lee showed the world.

Huang had absolutely no answer for Lee’s sheer relentlessness. She was simply not prepared to face Lee’s vastly-improved offense. It was the first knockout victory in Angela Lee’s career, and in perhaps her most comprehensive victory overall.