The Best World Title Knockouts In ONE Championship History
Winning a mixed martial arts contest by knockout is always memorable, but doing it in a World Title bout on the global stage is even more special.
Keeping composed enough to pull the trigger when the biggest prize in the sport is on the line requires extreme focus, razor-sharp reactions, and plenty of patience.
Many of ONE Championship’s top superstars have been able to connect with the perfect bout-ending strike to create the ultimate highlight-reel moment and claim the gold.
Now, go division-by-division and take a closer look at the best World Title knockout victories in ONE Championship history.
The Best ONE Heavyweight World Title Knockout
Brandon “The Truth” Vera won the inaugural ONE Heavyweight World Championship with a stunning KO over Paul “Typhoon” Cheng at ONE: SPIRIT OF CHAMPIONS in Manila, Philippines back in December 2015.
Amazingly, it only took the Filipino-American hero 26 seconds to get the job done.
When Cheng rushed forward with a right cross just moments into the tilt, Vera stepped back and dropped his rival with a short left hook.
As soon as “Typhoon” returned to his feet, the Filipino-American star timed a left high kick and wrapped his shin into his opponent’s jaw. Cheng dropped for a second time, and Vera rallied with some punches on the ground to force the stoppage.
The Best ONE Light Heavyweight World Title Knockout
Even against heavier opponents, Aung La “The Burmese Python” N Sang still has enormous finishing power.
The local hero displayed that when he squared off against Alexandre “Bebezao” Machado for the vacant ONE Light Heavyweight World Title at ONE: QUEST FOR GOLD in Yangon, Myanmar back in February 2018.
Aung La N Sang pawed with his jab and forced the Brazilian to move into his power side, and then he uncorked the bout-ending right head kick.
Machado tried to block it with his left arm, but he could not stop the concussive force. The Myanmar superstar’s shin crashed into his head and dropped him to the canvas.
After a few follow-up punches against the Circle Wall, the referee saved “Bebezao” and waved off the action just 56 seconds into the contest. That victory made Aung La N Sang a two-division ONE World Champion.
The Best ONE Middleweight World Title Knockout
Aung La N Sang and Ken Hasegawa engaged in an incredible five-round thriller for the ONE Middleweight World Title at ONE: SPIRIT OF A WARRIOR in June 2018.
The fatigued Japanese warrior valiantly took the reigning champion into the final stanza and continued to push forward, but the local hero’s power had not faded.
When “The Burmese Python” stepped in, he caught his exhausted foe with a short right hand. Then, a pair of close-range uppercuts sent the Tokyo native reeling.
As Hasegawa desperately tried to hold on, he walked into another crunching uppercut that separated him from his senses and put an end to the epic battle in Yangon.
The Best ONE Welterweight World Title Knockout
With just 30 seconds remaining in their ONE Welterweight World Title bout at ONE: WARRIOR’S DREAM in Jakarta, Indonesia back in November 2018, Zebaztian “The Bandit” Kadestam pulled off a stunning knockout to beat Tyler McGuire and claim the vacant belt.
The Swedish battler stalked the undefeated American with his explosive Muay Thai strikes, and all McGuire could do was circle away from danger. Kadestam, however, leaned forward and sent him crashing to the canvas with a looping overhand right.
With his rival on the ground, “The Bandit” rushed forward and dived in with a knee to the jaw to seal the deal. The referee immediately stopped the contest, which gave the Swede the victory and the ONE Welterweight World Championship.
The Best ONE Lightweight World Title Knockout
Martin “The Situ-Asian” Nguyen moved up a division to challenge ONE Lightweight World Champion Eduard “Landslide” Folayang for his belt at ONE: LEGENDS OF THE WORLD in November 2017.
On that fateful night in Manila, the Vietnamese-Australian showed his ability to score knockouts in multiple weight classes. He used his trademark overhand right to finish the local hero in the second round and become the first two-division ONE World Champion in the promotion’s history.
Folayang attempted to utilize his brilliant wushu skills and throw a spinning back kick at his rival, but “The Situ-Asian” saw it coming. He waited for the turn and then unleashed an enormous punch that instantly rendered his opponent unconscious.
The Best ONE Featherweight World Title Knockout
Nguyen vacated the ONE Lightweight World Title to concentrate on his featherweight campaign, and he vindicated that choice with a stunning second-round KO over Narantungalag “Tungaa” Jadambaa at ONE: ROOTS OF HONOR in Manila back in April 2019.
“The Situ-Asian” set out his stall with a series of damaging low kicks to the calf of the Mongolian combat sports legend. They took their toll and, in round two, a final kick hit the target and caused Jadambaa to buckle.
As he stumbled backward towards the Circle Wall, Nguyen jumped through the air and connected with a scissor knee to the chin that ended the match.
The Best ONE Bantamweight World Title Knockout
Here comes the BOOM! 💥 Macao | 5 August | TV: Check local listings for global broadcast | PPV: Official livestream at oneppv.com | Tickets: http://bit.ly/oneconquerors17 | Prelims LIVE on Facebook
Posted by ONE Championship on Sunday, July 30, 2017
Multiple-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Champion Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes usually prefers to submit his way to victory.
However, he used his powerful punching to successfully defend the ONE Bantamweight World Title against Toni “Dynamite” Tauru at ONE: KINGDOM OF WARRIORS in July 2015.
“The Flash” came out strong in the third round and hurt the Finn with a hard knee to the body. Sensing that the finish was near, he walked Tauru down and unleashed a volley of punches.
A right uppercut snapped the European’s head back, but he managed to back away from the left hook that followed. However, that moved him straight into the line of Fernandes’ massive right hand, which landed on the button to score the KO in Yangon.
The Best ONE Strawweight World Title Knockout
It looked like the ONE Strawweight World Title rematch between Joshua “The Passion” Pacio and Yosuke “The Ninja” Saruta at ONE: ROOTS OF HONOR was going all the way to the judges’ scorecards for a second time.
But in the fourth round, the Team Lakay star flipped the script and connected with a thudding knee to knock out his Japanese foe.
Saruta tried to tee up his powerful overhand right, but “The Passion” was already mid-flight with a right high kick.
As “The Ninja” dipped right into the oncoming strike, Pacio’s knee collided with his temple and dropped him face-first to the canvas. The Filipino gained some redemption and won back the strawweight gold.
The Best ONE Women’s Strawweight World Title Knockout
“Unstoppable” Angela Lee moved up in weight to challenge “The Panda” Xiong Jing Nan for her ONE Women’s Strawweight World Championship at ONE: A NEW ERA in March 2019.
She came close to winning the belt that night in Tokyo, Japan, but the Singaporean gassed herself out trying to finish an armbar late in round four.
Xiong took advantage of her opponent’s exhausted state in the final frame and attacked the body. A straight right pierced through the middle and took the wind out of Lee’s sails. Then, a non-stop flurry of punches and body kicks finished the job for the Chinese superstar.
The Best ONE Women’s Atomweight World Title Knockout
Lee’s strawweight foray did not go as she had hoped, but she remains the undisputed queen of the atomweight division.
In the first ONE Women’s Atomweight World Title defense, the Evolve and United MMA representative faced Jenny “Lady GoGo” Huang at ONE: WARRIOR KINGDOM in March 2017.
Not only was it the first time the Singaporean competed in Bangkok, Thailand, but it was also her first – and only – TKO stoppage.
The “Unstoppable” one dominated Huang on the feet, and then she dragged her to the mat with a front headlock. She took an inside-wrist control on “Lady GoGo” to limit her ability to defend, and then she drilled her with punches to score the highlight-reel victory.
