The Top 50 Events In ONE History Part 3: #30-21
In the lead-up to ONE Championship’s momentous 100th event, ONE: CENTURY, the world’s largest martial arts organization is celebrating the top 50 shows in the company’s history.
Since 2011, ONE has been home to the most exciting martial arts action on the planet as it has taken its unforgettable events and world-class athletes across Asia to some of the globe’s most vibrant cities.
The countdown will continue for the next month until the global stage returns to Tokyo, Japan on 13 October for the biggest World Championship martial arts event of all time.
If you missed the first 20 shows of the countdown, check them out using the link below.
Now, the list continues with 10 more events from throughout the past eight years that show why ONE is The Home Of Martial Arts.
#30 ONE: UNION OF WARRIORS
After March 2016, Myanmar martial arts would never be the same again as Aung La “The Burmese Python” N Sang came home to compete in his homeland for the first time. His main event against Mohamed Ali of Egypt generated a unique atmosphere unlike anything else in the sporting world.
#29 ONE: PURSUIT OF POWER
A trio of contenders for 2018’s year-end awards was crammed into one show as “The Underdog” Li Kai Wen went to war with Emilio “The Honey Badger” Urrutia in one of 2018’s most exciting match-ups, before Ariel “Tarzan” Sexton made his entry for Submission Of The Year. To cap the night, Zebaztian “The Bandit” Kadestam and Agilan “Alligator” Thani made their own entry for Bout Of The Year.
#28 ONE: ODYSSEY OF CHAMPIONS
The card in September 2015 in Jakarta, Indonesia had everything – knockouts, submissions, toe-to-toe wars, and a plucky young hero who stepped up on short notice in the main event. Unfortunately for Martin “The Situ-Asian” Nguyen, he was not up to the task of defeating Marat “Cobra” Gafurov for the ONE Interim Featherweight World Title in just his fifth pro bout.
#27 ONE: CLASH OF HEROES
Another card in Kuala Lumpur delivered on the action front as all but one bout ended inside the distance, including the ONE debut of Saygid “Dagi” Guseyn Arslanaliev, and a signature performance from Ev “E.T.” Ting.
#26 ONE: REIGN OF CHAMPIONS
The World Trade Centre in Dubai hosted a card stacked with three World Title bouts. The event also saw six first-round finishes, including arguably Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki’s most spectacular performance as ONE Lightweight World Champion as he stopped Iran’s Kamal Shalorus in 135 seconds.
#25 ONE: WARRIOR KINGDOM
This one was a true showcase of Thai mixed martial artists, as six of the nation’s athletes got their hand raised to the delight of the crowd in Bangkok – with every win via stoppage. There were no local favorites in the main event, but the fans were still on their feet as “Unstoppable” Angela Lee put on a show to defend her ONE Women’s Atomweight World Championship for the first time.
#24 ONE: QUEST FOR POWER
A great night for Indonesian martial artists in Jakarta provided the prelude to a big challenge for Vitaly Bigdash in his first ONE Middleweight World Title defense. His match-up in Jakarta, Indonesia against Aung La N Sang lived up to the hype as they battled for five rounds.
#23 ONE: THRONE OF TIGERS
Malaysian martial arts heroes rose to the occasion to begin 2017 in style as Ev Ting, Agilan Thani, Ann Osman, Keanu Subba, Saiful Merican, and Muhammad Aiman made it a clean sweep for the local favorites in Kuala Lumpur.
#22 ONE: RETURN OF WARRIORS
A showcase of Malaysian martial artists including Peter Davis, Melvin Yeoh, and Gianni Subba had the fans in KL on their feet, but the main event was all about the Philippines. The inaugural ONE Featherweight World Title match saw Honorio “The Rock” Banario take the gold via fourth-round TKO against Eric Kelly.
#21 ONE: DYNASTY OF CHAMPIONS (CHANGSHA)
As is the tradition when The Home Of Martial Arts goes to China, some of the finest martial arts talent in the country was on display – this time in a one-night, ONE Changsha Bantamweight Tournament. But this will be remembered mostly for the first match in the unparalleled Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes vs. Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon ONE Bantamweight World Title rivalry.
ONE: CENTURY is the biggest World Championship martial arts event in history with 28 World Champions featured across various martial arts. No organization in history has ever promoted two full-scale World Championship events on the same day.
The Home Of Martial Arts will break new ground as it brings multiple World Title bouts, a trio of World Grand Prix Championship Finals, and several World Champion versus World Champion matches to the famous Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan on 13 October.
