Top 100 Moments In ONE History Part 3: #60-41
In the lead-up to ONE Championship’s blockbuster, two-part 100th event, ONE: CENTURY, the world’s largest martial arts organization is remembering the best moments in its history.
Every event since the first in November 2011 has brought flashes of unforgettable martial arts action on the global stage from some of the planet’s most talented warriors, so paring the long list of highlights down was a great challenge.
However, after a lot of deliberation, a definitive list of the best bits from The Home Of Martial Arts’ first 99 events has been drawn up, and will be revealed between now and its return to Tokyo, Japan on Sunday, 13 October.
If you missed the first two parts of the countdown, you can check them out here, before the list continues with another 20 unforgettable bouts, finishes, and historic events.
#60 Sam-A Grabs First ONE Super Series Gold
You could not have asked for a more brilliant inaugural ONE Super Series World Title match, as the legendary Sam-A Gaiyanghadao put on a show in Singapore last May to pick apart Sergio Wielzen, and then knock him out in the fourth round.
#59 “The Doctor” Is In
Giorgio “The Doctor” Petrosyan helped to kick off The Home Of Martial Arts’ kickboxing divisions in April 2018 with a sublime performance. “Smokin” Jo Nattawut was as game an opponent as you can get, but did not have an answer for the Italian’s excellence.
#58 “Tarzan” Gets The Tap In Unique Style
Only Ariel “Tarzan” Sexton could pull off a submission at the highest level like his reverse-triangle keylock – twice. This effort against Kota Shimoishi was the second time he finished with this innovative technique.
#57 “The Bandit” Steals A Dramatic Win
With a minute to go in his ONE Welterweight World Title bout with Tyler McGuire, it looked like Zebaztian “The Bandit” Kadestam was about to lose his 100-percent finishing rate. However, with just a few seconds to go, his late, late show gave him the win and the gold in spectacular style as he scored with an overhand right and his trademark scissor knee on the mat.
#56 Young Muay Thai Queens Go To War
Stamp Fairtex has been tested plenty of times on the global stage, but perhaps never as much as when she came up against teen sensation Alma Juniku. The Aussie superstar pushed the Thai hero all the way for five rounds, but in the end, she could not take the ONE Atomweight Muay Thai World Title from her.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w81wz8Dn8k8&t=819s
#55 A New Era In Indonesia
ONE chose The BritAma Arena in Jakarta to host its second-ever event in February 2012 and begin a long and happy relationship with the Indonesian fans. This was the site of the debut of future ONE World Champions Geje “Gravity” Eustaquio and Alex “Little Rock” Silva, who faced each other on the prelims.
#54 “The Rock” Gets Rolling
The date 2 February, 2013 will forever be etched in Filipino mixed martial arts history as two of the nation’s favorite sons battled to become its first mixed martial arts World Champion. Team Lakay’s Honorio “The Rock” Banario earned the honor with a fourth-round TKO of Eric “The Natural” Kelly.
#53 “The Flash” Vs. “Lightning”
Before Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon came along for his rematch, the closest Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes came to losing his ONE Bantamweight World Title was in this nip-tuck, 25-minute war of attrition with Reece “Lightning” McLaren. Both men showed the hearts of lions, but the Brazilian’s skill saw him over the line by the narrowest of margins.
#52 Titans Clash In Yangon
When Aung La “The Burmese Python” N Sang went in search of a fresh challenge in November 2017, he found one in the form of heavyweight striker Alain “The Panther” Ngalani in ONE’s first-ever open weight super-bout. The result was that the crowd in Yangon, Myanmar came unglued.
#51 10-Second Stunner
“The Underdog” Li Kai Wen hit the fastest KO in featherweight history when he stopped Rodian Menchavez with this spectacular flurry.
#50 Singaporean Hero Overload
What is the only thing that could make the fans at the Singapore Indoor Stadium go even crazier for an “Unstoppable” Angela Lee walkout? Recruit Olympic gold medalist Joseph Schooling to join her, like at ONE: DYNASTY OF HEROES.
#49 “The Passion’s” Signature Submission
Team Lakay has always innovated as mixed martial arts premier practitioners of wushu in mixed martial arts, but Joshua “The Passion” Pacio added a pioneering submission to their list of highlights with his unique “Passion lock” to force a tap from Pongsiri Mitsatit.
#48 Brazilian Bomb
ONE’s middleweight division is never, ever dull, and Leandro Ataides added another highlight to its ever-growing reel with this shocking KO of iron-chinned Vitaly Bigdash.
#47 Thai Street Fighters
A Rika “TinyDoll” Ishige walkout is never dull, and guaranteed to be even better when her right-hand man Shannon “OneShin” Wiratchai is around. In May 2017, it was their turns as Street Fighter’s Chun Li and Ryu that had fans on their feet.
#46 “Mighty Mouse” Makes His Bow
The debut of Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson in the world’s largest martial arts organization lived up to all the hype as he finished a fantastic contest with Yuya Wakamatsu with an exhilarating guillotine choke.
#45 Enter “The Land Of The Blue Dragon”
The Home Of Martial Arts finally landed in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam just last week for ONE: IMMORTAL TRIUMPH, where new ground was broken by the first bout card exclusively comprised of ONE Super Series Muay Thai and kickboxing bouts.
#44 Stamp Strikes Gold
The undisputed number one star of women’s stand-up martial arts won the first of her two World Titles when she defeated Kai Ting Chuang at home in Thailand after five rounds of fast and furious kickboxing action.
#43 Kadestam’s Incredible Comeback
Zebaztian Kadestam had barely won a single second of the first two rounds of his bout with Luis Santos in May 2017, but he was never out of it. In the blink of an eye, a sprawl and pair of devastating knees gave him one of the most incredible comeback wins in ONE history.
#42 Ngalani’s Signature Strike
If you have never seen Alain “The Panther” Ngalani’s spinning-kick KO of Mahmoud Hassan, now is your chance to take in one of the most jaw-dropping heavyweight finishes you will ever witness.
#41 “The Silencer” Shuts Down The Streak
Bibiano Fernandes’ reign with bantamweight gold had run from May 2013 all the way until November 2018 until he met Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon for the second time. It took the Team Lakay superstar every ounce of energy over five rounds to do it, and when his name was called as the winner, he could not contain his emotions.
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.
