Top 100 Moments In ONE History – The Final 5
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 as we anticipate its return to Tokyo, Japan on Sunday, 13 October.
- Top 100 Moments In ONE History Part 1: #100-81
- Top 100 Moments In ONE History Part 2: #80-61
- Top 100 Moments In ONE History Part 3: #60-41
- Top 100 Moments In ONE History Part 4: #40-21
- Top 100 Moments In ONE History Part 5: #20-6
If you missed the first 95 entries in the countdown, check them out here, and then continue to the list’s conclusion, featuring the top five moments that show what ONE is all about.
#5 Warriors’ Respect
“Unstoppable” Angela Lee’s inaugural ONE Women’s Atomweight World Title match with Mei “V.V.” Yamaguchi was a stone-cold classic, and the way they reacted to the result was iconic.
Lee was in floods of tears after her victory, and the rival she had just battled for 25 grueling minutes was one of the first to embrace her and give her nothing but warm words.
That started a friendship that has endured through another five-round war, and Yamaguchi’s continued attempts to win the gold.
#4 The First Champ-Champ
No one had ever attempted to win two World Titles in ONE, but shortly after Martin “The Situ-Asia” Nguyen struck featherweight gold, he was given an offer he could not refuse.
The odds were against the Vietnamese-Australian when he traveled to Manila to face Filipino national hero Eduard Folayang for his ONE Lightweight World Title, but Nguyen rose to the occasion and stunned his opponent’s fans into silence.
He had to weather an early storm, but “The Situ-Asian” struck with his signature overhand right to score a one-punch knockout and become the first two-division World Champion in the world’s largest martial arts organization.
#3 The World’s Best Strikers Arrive
The Home Of Martial Arts would never be the same after April 2018 when the planet’s finest Muay Thai and kickboxing athletes came to the global stage.
At ONE: HEROES OF HONOR, ONE Super Series launched with a selection of all-striking contests that showcased some of the athletes that would go on to huge success in the Circle.
Future ONE Lightweight Kickboxing World Champion Regian “The Immortal” Eersel opened his account with a showcase of his trademark knee strikes, before Nong-O Gaiyanghadao took his first step toward the ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Title with a resounding display against Fabio Pinca.
Finally ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Grand Prix Finalist Giorgio “The Doctor” Petrosyan began life in ONE with a brilliant performance against Jo Nattawut.
#2 The Biggest Shock In ONE History
Although no one would argue that Eduard “Landslide” Folayang is not an elite martial artist, few people outside the Philippines picked him to defeat Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki in November 2016.
It was the multiple-time World Champion and icon from a nation with a long history of mixed martial arts up against a man from an emerging country on the sport’s global landscape whose biggest weakness was his rival’s greatest strength.
However, the Team Lakay superstar executed the perfect game plan to defend all of Aoki’s submission attempts, and then finished him via TKO in the third round to change his life, and the face of Filipino martial arts.
#1 A New Era Begins
The martial arts world has never experienced an event quite like ONE’s first-ever visit to Japan in March.
ONE: A NEW ERA was absolutely stacked with four World Title bouts, World Grand Prix match-ups, and more bouts featuring icons of combat sports from around the world.
All of that delivered some iconic moments – Timofey Nastyukhin’s KO of Eddie Alvarez, “The Panda” Xiong Jing Nan’s comeback KO of Angela Lee, and Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki’s submission of Eduard Folayang to name just a few.
There has never been a bigger show in martial arts history – until now. As spectacular as this night at the Ryogoku Kokugikan was, the double-bill of ONE: CENTURY is sure to eclipse it on 13 October.
ONE: CENTURY is the biggest World Championship martial arts event in history with 28 World Champions featured across various martial arts. No organization 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.
