Anderson Silva Wins ONE Debut With Incredible First-Round KO

Anderson “Braddock” Silva showed his extreme knockout power when he smashed Andre “The Giant” Meunier in the first round at ONE: ROOTS OF HONOR in Manila, Philippines.

The chances of an early knockout were high when the Brazilian superstar made his ONE Championship debut against the Australian heavyweight on Friday, 12 April, and he made sure fans were not disappointed with little more than a minute gone in the contest.

The colossal strikers met in the middle of the Circle and swung heavy leather from the opening bell inside the Mall Of Asia Arena, and it was Meunier who took the early initiative.

He raced forward to attack his rival with a huge right hand. Fortunately for “Braddock,” he saw it coming and was able to move out of the way of the strike.

The Brazilian popped his jab to try and keep “The Giant” at bay, but he again moved in with reckless abandon behind a left hook. However, his clear desire for a quick knockout meant he was focused more on offense than defense, and Silva saw the openings.

The 32-year-old from Sao Paulo took aim with counter punches and knees when his adversary charged in, and quickly found the money shot.

Meunier looked for another looping left hook, and this time Silva was prepared. He chopped down with a hard right hand that went over the top of Meunier’s strike and landed on the temple.

The counter-punch was pinpoint in its accuracy, and “The Giant” dropped face-first to the canvas with just 74 seconds on the clock.

In victory, the RVT Rizzo representative improved his professional slate to 51-17-1 and announced himself as a major player in the ONE Super Series heavyweight division.