Top 5 Performances From The Stars of ONE: KING OF THE JUNGLE

On Friday, 28 February, ONE Championship returns home for its first show at the Singapore Indoor Stadium of the new decade.

The card for ONE: KING OF THE JUNGLE is stacked with talent, including several World Champions who are used to putting on a show in the Circle. If they can put on performances like these in “The Lion City,” martial arts fans can look forward to an incredible evening of action.

#1 Stamp Shows Her Heart

Two-sport ONE World Champion Stamp Fairtex had to dig deep to make her first ONE Atomweight Muay Thai World Title defense against Alma Juniku last year.

The Thai superstar started strong and took the upper hand in the opening two rounds as she landed more strikes with greater power in the majority of exchanges.

However, the challenger came on strong in the third and fourth as she found success with her jab, pushed forward, and maintained a relentless pace. Stamp later admitted she was not at her best after a litany of injuries during her training camp, but with the contest in the balance, she gritted her teeth and went to war.

The World Champion went toe-to-toe with her rival throughout the final three minutes and battled through fatigue, as well as everything Juniku landed to connect with her own hard punches and body kicks.

At the end of an exciting five-round battle, the judges rendered a unanimous decision in favor of the Fairtex Training Center representative.

#2  Todd Triumphs In Striking Showdown

Janet “JT” Todd displayed her grit and determination against “Killer Bee” Chuang Kai Ting to win a thrilling kickboxing duel.

The IFMA Pan-American Muay Thai Champion instantly found her rhythm and blasted her rival with combinations. In the second period, she stepped things up and landed a series of knees, high kicks, and low kicks – including one that swept “Killer Bee’s” standing leg and put her on her back.

Despite seeming to have the upper hand after the first six minutes, “JT” had to contend with a supercharged Chuang in the last round as the former ONE World Champion threw everything at her and put her on the back foot for the first time.

However, Todd kept her composure and landed a jumping knee in the closing seconds to capture the win by majority decision.

The Japanese-American followed that success with a highlight-reel KO to earn a rematch with Stamp for the ONE Atomweight Kickboxing World Title on 28 February.

#3 Sam-A Adapts And Conquers

Sam-A Gaiyanghadao had a trial by fire in his first kickboxing match in December as he had to counter the relentless aggression of “Golden Boy” Wang Junguang from the opening bell.

He struggled to impose his offense in the opening few minutes, but the Muay Thai legend adjusted to his Chinese opponent’s approach and started to implement a slick counterstriking game plan to pull ahead as the minutes ticked by.

Wang refused to back down, and Sam-A admitted he started to get tired. Without clinching techniques to lean on and earn some respite, he had to stay busy, but he showed his class to rise to the challenge and win the ONE Strawweight Kickboxing World Championship via unanimous decision.

In Singapore, Sam-A will aim to add another belt to his collection when he returns to his specialist sport to battle Rocky Ogden for the ONE Strawweight Muay Thai World Title.

#4 Teo’s Finest Hour

At ONE: HEART OF THE LION, Tiffany “No Chill” Teo took a hard-earned win against eight-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Champion Michelle Nicolini to claim the biggest victory of her career.

She had to show her mettle to get her hand raised because she was almost submitted at the end of the first round. Nicolini had  “No Chill” trapped in a tight armbar, but the Team Highlight Reel representative refused to tap despite the pain to make it to the bell.

The Brazilian martial artist tried to regain the upper hand and get the finish when the second stanza began, but Teo battled back by unleashing her ground and pound on the submission specialist.

By the third round, Nicolini’s go-for-broke strategy had depleted much of her energy, but “No Chill’s” cardio stood up to the test and she cooly shrugged off every takedown attempt that came her way, and then overwhelmingly outstruck the Brazilian to score a victory by unanimous decision.

Teo returns to the Circle against Japan’s Ayaka Miura in search of a win that will give her a shot at the ONE Women’s Strawweight World Title.

#5 Yamaguchi Steps Up

Before both Mei “V.V.” Yamaguchi arrived in The Home Of Martial Arts, Gina “Conviction” Iniong had scored a shock, split-decision win over her in the Philippines in 2014.

The Japanese athlete was determined to claim redemption three years later when they rematched at ONE: IMMORTAL PURSUIT and the Japanese athlete left no doubt about the result this time.

Yamaguchi was troubled by her opponent’s high-level striking as she struggled to get the takedown at first, but she finally got Iniong to the ground by pulling guard. From there, she effortlessly swept “Conviction” to take top position and land heavy ground and pound.

As the bout went on, “V.V.” found more ways to bring the Filipina down, pass guard, and continue to dominate with heavy strikes until the final bell, which brought her the win by unanimous decision, and earned her a shot at “Unstoppable” Angela Lee.

Yamaguchi will try to earn her fifth win in a row and book another bout against the ONE Women’s Atomweight World Champion against Denice Zamboanga.

Read more: Sam-A Expects To Have Too Much For Rocky Ogden To Handle