There’s just something about knockouts that captivates combat sports fans. When a strike connects with speed, accuracy, and power, it is truly a sight to behold.
Over the past three months, ONE Championship fans have been witness to some spectacular knockouts that do not seem to run in short supply.
Here are the five best ONE Championship knockouts of the past three months.
#1 Narantungalag Jadambaa one-shots Eric Kelly
Eric Kelly likes to think of himself as a born fighter, hence his moniker “The Natural.” But what happened when he met another fighter even more adept than he is?
Mongolia’s Narantungalag Jadambaa was just the man at ONE: DYNASTY OF CHAMPIONS (HEFEI) last July during the evening’s main event. An overwhelming force that is hard to deny for any opponent, Jadambaa needed only one punch to separate Kelly from his senses in just 44 seconds of the very first round.
“I have no weaknesses,” Jadambaa exclaimed in the pre-fight build up. He didn’t seem to think there was anything Kelly brought to the table that he needed to worry about, and it showed.
Jadambaa plodded forward, stalking Kelly with full intention of landing the finishing blow. He knew all he needed to do was land one big punch and it was lights out, and once Kelly made a mistake, the Mongolian countered with dynamite. Kelly fell to the mat instantly, bringing a swift end to a highly-anticipated clash of top featherweights.
In any case, the finish is without a doubt the most significant of the past quarter, and earned Jadambaa the right to challenge ONE Featherweight World Champion Marat Gafurov in a thrilling rematch at ONE: DEFENDING HONOR in Singapore on 11 November.
#2 Shannon Wiratchai batters a resilient Peter Davis
Shannon Wiratchai and Peter Davis may have started as equals across each other in the ONE cage at ONE: UNBREAKABLE WARRIORS, but Wiratchai proved just why he is one of Thailand’s top fighting prospects with a comprehensive TKO victory.
Wiratchai is one of the promotion’s most capable offensive fighters, mixing a variety of styles together to form a unique approach to striking that is hard to match. Davis looking to work in the clinch and take matters to the ground was hardly a surprise, but it proved difficult for the 35-year-old veteran in Kuala Lumpur this past September.
The Thai fighter was just better in every aspect of the stand-up game. Yes, he played around too much and his overconfidence led to him getting briefly dropped by the hometown favorite Davis, but in the end, there was no denying a stoppage.
At 3:32 of the second round, Wiratchai slipped Davis’ telegraphed punches and masterfully countered with brilliant pinpoint combinations, putting on a striking clinic. A fleeing Peter Davis took one last blow to the chin before slumping to the canvas and absorbing a volley of unanswered strikes, adding to the Thai’s growing highlight reel.
#3 Burn Soriano’s spectacular spinning back fist
Indonesia’s Mario Satya Wirawan is no stranger to the quick knockout, co-owning a ONE Championship record for fastest KO in history with a six-second stoppage of Cambodia’s Chan Heng last December.
Against the Philippines’ Burn Soriano, however, he found himself on the wrong end of a devastating highlight-reel stoppage, and in just 15 seconds, no less. The bout was the opening bout of ONE: TITLES & TITANS in Jakarta on 27 August.
The spinning back fist is a beautiful thing when it connects. Fighters like to use it often, but rarely is it ever effective enough to make a huge difference in a fight. This time it was used to near-perfection. Soriano, nicknamed “The Hitman”, taught Wirawan (and everyone watching) the importance of keeping your guard up and to protect yourself at all times.
As Wirawan stalked Soriano up against the cage fence, the Filipino warrior unleashed a wickedly-fast spinning backfist that landed right on the button. It was short and crisp, but filled with concussive knockout power. Wirawan never saw it coming.
#4 Edward Kelly stuns veteran Vincent Latoel
Team Lakay has recently made strides to greatly improve their ground game to hang with the growing skillset of opposing teams, but Edward Kelly needed none of it against MMA veteran Vincent Latoel in Jakarta.
Kelly fought intelligently off the back foot the entire matchup as Latoel charged in without respect, and the Dutch-Indonesian hero suffered for it. Kelly unleashed a stunning counter hook-cross combination to turn Latoel’s lights out at 57 seconds of the second round, taking matters out of the judges’ hands.
The Filipino featherweight stalwart now has a pair of solid victories under his belt and is expected to land another big fight soon.
#5 Nuerdebieke Bahetihan needed just 8 seconds to derail Bruno Pucci
All signs pointed to a resurgence by Brazilian jiu-jitsu champion Bruno Pucci. After laboring through numerous injuries and surgeries to make a painstakingly difficult comeback, Pucci was poised to make a strong statement. Nuerdebieke Bahetihan spoiled that party.
In less time than it would take to learn to pronounce his name, Bahetihan flattened Pucci with a right hook to the temple that caught the Brazilian completely unawares.
It was both shocking and bittersweet. Once again Pucci was sent back to the drawing board, leaving Bahetihan to bask in the glory of having beaten a former BJJ no-gi world champion.
