5 ONE Championship stars as Pokemon

#4. Reinier de Ridder / Pokemon: “Throh”

While Throh isn’t much of a household name compared to many of its Pokemon contemporaries, it doesn’t take a lot of research to decipher its martial arts origin. Known as the “Judo Pokémon,” Throh is designed to resemble a judoka, or someone who trains judo, a martial art in which the goal is to throw one’s opponent, hence the Pokemon’s name.

Throh equates to "throw." Similarly, ONE middleweight and light heavyweight world champion, 'The Dutch Knight' Reinier de Ridder, loves to throw his opponents to the ground using techniques borrowed from judo.

Additionally, in the world of Pokemon, Throh are born wearing judo gi. Reinier de Ridder, in a similar fashion, began training judo at the age of five.

The difference? De Ridder is a well-rounded mixed martial artist with a vast repertoire of weapons, and is not exclusively a judoka. Still, Throh remains the obvious choice to represent the two-division world champ.

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#3. Aung La Nsang / Pokemon: “Sandaconda”

Fondly referred to by fans as ‘The Burmese Python,’ Aung La Nsang’s Pokemon representative had to fit the bill. Without a doubt, no Pokemon did so better than Sandaconda, the ‘Sand Snake’ Pokemon.

But the similarities aren’t solely in the title. Much like Aung La Nsang, Sandaconda features a hard-hitting physical attack repertoire with a high attack stat of 107. It's earthquake and sand tomb moves send shockwaves through its opponents, akin to the spectacular striking repertoire boasted by Myanmar’s Aung La Nsang. Two snakes, two hard-hitters.

For those wondering why a more popular snake-Pokemon like Arbok was not chosen, this is surely due to a real-life Burmese Python’s chosen method of attack being constriction, and not injecting venom.

Sandaconda is modeled after an anaconda, which also uses constriction to subdue its prey. It may not be perfect, but Aung La Nsang and Sandaconda make for quite the imposing duo.