On this day in ONE Championship history: ONE Ascent to Power took place

ONE Ascent to Power took place on this day and made ONE Championship history on May 6, 2016. The fight card was full of MMA action, with most fights ending via a submission or knockout. The event was headlined by the inaugural atomweight championship fight between Angela Lee and Mei Yamaguchi.

The then-undefeated Angela Lee earned the inaugural atomweight title in a five-round decision. Impressively, Lee was only 20 years old at the time of the fight. Her opponent was women's MMA trailblazer Mei Yamaguchi.

The Canadian-born champion Lee is nicknamed 'Unstoppable' for good reason. The atomweight title was introduced at this event and she still holds the title to this day and has defended the championship in five bouts.

Yamaguchi is important in the history of women's MMA. She made her professional MMA debut in 2007 and has faced several notable opponents including Seo Hee Ham, Emi Fujino, Megumi Fujii, Ayaka Hamasaki, among others.

Lee and Yamaguchi are both staple fighters in ONE Championship. They faced each other again years later. Both fighters also fought at the ONE Championship ten-year anniversary show, ONE X. The atomweight title, which was introduced on ONE Ascent to Power, would later headline the biggest event in ONE's history.

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ONE Ascent to Power fight card

Outside of the main event, ONE Ascent to Power had other notable bouts. Roger Gracie had his final MMA fight at this event. The member of the legendary Gracie family defeated Poland's Michał Pasternak via submission and then retired.

Former champion Kotetsu Boku of South Korea, lost to Mongolian fighter Narantungalag Jadambaa by way of submission. Boku won the ONE lightweight championship in 2012 and would lose it to Shinya Aoki in 2013. His final fight was in 2020 and he has officially retired from MMA.

Christian Lee earned a victory at the event, defeating Filipino fighter Cary Bullos by using the anaconda choke submission. Lee would later go on to hold multiple titles in ONE Championship.

One-time contender Amir Khan faced John Zhang on ONE Ascent to Power. Khan would later challenge for a title against Eduard Folayang. Another one-time contender, Agilan Thani, competed at this event and defeated Brad Robinson via first-round KO. Thani later lost in his title shot bout to then-champion Ben Askren.

ONE Ascent to Power was a notable event in ONE history as many former and future champions competed on this card. It also hosted the inaugural women's atomweight championship fight which massively effected the future of ONE Championship.