Yuya Wakamatsu ONE 172: "Shocked the world" - Yuya Wakamatsu electrifies fans with TKO of Adriano Moraes for the flyweight MMA throne at ONE 172

ONE Championship fans are still in disbelief at how second-ranked ONE flyweight MMA competitor Yuya Wakamatsu ascended to the top of the 135-pound MMA division at ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang on Sunday, March 23.

Happening at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, 'Little Piranha' caught former ONE flyweight MMA world champion Adriano Moraes against the ropes and started teeing off on him.

After dropping 'Mikinho' with a flurry, Wakamatsu continued his torrential downpour of punches that forced referee Herb Dean to stop the bout at the 3:39 mark of the opening round to capture the then-vacant ONE flyweight MMA world championship.

Watch Yuya Wakamatsu's celebration below in a video shared by ONE on Instagram:

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ONE flyweight MMA star Fritz Biagtan was one of the first to congratulate Wakamatsu on his victory in the comments section:

"Shocked the world 🔥"

Fans soon followed with their own words of admiration for the Tribe Tokyo MMA product:

"MONSTER."

"Great performance 🔥🔥 and glad we have an exciting new champion in the division 🙌"

"Yuya deserved every bit of this W. Congrats!"

"Seriously, this has been one of the best cards ever."

Screenshot of comments. [ONE Championship/Instagram]

The full replay of ONE 172 is available via watch.onefc.com.

Yuya Wakamatsu exacts revenge on Adriano Moraes

Yuya Wakamatsu's monumental victory at ONE 172 had an extra layer of sweetness for the Japanese star, as it led to him leveling his head-to-head series with Adriano Moraes at one win apiece.

At ONE X in March 2022, Wakamatsu challenged then-reigning Moraes for the ONE flyweight MMA world championship after forging a five-fight winning streak. Despite a solid performance, the Brazilian great submitted him via guillotine choke in round three.

Now the new king of ONE's vaunted 135-pound MMA division, Wakamatsu is set to embark on his quest to defend the throne from all comers.

About the author

Karl has been an MMA writer at Sportskeeda since 2023. He holds a Bachelor of Arts major in history, which helps him pay attention to the finer details while writing, and also has first-hand experience in boxing. He has a total experience of 5 years, and has worked for the International Business Times.

Karl turned into an MMA fan back in 2011 after watching Tito Ortiz defeat Ryan Bader via first-round submission at UFC 132. He has interviewed ONE world champions like Eduard Folayang, Joshua Pacio, Stamp Fairtex, and Tawanchai in his career so far.

On the non-MMA side of things, he interviewed WWE superstar Matt Riddle in 2021 and his question about Roman Reigns elicited an interesting answer which was widely covered by outlets like Sportskeeda and Cultaholic Wrestling's YouTube channel. He has also interviewed NBA stars Dwight Howard, Nick Young, Andre Roberson, Shabazz Muhammad, Jason Williams and Brian Scalabrine plus Filipino women's volleyball star Alyssa Valdez.

Karl ensures to double-check facts before using them in articles, and reads up on potential topics for pieces a day before. In his off time, he likes to play video games, and keep up with basketball and pro wrestling.

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Edited by Tejas Rathi