Nadaka Yoshinari ONE 172: "Speed kills" - Nadaka Yoshinari has fans buzzing in his stunning victory over Rak Erawan in ONE Championship debut

Japanese Muay Thai star Nadaka Yoshinari dazzled fans with an all-around striking masterclass leading up to a picture-perfect knockout win in his ONE Championship debut at ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang on Sunday, March 23. The 24-year-old showed off his laser-like precision with a straight left hand that knocked out the formidable Rak Erawan with 20 seconds remaining in their action-packed atomweight Muay Thai clash.

Watch Nadaka Yoshinari celebrate the win below in a video posted by ONE on Instagram:

In the comments section, fans praised the ten-time Muay Thai world champion for a near-flawless showing in front of his fellow countrymen at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan:

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"Speed kills! This Japanese Atomweight is Goood! 🇯🇵 🔥🔥"

"Nadaka is unreal 🔥👏"

"He's too good for Rak."

"One to watch 🤣 everybody already knows him."

"Nadaka is a KILLER, anyone in the world he goes against is in for a fight against one of the best."

Screenshot of comments. [ONE Championship/Instagram]

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

Seven Japanese fighters join Nadaka Yoshinari with wins at ONE 172

Seven Japanese fighters joined Nadaka Yoshinari in raising their country's flag when ONE 172 came to a close.

Homegrown kickboxing stars Ryusei and Hyu, plus flyweight Muay Thai rising star Shimon Yoshinari, picked up big-time wins over Suriyanlek Por Yenying, Zakaria El Jamari, and Yodlekpet Or Atchariya, respectively.

Former ONE bantamweight kickboxing world champion Hiroki Akimoto fended off former ONE bantamweight MMA world champion John Lineker via split decision. Meanwhile, former ONE lightweight MMA world champion Shinya Aoki submitted eternal foe-turned-friend Eduard Folayang for a third time.

In the most unforgettable moments of the event, Yuya Wakamatsu and Masaaki Noiri respectively captured the vacant ONE flyweight MMA world championship and ONE interim featherweight kickboxing world championship with TKO wins over Adriano Moraes in round one and ONE featherweight Muay Thai world champion Tawanchai PK Saenchai in round three.

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 Krishna Venki