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ONE Championship released a compilation of the best heavyweight finishes in 2022.
Heavyweight fighting has been the pinnacle of vicious knockouts for decades. The past calendar year was no different, as ONE featured plenty of violent finishes. The Asia-based combat sports promotion posted a YouTube video showing the best finishes of 2022 with the caption saying:
“With 2022 coming to end, we take a special look at the most JAW-DROPPING heavyweight knockouts from the past year, featuring two-division kickboxing superstar Roman Kryklia’s monster knockout of Iranian beast Iraj Azizpour, South Korean powerhouse Kang Ji Won’s first-round finish of British brawler Paul Elliott, AND MORE.”
ONE’s heavyweight division has come a long way. In December 2015, Brandon Vera fought Paul Cheng for the inaugural Heavyweight World Championship. "The Truth" made a statement by taking out Cheng in 26 seconds with a brutal head-kick knockout.
Vera held the ONE heavyweight world title for 1982 days, defending the throne twice with knockouts against Hideki Sekine and Mauro Cerilli. After failing to become a two-division champion, ’The Truth' returned to the heavyweight division against Arjan Bhullar. ‘Singh’ defeated the long-reigning champion in May 2021 to become the heavyweight king.
Watch ONE Championship's 2022 heavyweight finishes compilation below:
What’s next for ONE Championship’s heavyweight division?
Since winning the heavyweight world title against Brandon Vera, Arjan Bhullar has yet to defend his throne. The 36-year-old was recovering from a severe undisclosed injury while settling contract disputes with ONE. While ‘Singh’ prepares for his return to the Circle, a new heavyweight superstar has emerged.
In February 2022, Anatoly Malykhin gave Kirill Grishenko his first loss to become the ONE Championship interim heavyweight champion. Malykhin and Bhullar were scheduled to fight at ONE 161 in September before the latter pulled out with an injury. ‘Singh’ recently announced he’s ready to fight ‘Sladkiy’ in early 2023 after recovering from his injuries.
Several heavyweight contenders are getting closer to securing their next title shot against Malykhin or Bhullar. One of those contenders is BJJ legend Marcus Buchecha, who is 4-0 with the promotion. Meanwhile, Oumar Kane and Amir Aliakbari have earned respect in the division. It’ll be intriguing to see who ends 2023 as the ONE Heavyweight World Champion.
