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For more than a decade now, ONE Championship has cemented itself as a force in the world of martial arts. Featuring fights across Muay Thai, kickboxing, and MMA, the Asian organization never runs out of jaw-dropping moments.
When it comes to knockouts, ONE has some of the most unique, brutal, and iconic KO's the world has ever seen. Just look at this headkick KO by Tang Kai, who fights at ONE: NEXTGEN II on November 12:
That being said, we have undertaken the grueling task of listing the top 5 most legendary knockouts in ONE Championship history. We ranked them according to overall difficulty, uniqueness, and sheer brutality.
#5. ONE atomweight kickboxing champion Janet Todd's frightening high kick (ONE Championship: Century)
Speaking of headkicks, ONE atomweight kickboxing queen Janet 'JT' Todd produced one of the most iconic ones you'll ever see. Hailing from Lawndale, CA, the highly credentialed Todd broke into the ONE Circle like a bull in a China shop. The American fighter won the coveted ONE Championship belt less than a year after debuting in the organization.
One of her most memorable performances to date, however, was this stunning knockout of Ekaterina Vandaryeva at ONE Championship: Century. Fighting under Muay Thai rules, the crafty Todd used a number of close-range attacks to nullify the height and reach of Vandaryeva. Todd also followed up her clinch-knees and combinations in the pocket with low and mid kicks.
In the final minute of the second round, after setting up with a jab, Todd went high whereas Vandaryeva was expecting another low kick. Todd connected with a thunderous head kick heard around the arena. What resulted was the frightening sight of a dazed Vanderyeva momentarily walking away before dropping to the floor. It was absolutely chilling. Watch the entire fight in this video:
#4. Jeremy Miado's stunning flying knee KO (ONE Championship: Age of Dragons)
ONE Championship strawweight fighter Jeremy 'The Jaguar' Miado definitely has a place in MMA history. The crafty Filipino scrapper produced one of the cleanest, most devastating flying knees you'll ever see.
What makes the KO legendary is how unexpected it was. Miado's fight with China's Miao Li Tao was a frenetic grappling affair. It's the closest you can get to the grappling equivalent of a boxing brawl with reversals after reversals and submission attempts after submission attempts. Both fighters were throwing everything but the kitchen sink on the ground.
After a brief separation on the feet, Miao pushed forward, throwing caution to the wind. It was then that Miado, true to his moniker 'The Jaguar', leapt into the air like a feline and caught his opponent flush with a knee to the jaw. Miao dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes. The KO was akin to Bellator's Michael 'Venom' Page's Matrix-like flying knee KO of Evangelista Cyborg.
See the full fight here:
#3. Superbon Banchamek's upsets the legend Giorgio Petrosyan (One Championship: First Strike)
If you thought ONE atomweight queen Janet Todd's headkick KO was violent, wait till you see this. The relatively unknown Superbon Banchamek shocked the kickboxing world by sending the Giorgio 'The Doctor' Petrosyan to the shadow realm with this stunning kick.
Petrosyan, seen as one of the best pound-for-pound kickboxers of all time, entered ONE Championship with an air of mystique around him. Having only lost twice in over 100 fights, the multi-time world champion was the heavy favorite to win. Petrosyan's surgical precision and untouchable defense were key to dismantling Superbon.
But the Thai fighter had other plans. The grizzled Thai answered Petrosyan's bullying offense with his own. It was back-and-forth in the first round. By the early seconds of the second, however, Superbon had done the unthinkable. Superbon landed a classic left hook-high kick combination in the pocket as Petrosyan stepped out. The legendary Armenian-Italian dropped to the floor like he was shot by a gun. It was iconic in every sense of the word.
Watch the full fight here:
#2. Timofey Nastyukhin violently welcomes Eddie Alvarez to the ONE Circle (ONE Championship: A New Era)
It was in this fight that ONE Championship made a statement to the world. The Singapore-based organization proved that their fighters can compete and excel on the global stage. Eddie Alvarez, known as the former UFC lightweight champion, ventured into ONE after leaving the UFC. The general consensus at the time was that 'The Underground King' would most likely win the ONE lightweight World Grand Prix.
Enter ONE Championship's Timofey Nastyukhin. The Russian pankration champion, best known for tying the fastest knockout in ONE history (6 seconds), overwhelmed Alvarez. Nastyukhin went after debuting Alvarez from the get-go and never took his foot off the pedal.
With less than a minute left in the first round, Nastyukhin caught Alvarez with a left hook after a flurry of punches in the pocket. The American fighter was visibly hurt and immediately went on a retreat. Like a shark smelling blood in the water, Nastyukhin followed suit with a barrage of punches to earn the TKO win.
Just like that, ONE Championship announced itself in the big table of MMA organizations in the world.
#1 Adriano Moraes shocks the world (ONE on TNT 1)
What more can be said about this one? If the Nastyukhin KO announced ONE's arrival at the big table, this fight brought them to the head of the table. The magnitude of what ONE Championship flyweight king Adriano Moraes achieved in less than five minutes couldn't be overstated.
'Mikinho' sent shockwaves throughout the sport after his historic knockout of former UFC champion Demetrious 'Mighty Mouse' Johnson. Johnson, widely considered one of the greatests ever, has never been stopped in his career. He is also the owner of the all-time record for most consecutive UFC title defenses.
Moraes, mostly known for his grappling, surprisingly matched Johnson's break-neck pace on the feet. In the midst of calculated chaos, Moraes landed a short left uppercut that floored the former UFC great. From there it was academic. Moraes landed a devastating knee on the ground and shut the lights off DJ's consciousness.
The historic KO was like watching a god fall in front of our eyes, and proved that ONE championship is a force to be reckoned with in MMA.
Watch the full fight here:
