Power ranking the finishes at ONE 159

On July 22, fans worldwide watched the action from inside the Singapore Indoor Stadium for ONE 159 and were treated to another night full of spectacular finishes.

Five of the nine scheduled bouts on the card were stoppages, a testament to the athletes’ skills and desire to get an impressive finish. Ultimately, only three fighters took home a $50,000 performance bonus.

Here are our picks for the top three finishes at ONE 159. (Two on our list won a performance bonus.)

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#3. Danial Williams shines to kick off the ONE 159 main card

If there’s two things that we know about Danial Williams, it’s that he can take a hit and that he hits hard himself. These two things were on full display at ONE 159.

The Thai-Aussie faced China’s Zelang Zhaxi in a strawweight MMA bout to kick off the event's main card. Both men were keen to keep the fight on their feet as they traded leather early on. Zelang looked to be getting the better of the exchanges, as his combinations showed visible damage on the face of ‘Mini-T’.

Williams, who made his promotional debut in the ONE Super Series as a Muay Thai fighter, used his feet to mix things up for Zelang. However, ‘Lil’ Gun’ looked confident after seeing the damage he dealt to his opponent and goaded Williams to throw more shots.

Towards the end of the round, Danial Williams caught Zelang with a huge right hand that dropped the promotional newcomer to the canvas. The referee stepped in quickly to avoid further damage to the fallen fighter.

The incredible comeback win and the method by which he won the fight earned Williams a much-deserved US$50,000 performance bonus.

#2. Marat Gafurov makes a statement in his return

Marat Gafurov suffered a heartbreaking loss to eventual ONE lightweight world champion Ok Rae Yoon in April last year and looked to prove that he still has a lot left in the tank.

Against Ariel Sexton, Gafurov faced a proven finisher who had won his last two contests in the promotion. With a combined 22 submissions in 32 wins between them, it was inevitable to see these two grapplers on the ground at some point during their match.

They did just that within the first minute of their matchup, with Gafurov taking down ‘Tarzan’ at will and controlling him on the ground. ‘Cobra’ then dictated the tempo and the action throughout the match.

By the third round, he slithered his way into a body triangle and unloaded on Sexton, who was not able to intelligently defend himself. As a result, the referee called for the bell and awarded the win to Gafurov.

It was an important win for the former ONE featherweight world champion as he looks to earn his place in the upper echelon of the lightweight division. Dominating an athlete of Sexton’s caliber and finishing him the way that he did is certainly a step in the right direction.

#1. Reinier de Ridder ends ONE 159 with a bang

Reinier de Ridder once again proved why he is one of the best in the world by extending his streak to 16 wins.

In the main event of ONE 159, De Ridder faced a dangerous challenger in Vitaly Bigdash for the ONE middleweight world title. Bigash owns 10 finishes in his 12 career wins, including two in his last three. The Russian fighter believed that he could end De Ridder’s dominant reign in the division.

Bigdash caught the two-division world champion’s head in a guillotine after De Ridder shot for a takedown. However, ‘The Dutch Knight’ found his way out of trouble and proceeded to assert his game.

A mad scramble ensued as De Ridder chased a couple of submissions, but it ended with him at the bottom. Suddenly, the Dutchman slapped on an inverted triangle that quickly turned the lights out on Bigdash.

From his escape early on to the execution of his finisher, and considering what was at stake in the match, there was clearly nothing bigger than De Ridder’s win at ONE 159.