ONE Championship’s outstanding martial artists of 2017
While all ONE Championship athletes go
out and give their all inside the cage, there are just a handful who have shown
the true championship quality over the past twelve months.
These competitors have gone above and
beyond their personal limits, delighting fans with spectacular performances.
Moreover, these martial artists have
captured the imaginations of fans in their home countries and fans from all
over the world.
Here are the top five martial artists
who left an indelible mark on the ONE Championship stage this 2017.
#5) Aung La N Sang
Aung La N Sang is Myanmar’s most
successful athlete in history, whose constricting style has earned him the
moniker of ”The Burmese Python” as he owns 12 victories by way of submission.
After starting his 2017 on a sour note
by losing the first world title bout of his career on 14 January at ONE: QUEST
FOR POWER in Jakarta, Indonesia, Aung La N Sang redeemed himself by stunning
former undefeated champion Vitaly Bigdash of Russia in a highly-anticipated
rematch to be crowned the new ONE Middleweight World Champion at ONE: LIGHT OF
A NATION in Yangon, Myanmar on 30 June.
Aung La N Sang was focused from the
second he stepped into the Thuwunna Indoor Stadium, and once the bell rang, he
was unstoppable.
The 32-year-old hometown hero rocked
the champion minutes into the
contest and nearly secured a
first-round stoppage victory.
Despite being grounded by the Russian
in the following stanzas, Aung La N Sang clearly did more damage in striking
exchanges throughout the course of the bout.
As a result, Aung La N Sang earned a
unanimous decision nod and claimed the ONE Middleweight World Championship.
Aung La N Sang concluded his 2017 by
taking part of ONE Championship’s openweight super-bout against
highly-decorated heavyweight kickboxer Alain “The Panther” Ngalani, which
headlined ONE: HERO’S DREAM in Yangon, Myanmar on 3 November.
Aung La N Sang weathered an early
storm from his Cameroonian heavyweight opponent, working in guard to defend
himself from Ngalani’s top game.
Recognizing an opening for a standing
guillotine choke, Aung La N Sang wrapped his arm around Ngalani’s neck and
pulled guard to finish his opponent by submission in the first round.
#4) Christian Lee
Christian “The Warrior” Lee, the
younger brother of reigning ONE Women’s Atomweight World Champion “Unstoppable”
Angela Lee, began his professional career on an absolute tear, railing off five
straight victories by thrilling finish.
Lee has impressed fans with his ability
to seek out stoppage wins over top-caliber opponents in 2017.
After steamrolling Chinese stalwart
Wan Jan Ping at ONE: KINGS OF DESTINY in Manila, Philippines on 21 April, Lee
toppled fellow top featherweight Keanu Subba of Malaysia in his most recent bout,
winning by third-round submission in a competitive contest at ONE: QUEST FOR
GREATNESS in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 18 August.
The 19-year-old Singaporean martial
arts sensation took another step in fulfilling all of those on 9 December as he
delivered a masterful performance against former ONE Lightweight World Champion
Kotetsu “No Face” Boku at ONE: WARRIORS OF THE WORLD in Bangkok, Thailand.
In perhaps his most impressive
performance to date, Lee brought his best against a dangerous opponent in Boku
as he employed the perfect strategy and completed a rapturous knockout triumph
that undoubtedly signals his readiness to challenge the upper tier of talent in
the promotion’s most stacked division.
Bringing the action right to Boku, Lee
blasted the Japanese veteran with powerful strikes, takedowns and submission
attempts.
Just past the three-minute mark, Lee
quickly took Boku’s back and executed a textbook trip takedown with such
incredible power that it knocked Japanese veteran out.
The impressive win over Boku was Lee’s
seventh first-round stoppage victory and tied the promotional record for most
finishes at eight.
#3) Kevin Belingon
Representing the famed Team Lakay in
Baguio City, Philippines, Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon is one of the country’s
most talented martial artists with a professional record of 16-5.
Belingon is known as a fierce
competitor with the ability to finish opponents in a variety of methods as the
29-year old Wushu practitioner owns seven huge knockouts on his resume and is considered
as one of the most feared strikers in ONE Championship’s deep bantamweight
division.
Since losing to reigning ONE
Bantamweight World Champion Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes in January 2016,
Belingon has barged through his top rivals with a slew of fearsome striking
performances and showcased his incredible punching power.
It began with a thorough defeat of
Tajikistan’s highly-touted Muin Gafurov in October 2016, followed by a complete
first-round annihilation of Finnish submission wizard Toni “Dynamite” Tauru at
ONE KINGS OF DESTINY in Manila, Philippines on 21 April.
Those two consecutive wins earned
Belingon a showdown with top bantamweight contender Reece “Lightning” McLaren
at ONE: QUEST FOR GREATNESS in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 18 August.
Belingon needed just 62 seconds to end
matters abruptly as hee began the bout-ending sequence by dropping McLaren with
a well-placed overhand right.
As the Aussie crashed to the canvas,
Belingon followed with a relentless volley of punches to finish the contest.
At ONE: LEGENDS OF THE WORLD in
Manila, Philippines on 10 November, Belingon scored his fourth straight victory
by defeating Korean-American contender Kevin “Old Boy” Chung via unanimous
decision.
With his recent excellence inside the
ONE Championship cage, Belingon is validating his case for a title rematch
against Fernandes in 2018.
#2) Alex Silva
Alex “Little Rock” Silva just wrapped
up a banner year in ONE Championship as the 35-year-old Brazilian submission
wizard brilliantly defeated a pair of top contenders and then outclassed
previously-undefeated titleholder Yoshitaka “Nobita” Naito to clinch the ONE
Strawweight World Championship.
Following his third-round submission
of Filipino journeyman Roy Doliguez at ONE: THRONE OF TIGERS in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
on 10 February, Alex “Little Rock” Silva displayed his elite Brazilian
Jiu-Jitsu skills on another elite Japanese martial artist.
Silva met an unbeaten Hayato Suzuki, a
highly-regarded wrestler and Grachan champion, on the undercard of ONE: LEGENDS
OF THE WORLD in Manila, Philippines on 10 November.
Fans expected a technical ground war
with two talented grapplers each wanting to showcase their best techniques, but
what they got instead was a complete shocker.
From out of nowhere, Silva
out-scrambled Suzuki following a takedown attempt and latched onto an armbar
that forced a quick tap from Suzuki.
The result marked Suzuki’s first loss
in 20 bouts as a professional and conversely catapulted Silva to an eventual
world title shot weeks later.
Silva routed Naito by way of unanimous
decision to bring home the ONE Strawweight World Championship in the main event
of ONE: WARRIORS OF THE WORLD in Bangkok, Thailand on 9 December.
Honorable mention: Amir Khan of Singapore, Mei Yamaguchi
of Japan, and Jomary Torres of the Philippines
#1) Martin Nguyen
Martin “The Situ-Asian” Nguyen of
Sydney, Australia is a highly-skilled finisher and one of the most talented
martial artists in the world today.
Sporting a 10-1 professional record,
Nguyen’s all-around skill set allows him to compete at the highest level of
competition.
2017 had been a remarkable year for
Nguyen as he captured two coveted world titles. Nguyen stepped into the ONE
Championship cage on 18 August at ONE: QUEST FOR GREATNESS in Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia, notching his first gold under the ONE Championship banner when he
stopped former undefeated featherweight champion Marat “Cobra” Gafurov to claim
the ONE Featherweight World Championship.
Nguyen wrote his name in history books
as the first man to hold two world titles simultaneously in ONE Championship by
knocking out beloved Filipino martial arts superstar Eduard “Landslide”
Folayang to bring home the ONE Lightweight World Championship in the main event
of ONE: LEGENDS OF THE WORLD in Manila, Philippines on 10 November.
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