Wildest One Championship Knockouts of 2021

ONE Championship has established itself as one of the biggest combat sports promotions in the world. The Asia-based international MMA promotion treated its viewers to some amazing action in 2021. This year, the fans saw some of the most devastating knockouts in the promotion’s history.

The fighters produced intense and high-speed action, which led to them producing memorable moments inside the cage. Here are five of the biggest knockouts in One Championship in 2021.

Superbon Banchamek vs. Giorgio Petrosyan

The fight between kickboxing legend Petrosyan and Banchamek produced one of the most devastating knockouts of the year. When the bout between the two was announced, most of the combat sports fans expected Petrosyan to come out as the victor.

The fighter had over 100 wins to his name in his career and only two losses to his name. The Armenian-born Italian kickboxer is one of the best strikers in the world, and people expected him to break his opponent.

However, Banchamek shocked the world on the day. The Thai fighter was not afraid to exchange with Petrosyan and both men finished the first round in a back-and-forth battle. But in the second round, he did the unimaginable.

During an exchange, Banchamek landed a left hook and immediately followed it with a right high kick. The kickboxing legend went crashing to the canvas in what was an epic moment. This was only the third loss of Petrosyan’s career.

Adriano Moraes vs. Demetrious Johnson

One could say that this fight announced the arrival of ONE Championship amongst the big boys. Adriano Moraes shocked the world when he took on one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time and knocked him out.

Coming into the fight, ‘Mighty Mouse’ had never been stopped in his career. He is the former UFC flyweight champion and holds the record for the most consecutive title defenses in UFC history.

After a closely fought first round, Johnson piled on the pressure on Moraes. However, during the scuffle, Moraes landed a right hand, which sent his opponent to the ground. And immediately followed it with a devastating knee which led to the stoppage. Many people termed this as one of the biggest upsets in MMA history.

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Kim Jae Woong vs. Martin Nguyen

This was a fight between two fighters known for their ability to finish the fights. However, it was the former two-division champion, Nguyen, that went to sleep in this fight.

After some close trades, initially, Kim started to read his opponent’s game and began to counter his shots. Late in the first round, ‘The Fighting God’ landed a clean right hook which sent his opponent to the mat. Kim followed the strike with some ground-and-pound, which led to the referee stepping in to stop the fight.

Beybulat Isaev vs. Mihajlo Kecojevic

One of the most brutal knockouts happened in the fight between Beybulat Isaev vs. Mihajlo Kecojevic.

The fight started with Kecojevic coming out aggressively and continuously moving forward. He kept the pressure on his opponent and used his jab to perfection. However, Isaev, after dodging a strong left look, countered with a powerful right hook to Kecojevic’s temple.

It folded him and sent him crashing to the canvas, with the mouthpiece flying out of his mouth.

Mark Abelardo vs. Emilio Urrutia

The bantamweight clash between Abelardo and Urrutia produced one of the most memorable knockouts. After trading shots in the first round, Abelardo started taking control of the fight and landed some huge elbows on Urrutia. He started to look like the guy in control of the fight, despite his opponent landing some good shots.

However, it was in the second round that he landed a highlight-reel finish. While countering Urrutia’s left hook, he landed a tomahawk elbow, which immediately put Urrutia on the ground. The referee quickly stepped in and that was the end of the fight.

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Which one do you think was the best knockout in One Championship in 2021? Let us know in the comments!