The year 2017 was a breakthrough year for Asia-based Mixed Martial Arts promotion ONE Championship. But it’s not just the numbers that popped out but also the number of exciting finishes the promotion has seen.
In a list compiled by ONE Championship, the Philippines topped the best knockouts of the year.
From Boracay-based Zebaztian Kadestam’s debut and Honorio Banario’s return to Martin Nguyen’s KO of Eduard Folayang in Manila, you can watch it all right here!
#3) Zebaztian Kadestam’s comeback knockout win at ONE: Dynasty of Heroes
Going up against one of the most feared strikers in the division is not the most ideal scenario for a ONE Championship debutant, but Swede newcomer Zebaztian “The Bandit” Kadestam wouldn’t have had it any other way.
Receiving the opportunity to join ONE Championship and take on one of the biggest names in the division, Kadestam would put everything on the line.
It all worked out for Kadestam as he turned in one of the most exciting finishes in 2017 with a third-round knockout of Brazilian powerhouse Luis “Sapo” Santos at ONE: Dynasty of Heroes in Singapore last May.
Accepting the challenge on short notice, Kadestam, who trains in Boracay, spent the first two rounds fending off a furious offense by Santos.
Unknown to the Brazilian, it was all a part of Kadestam’s plan as Swede was biding his time, waiting for the third round where Santos has been known to lose his steam.
It was precisely what happened to the Brazilian brute, giving Kadestam a great opening to capitalize with a series of hard knees that flattened Santos to complete a shocking comeback upset.
#2) Honorio Banario’s one-punch knockout at ONE: Kings of Destiny
Former ONE Featherweight World Champion Honorio Banario does not believe his best days are behind him as after losing five bouts in a row from 2013 to 2015, there is no quit in the 28-year-old Baguio City native to bring back the glimmer in his professional career.
Banario has since won four straight matches, including two spectacular finishes in his last two outings.
During ONE: Kings of Destiny, Banario showcased another epic performance, stopping ONE Championship debutant Jaroslav Jartim with a single left hook.
Countering a body kick with a punching combination, Honorio unleashed a left hook that landed square on Jartim’s jaw, turning the lights out immediately for his Czech opponent.
It was Banario’s first real knockout victory since he stopped compatriot Andrew Benibe at ONE: Pride of a Nation in August of 2012.
#1) Martin Nguyen’s history-making knockout at ONE: Legends of the World
Having just lifted the coveted ONE Featherweight World Championship from the previously-unbeaten Marat Gafurov via scintillating knockout just three months prior, Vietnamese-Australian dynamo Martin “The Situ-Asian” Nguyen became an overnight sensation.
Nguyen catapulted to superstardom through a series of impressive highlight-reel finishes, culminating with his knockout of Gafurov.
With an unstoppable weapon in his vaunted overhand right, Nguyen emerged as a legitimate knockout artist who is capable of toppling anyone with a single shot.
Nguyen proved that yet again on 10 November as he entered hostile territory to challenge beloved Filipino martial arts superstar Eduard “Landslide” Folayang for the ONE Lightweight World Championship before a hometown crowd in Manila at ONE: Legends of the World.
Although Folayang knew that Nguyen’s best weapon was the overhand right, there was little that the Filipino hero could do to stop it as “The Situ-Asian” waited for just the right moment to counter his opponent.
As Folayang telegraphed his patented spinning back kick, Nguyen uncorked his famed overhand grenade to shock the world once again.
The jaw-dropping knockout of Folayang earned Nguyen the ONE Lightweight World Championship and wrote his name in history books as the first man to hold two world titles simultaneously in ONE Championship.
