3 of the best performances from American ONE Championship stars

ONE Championship stars have shone brightly in the circle, with some American greats putting up a handful of incredibly-memorable performances.

While the promotion’s roster is filled with athletes from all over the world, there’s a growing contingent of American stars who are now showcasing their talents in the promotion. From MMA legends like Demetrious Johnson to grappling standouts like Danielle Kelly, ONE’s roster is filled with exciting American fighters to watch out for.

It comes at a perfect time, with the promotion entering a historic deal with Amazon Prime that is expected to bring all the action closer to fans in the United States and Canada.

In fact, the first show under this partnership will be ONE 161, which will take place on U.S. prime time on August 26.

As the land of the free celebrates the 4th of July today, we take a look back at some of the best performances from the American stars of ONE Championship.

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#3. Eddie Alvarez submits former ONE Championship lightweight king Eduard Folayang

Eddie Alvarez went into enemy territory with every intention of breaking the hearts of the hometown crowd in Manila, Philippines at ONE: Dawn of Heroes back in 2019.

‘The Underground King’ faced former ONE lightweight world champion Eduard Folayang in the semifinal round of the ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix. Folayang, a Wushu standout prior to pursuing a career in MMA, unleashed his trademark kicks to get the crowd going and quickly had Alvarez reeling.

The Filipino warrior threw a thunderous leg kick, sweeping Alvarez from underneath his feet. Hobbled and seemingly broken, Alvarez tried to survive as Folayang unleashed his ground-and-pound.

Just when it looked like the end for the Philadelphia native, Alvarez turned to his grappling, eventually finding a way to slither onto Folayang’s back for a rear-naked choke.

The first round submission win was the American’s first in ONE Championship, and secured him a spot in the tournament final.

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#2. Janet Todd edges past phenom Stamp Fairtex to win atomweight kickboxing belt

Janet Todd made her ONE Championship debut in 2019, when she challenged Stamp Fairtex for the ONE atomweight Muay Thai championship. While she came up short in her title challenge, the Japanese-American rebounded nicely with three straight victories in ONE Super Series.

By the start of 2020, Todd earned the right to challenge Stamp once again, this time for the ONE atomweight kickboxing world title.

Todd came out on with a sense of purpose right from the opening bell, utilizing her boxing skills and footwork to avoid taking heavy damage from the champ. Stamp eventually found a way to disrupt Todd’s rhythm, and soon got herself right back in the contest.

After five rounds of intense action, two judges scored the contest in favor of Todd for a split-decision victory.

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#1. Angela Lee beats Mei Yamaguchi to win atomweight world title at 19

Angele Lee joined ONE Championship as a teenager back in 2015 and immediately made a strong impression by collecting five consecutive submission victories.

At just 19 years old, the Canadian-American was given a golden opportunity to become the inaugural ONE women’s atomweight world champion. Standing in her way was a martial arts veteran in Mei Yamaguchi, who had won several belts in various promotions prior to her arrival in ONE Championship.

Their matchup proved to be a grappling masterclass, with both women combining for 14 submission attempts through five rounds of back-and-forth action.

By the end of it though, it was Lee who had her arm raised as the victor via unanimous decision. She became the youngest world champion in the history of MMA.

Lee has gone on to defeat every challenger to her world title and remains the only person to have held the ONE women’s atomweight world title.