5 rising stars you should watch out for in ONE Championship in 2022

Many stars on the ONE Championship roster have had memorable fights over the past twelve months.

World champions defended their crowns with spectacular finishes, contenders left the circle with golden straps on their shoulders and other warriors dished out the best performances of their careers to break into the promotion's divisional rankings.

2021 was also a spectacular year for rising stars in ONE. These young fighters stepped onto the global stage, gunning for a chance to prove themselves.

Perhaps the most successful of the lot was 24-year-old Stamp Fairtex, who was crowned the inaugural ONE women’s atomweight world Grand Prix champion in December.

The striking specialist, who only started competing in MMA in 2018, submitted Indian wrestling sensation Ritu Phogat to claim the tournament's championship belt and earn a shot at ‘Unstoppable’ Angela Lee’s atomweight world title.

But there were plenty of rising talents who made their presence felt in the circle in 2021 and could achieve similar success to Stamp next year. With that said, let's take a look at five rising stars you should watch out for in ONE in 2022.

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#5. Jhanlo Sangiao - ONE bantamweight

If there’s one thing to take away from Jhanlo Sangiao’s debut at ONE: Winter Warriors II, it's that the young star has serious potential. The Filipino warrior impressed in his matchup against Indonesian veteran Paul Lumihi at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on December 17.

The 19-year-old son of Team Lakay's head coach Mark Sangiao showed glimpses of what he could do in the striking department and easily took care of his more experienced rival on the ground.

His energy, pace, striking and grappling skills propelled him to a rear-naked choke win at 1:41 of the opening frame. It is hard to judge his full abilities, given we have only seen him inside the circle for 101 seconds, but ‘The Machine’ was near-flawless in his first outing.

There may still be room for growth within the young upstart's arsenal, but given that he is surrounded by world-class stars while training at Team Lakay, we should see him improve steadily over the next few months.

The ONE bantamweight division is stacked with many young fighters equally as determined as Sangiao, so expect this young talent to get entangled in more exciting fights in the coming year.

#4. Victoria Lee - ONE atomweight

There were many questions about whether 17-year-old Victoria Lee would face adversity ahead of her professional MMA debut in ONE this year.

However, the youngest of the Lee siblings tossed all those doubts and naysayers aside with three successive victories in the ONE atomweight division, ending her first year with a perfect 3-0 slate.

What’s even more impressive is that all three wins ended in a finish. Lee forced Sunisa Srisan to tap in her promotional debut – 63 seconds into the second canto. The Thai's grappling couldn't keep up with her young rival's and it eventually proved to be the deciding factor in that exciting clash.

Five months later, the fighter known as ‘The Prodigy’ scored another submission win over Wang Luping at ONE: Battleground. This time around, Lee finished the contest with a triangle armbar in the opening frame.

Given those two impressive victories, the promotion presented her with a far tougher opponent in her third appearance, the undefeated Brazilian Victoria Souza.

Yet again, Lee succeeded in her mission to defend her undefeated streak. She engaged her opponent in a couple of stand-up battles before taking the contest to the ground to see out the match via TKO.

Some of Lee’s most noticeable traits are her willingness to fight, quick footwork, speed, knowledge on the canvas and her ability to mix things up when striking.

2022 could present Lee with far bigger challenges, but Lee seems poised to follow in the footsteps of her elder siblings, Christian and Angela.

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#3. Fabricio Andrade - ONE bantamweight

Li Kai Wen has a reputation as one of the fiercest fighters in the bantamweight division. But at ONE: Winter Warriors II, Fabricio Andrade, a young Brazilian star, knocked him out at 4:41 of the opening round.

The 24-year-old Thailand-based athlete made it three victories in a row in ONE by connecting with huge knees and powerful fists to get the job done. Andrade’s aggressiveness was also a deciding factor in the fight. He rarely took a step back and forced his Chinese foe to backpedal for a large amount of the contest.

Prior to this finish, ‘Wonder Boy’ used the same determination and grit to get past Shoko Sato at ONE: Unbreakable in January this year.

He is fast becoming one of the hottest rising stars in ONE. If he can continue to produce performances like these, 2022 could prove to be a pivotal year for the Marrok Force MMA standout.

#2. Jackie Buntan - ONE strawweight

After finishing 2021 with a 3-0 record in ONE, America’s Jackie Buntan has arguably done enough to show that she deserves a shot at the inaugural ONE women’s strawweight Muay Thai world title.

The Boxing Works star began the year by dominating Wondergirl at ONE: Fists of Fury in February, before earning another win over one of the division’s top fighters, Ekaterina Vandaryeva, in April.

Her third outing was yet another one-sided affair. The 24-year-old stung her rival, Daniela Lopez, with her precise right cross-left hook combos that allowed her to take home the clear-cut unanimous decision win.

A world title shot is now the most likely scenario for the young warrior. But if that opportunity doesn't arrive, Buntan is happy to continue racking up wins until that golden opportunity presents itself.

Packed with power, fight IQ and a desire to become one of the best strikers under the ONE Super Series banner, the IAMTF featherweight champion and California state Muay Thai champion is definitely a rising star you must look out for in 2022.

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#1. Itsuki Hirata

An injury cruelly forced 22-year-old Itsuki Hirata to pull out of the ONE women’s atomweight world Grand Prix semifinals. But if the road to recovery is smooth for this young Judoka specialist, we see her leaving a lasting impression in the circle next year.

The Japanese star has built quite a fanbase ever since her memorable win over Angelie Sabanal in her ONE debut in June 2019. She picked up a further three wins on the global stage to become one of the eight women to participate in the inaugural atomweight GP.

‘Android 18’ proved that she is more than just a ground game specialist in the quarterfinals of the GP by mixing up her efficiency on the ground and answering everything Alyse Anderson threw at her in the striking department to leave the circle with her most significant win to date.

Her MMA game keeps evolving every time she steps inside the circle. If she can maintain her tremendous work ethic and performance, 2022 could be a breakout year for Hirata.