WATCH: Demetrious Johnson, Angela Lee, Ruotolo bros headline the most epic submissions in ONE Championship

As ONE Championship prepares for a jam-packed 2025 season, the promotion is taking a moment to reflect on some of the most impressive submission victories in its history.

Recently, the world’s largest martial arts organization released a highlight reel on YouTube, showcasing some of the most memorable tapout finishes, with stars like Demetrious Johnson, Angela Lee, and the Ruotolo brothers — Kade and Tye — taking center stage:

Before Johnson captured the ONE flyweight MMA world title later that year, he faced off against then-flyweight Muay Thai king Rodtang Jitmuangnon in a hybrid Muay Thai-MMA matchup at ONE X in March 2022.

The special-rules bout consisted of four rounds, each lasting three minutes. The first and third stanzas were fought under Muay Thai rules, while the second and fourth were contested under ONE's MMA Global Rule Set.

Johnson endured a brutal first round, absorbing heavy strikes from Rodtang while managing to land a few of his own.

Once the Muay Thai round ended, ‘Mighty Mouse' quickly transitioned into the MMA frame, closing the distance and taking Rodtang’s back. On the ground, Johnson sank in his hooks and applied a rear-naked choke, putting ‘The Iron Man’ to sleep.

Meanwhile, Lee’s remarkable submission victory over Natalie Gonzales Hills at ONE: Pride of Lions in November 2015 was the one that put her on the map.

At that time, ‘Unstoppable’ kept her dominant streak intact from her previous bouts, maintaining a relentless pace and controlling the fight on the ground.

Lee then finished the encounter in the first round with a rare twister submission — an incredibly difficult technique rarely seen in MMA.

On the other hand, the Ruotolo twins have been untouchable since joining ONE in 2022.

Kade is currently on an eight-fight winning streak, including his monumental victory over Uali Kurzhev to become the inaugural ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion.

This happened at ONE Fight Night 3 in October 2022, where he forced the multiple-time sambo world champion to wave the white flag with a heel hook.

Like Kade, Tye also turned heads in his second promotional appearance with a sensational submission victory over former featherweight MMA titleholder Marat Gafurov at ONE Fight Night 5 in December 2022.

Tye, the current ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion, forced Gafurov to tap with a wrenching triangle choke during the midway point of their 10-minute duel.

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Kade Ruotolo finds success in MMA

While Kade Ruotolo has already cemented his legacy in submission grappling, he’s now focusing on the world of mixed martial arts.

His MMA debut in June 2024 was nothing short of spectacular, as he defeated Blake Cooper with a rear-naked choke in the first round.

Just five months later, he continued his rampage, submitting Pakistani veteran Ahmed Mujtaba with a swift D'Arce choke.