ONE Championship News Roundup

The ONE Championship news roundup for January 3.
The ONE Championship news roundup for January 3.

Welcome to today's edition of the daily Sportskeeda ONE Championship News Roundup, where we present the promotion's most important stories.

Today we talk about a trio of superstars who stood above their peers in the organization in 2022.

We discuss Muay Thai phenom Tawanchai PK.Saenchai collecting the Breakout Star of the Year award, Angela Lee’s submission of Stamp Fairtex being named the best MMA fight of 2022, and Demetrious Johnson’s knockout of Adriano Moraes being ONE Championship’s MMA Knockout of the Year.

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#3. Tawanchai wins ONE Championship 2022 Breakout Star of the Year award

Tawanchai PK.Saenchai was being tabbed as one of the brightest stars of his generation when he made his ONE Championship debut in 2021. It was in 2022, though, when the Thai phenom went nuclear and started teeing off on fighters left, right, and center.

The 23-year-old went 3-0 this year, taking wins over Saemapetch Fairtex, Niclas Larsen, and Petchmorakot Petchyindee. This incredible run was what gave him the distinction of being the 2022 Breakout Star of the Year.

While his knockout wins over Saemapetch and Larsen were highly impressive, his chess match against Petchmorakot was what made Tawanchai an absolute superstar.

Tawanchai battled Petchmorakot for five whole rounds in the main event of ONE 161 in September 2022.

It can be said that his fight against Petchmorakot was the hardest one he had inside the Circle, but his aggressive display pushed him to a unanimous decision win and the ONE featherweight Muay Thai world championship.


#2. Angela Lee’s submission of Stamp Fairtex awarded ONE’s best MMA fight of 2022

Angela Lee has had a remarkable career so far in ONE Championship, but 2022 might just be one of the most memorable years in her storied journey.

Lee returned to the circle this past year after giving birth to daughter Ava Marie. Her first fight since 2019 saw the magic that ‘Unstoppable’ has always possessed.

The reigning ONE women’s atomweight world champion defended her strap against three-sport superstar Stamp Fairtex in the main event of ONE X, ONE Championship’s 10th-anniversary show.

Their March 2022 match was an instant classic, with Lee surviving Stamp’s early striking onslaught and taking the inspiring second-round submission win. The mom-champ’s successful world title defense over Stamp was such an amazing feat that it was named the Best MMA Fight of 2022.

The Singaporean-American star dug deep into her bag of tricks, even pulling off a twister in an attempt to force Stamp to tap. It wasn’t until the final 10 seconds of the second round when Lee locked in the rear-naked choke to retain the gold.


#1. Demetrious Johnson’s flying-knee knockout of Adriano Moraes tops ONE’s 2022 KOs

It was a win that was as electric as it was poetic.

ONE Championship saw numerous highlight reel knockouts in 2022, but none could compare to the artistry and the history of Demetrious Johnson’s finish of Adriano Moraes at ONE on Prime Video 1.

Johnson, considered one of the greatest fighters of all time, suffered a stunning defeat to Moraes in April 2021 after the Brazilian superstar knocked him out with a knee strike at ONE on TNT I.

More than a year after that defeat, Johnson was able to exact revenge and claimed the ONE flyweight world title. In a majestic twist of fate, the way ‘Mighty Mouse’ achieved the victory was eerily similar to how Moraes did it in 2021.

Johnson operated on a different plane during his knockout sequence of Moraes and his flying knee was named the ONE Championship MMA KO of the Year for 2022.

After struggling in the first two rounds, Johnson got into his groove in the third and the fourth saw him pull off the spectacular knockout. Johnson first tagged Moraes with a stinging right straight before launching into the now iconic flying knee for the walk-off KO.

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Edited by Harvey Leonard
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