The 5 best walk-off KOs in ONE Championship history

There’s nothing more spectacular in combat sports than a walk-off knockout, and ONE Championship has tons of it.

ONE Championship has always prided itself on its high finishing rate and most of that is due to the Global Martial Arts Rule Set that it employs in their MMA bouts.

The Global Martial Arts Rule Set emphasizes action above anything else and allows fighters to throw a myriad of strikes, including knees to a grounded opponent. Referees are also sticklers for pushing a match’s pace and penalize fighters who stall during fights.

Such factors have led to the most jaw-dropping highlights in MMA history, but some walk-off KOs are better than others - be it the sheer force of how they were delivered or the situation that surrounded the finish.

That said, we look at five of the best walk-off KOs in ONE Championship.

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#5. Zebaztian Kadestam vs. Iuri Lapicus - ONE on Prime Video 1

Let’s start the list with one from ONE Championship’s most recent event, ONE on Prime Video 1.

Former ONE welterweight world champion Zebaztian Kadestam took on Iuri Lapicus in the opening match of ONE Championship’s first-ever Amazon Prime Video card. ‘The Bandit’ did not disappoint in welcoming the North American audience into the fold.

After a brief feeling-out process, Kadestam got Lapicus in his crosshairs and launched an uppercut that quickly put the former lightweight world title contender out of his wits.

The win was Kadestam’s second in a row and also his second straight first-round finish. The former welterweight king then capped his night off with a callout to ONE Championship’s newest signing, Roberto Soldic.

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#4. Martin Nguyen vs. Eduard Folayang - ONE: Legends of the World

It was the punch that shocked Manila.

Eduard Folayang was about to complete a year-long reign with his ONE lightweight world title when Martin Nguyen decided to spoil the party not just for the Filipino legend, but for his whole country as well.

Nguyen was already the reigning ONE featherweight world champion when he decided to challenge Folayang for the lightweight gold in Manila at ONE: Legends of the World back in November 2017. That decision paid huge dividends for ‘The Situ-Asian’ when he collected a second belt in front of a stunned Filipino crowd.

Both fighters were throwing heavy bombs in the second round but Nguyen needed just a split second to become the first two-division world champion in ONE Championship history.

Folayang went in for one of his patented spinning heel kicks but what he got was Nguyen’s right overhand landing straight on his face.

The finish may have silenced the Filipino audience, but it was a career-defining win for Nguyen, who five years on from that fight remains one of the top mixed martial artists in the world.

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#3. John Lineker vs. Bibiano Fernandes - ONE: Lights Out

What was deemed nearly impossible became a reality for John Lineker.

Bibiano Fernandes was seen as an invincible force of nature in the bantamweight division. However, Lineker proved to the world that even dynasties eventually crumble to the hardest of strikes.

The Brazilian star was on his latest reign over the division that started in 2019 when he faced Lineker at ONE: Lights Out this past March. That card’s name eventually became the precursor to what Lineker would do to ‘The Flash’ inside the circle.

Lineker and Fernandes were relentless in their attacks, with both fighters actively looking for that highlight-reel finish. It was Lineker, however, who proved that his moniker wasn’t just a nickname.

Ducking in for a set-up body shot in the second round, Lineker poised upward and clocked Fernandes with a huge left hook that sent the longtime king down to his demise.

Just like that, a new Brazilian was sitting atop the bantamweight division and it’s the man with the ‘Hands of Stone’.

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#2. Superbon Singha Mawynn vs. Giorgio Petrosyan - ONE: First Strike

ONE Championship is no stranger to icons making way for the new martial arts legends of tomorrow. Such was the case when Thai sensation Superbon Singha Mawynn faced and beat Giorgio Petrosyan, regarded as the greatest kickboxer of all time.

Superbon made his own legend in the most iconic of ways when he took on Petrosyan at ONE: First Strike in October 2021 to determine who would become the inaugural ONE featherweight kickboxing world champion.

An explosive first round between Superbon and Petrosyan preceded what would arguably be the most iconic strike in kickboxing history.

Superbon flooded Petrosyan with roundhouse kicks in an attempt to dissolve the Italian’s high guard. Just before the 20-second mark of the second round, Superbon finally found his target.

After tagging Petrosyan with a quick left hook, Superbon launched a powerful roundhouse that landed square on the jaw of the Italian legend.

The win not only made Superbon the first ONE featherweight kickboxing world champion, but it also cemented his name in the annals of kickboxing forever.

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#1. Demetrious Johnson vs. Adriano Moraes II - ONE on Prime Video 1

Combat sports and literature are two realms that are far apart from each other, but what Demetrious Johnson did in his rematch against Adriano Moraes was poetry in motion.

Johnson and Moraes headlined the first ONE Championship card that was streamed live on Amazon Prime Video. The two flyweight kings were on the sequel of their first match at ONE on TNT I back in April 2021. The result of the second fight was a poetic finish to an interesting rivalry between the two.

Moraes scored the first win in their head-to-head when he knocked out Johnson with a grounded knee strike. Fast forward to more than a year and it was Johnson who was dishing out the knee shot.

After struggling in the first two rounds, Johnson found his footing and used his boxing to close the distance against Moraes in the third.

Johnson, who finally found his momentum in the match, continued his assault in the fourth round, clocking ‘Mikinho’ with a stiff right straight. ‘Mighty Mouse’ then stalked the backpedaling Moraes and landed a thunderous flying knee, resulting in probably the most iconic walk-off KO in ONE Championship history.

The victory was also historic for Johnson as he not only became the ONE flyweight world champion, but he also became the first man to win world titles in both ONE Championship and the UFC.