ONE Championship’s Top 5 Moments Of 2025
ONE Championship continued to produce blockbuster spectacles all throughout 2025, as the promotion delivered compelling storylines, thrilling matches, and stunning events in iconic cities to fans all around the globe.
World Champions were tested, eras were questioned, and new forces emerged without asking for permission. Ultimately, that led to a plethora of unforgettable moments that will stand the test of time.
Some of these moments arrived in an instant. Others were years in the making. Regardless, they hit like a perfect storm and now, these highlights have been burned into the minds of every combat sports fan.
With that, here are ONE Championship’s top-five moments of 2025.
#1 Noiri Stops Tawanchai, Claims Interim Belt At Home
For much of his reign, ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Champion Tawanchai PK Saenchai existed in a space beyond doubt. His control of range, timing, and rhythm often made elite opposition appear cautious before the first shot even landed.
That aura of invincibility disappeared when Masaaki Noiri stepped into the ring for their ONE Interim Featherweight Kickboxing World Title clash at ONE 172 in March.
Competing in front of his home crowd at Saitama Super Arena, the Japanese star refused to fight with restraint. He pressed, waited, and committed fully when an opportunity presented itself.
That opportunity appeared in the third round.
After eating a few of the Thai southpaw’s step-in knees, Noiri noticed that his rival dropped his lead hand. So when Tawanchai stepped forward with a knee and lowered his lead hand 74 seconds into the frame, the Japanese star connected with a short left hook to the head that crumpled his adversary to the canvas.
Tawanchai beat the count, but he was still on dream street. Noiri backed him against the ropes, closed the distance, and swarmed with boxing combinations until referee Chris Batcheldor stepped in and waved off the action.
The shocking third-round TKO stoppage came clean and sudden, and it set Noiri on a collision course with divisional king Superbon for the undisputed crown.
That moment also reverberated far beyond a single result. It challenged long-standing assumptions about dominance at the highest level of striking and instantly altered the trajectory of the division.
#2 Baatarkhuu Beats Andrade, Becomes World Champion
Not every World Championship moment arrives with noise.
“The Tormentor” Enkh-Orgil Baatarkhuu reached the summit through accumulation – performances stacked patiently over time, improvements layered year by year.
Baatarkhuu – the Road To ONE: Mongolia winner – built his place brick by brick. He dominated the scene in his home country before earning an invitation to compete on the global stage and eventually challenge one of the most fearsome MMA World Champions in the sport, Fabricio “Wonder Boy” Andrade.
After absorbing damaging blows from the Brazilian kingpin in the first three rounds of their main event showdown at ONE Fight Night 38 earlier this month, the Physical: Asia star finally found his moment.
In the fourth stanza, Baatarkhuu bulldozed his way toward Andrade, dragged him to the canvas, and forced him to tap via rear-naked choke to claim the ONE Bantamweight MMA World Title.
When he finally captured gold, it felt less like an arrival and more like a conclusion – the natural endpoint of a journey that had been unfolding quietly for years. The magnitude of the achievement resonated well beyond the ring, with Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh, President of Mongolia, publicly praising Baatarkhuu for his historic World Championship victory.
#3 Rodtang Knocks Out Takeru In Long-Awaited Battle
Few matchups carried the emotional and historical weight of Rodtang “The Iron Man” Jitmuangnon versus Takeru “Natural Born Krusher” Segawa in their flyweight kickboxing super-fight. Years of anticipation turned the bout into a referendum on styles, legacies, and national pride.
When the super-fight finally happened at ONE 172, the Thai megastar wasted no time answering every question at once.
Applying his trademark pressure, Rodtang forced the engagement and capitalized decisively. The Thai megastar sprung forward with a left hook-right cross combination that got his rival’s attention. And then, a second thunderous left hook to the chin dropped his Japanese foe to the canvas for good.
The 80-second knockout ended the contest before momentum could shift or narratives could develop.
This result delivered a definitive answer to years of debate, settling one of the most-anticipated striking battles in modern combat sports history with brutal clarity.
For Rodtang, it also reinforced a reputation built on inevitability under fire and cemented his standing as one of the most dangerous fighters of his generation.
#4 Pacio Returns From Injury, Finishes Brooks In World Title Trilogy
Time away from competition changes fighters, especially after a serious injury.
When Joshua “The Passion” Pacio returned from a torn ACL to face then-interim king Jarred “The Monkey God” Brooks in their ONE Strawweight MMA World Title trilogy at ONE 171: Qatar in February, questions surrounded not just his health, but his ability to reclaim his championship form.
But once the action got going inside the state-of-the-art Lusail Sports Arena, those doubts faded quickly.
The Filipino star fought with composure and clarity, showing no visible hesitation as he navigated a rivalry that had defined the division.
After enduring Brooks’ suffocating wrestling through much of the opening round and battling out of a serious guillotine choke attempt, “The Passion” turned the tide in the second frame with relentless ground-and-pound to seal the victory and finish their long-standing rivalry in emphatic fashion.
Pacio had not only unified the gold, but he also re-established himself at the center of the strawweight landscape. The victory wasn’t dramatic for its chaos, but for a World Champion proving he hadn’t lost his footing.
#5 Liu Stuns Tawanchai With Leg Kick TKO
When “Spirit Dragon” Liu Mengyang stopped Tawanchai at ONE Friday Fights 137 a few weeks ago, the result stood out not as a collapse, but as a moment that elevated him to a whole new level.
Liu approached the main event battle inside Bangkok’s Lumpinee Stadium with confidence and intent, refusing to concede ground or wait for an opportunity.
The Chinese kickboxing sensation’s pressure forced exchanges – and eventually, the finish.
Liu endured multiple stabbing teeps from his Thai rival in their featherweight kickboxing tilt, but each time he closed the distance, he attacked one singular target: Tawanchai’s right calf.
On his fourth attempt, the Muay Thai king crumbled, sitting in agony on the canvas. The man who arrived in silence stopped a seemingly untouchable force in just 52 seconds.
The result announced Liu as a legitimate threat to divisional kingpin Superbon. By year’s end, that shift had opened the door to a far more unpredictable ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Title picture.
