The 5 Best Knockouts From The Stars Of ONE: INSIDE THE MATRIX III

ONE Championship is ready to host the third installment of its INSIDE THE MATRIX event series, and if the first two editions were any indication, fans should be ready for a night of fiery knockouts.

The action goes down this Friday, 13 November, when the previously recorded ONE: INSIDE THE MATRIX III airs from the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Plenty of the athletes on the card – including the hard-hitting bantamweights in the main event – have already produced impressive highlight-reel finishes.

Before they attempt to add more, let’s relive five of the best KOs from the stars of ONE: INSIDE THE MATRIX III.

Belingon Greases ‘Lighting’ With First-Round Finish

Former ONE Bantamweight World Champion and current #1-ranked contender Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon earned one of the most impressive finishes of his career when he stopped Reece “Lightning” McLaren in the first round of their August 2017 tilt.

Thirty seconds into the encounter at ONE: QUEST FOR GREATNESS, Belingon threw his signature wushu spinning back kick, which came up short but gave McLaren the confidence to pressure his foe.

But as the Aussie threw a lazy left hook and a straight right, Belingon whipped an overhand right through McLaren’s guard, knocking him off his feet.

The Filipino then jumped on top and unleashed ferocious ground-and-pound while “Lightning” desperately tried clinging to his rival’s arms.

Those efforts were unfruitful, as Belingon landed three rapid right hands from the top, knocking McLaren out and forcing the referee to call off the action in the final minute of the round.

In the main event of ONE: INSIDE THE MATRIX III, Belingon – who now holds the record for most KOs in the bantamweight division – will attempt to add John “Hands Of Stone” Lineker to his impressive list of victims.

Eustaquio Snuffs Out Former World Title Challenger

When the liver shuts down, the body follows.

This was the case in November 2019 at ONE: MASTERS OF FATE when former ONE Flyweight World Champion Geje “Gravity” Eustaquio rematched former ONE Bantamweight World Title challenger Toni “Dynamite” Tauru.

In their encounter three years earlier, Tauru had scored a first-round rear-naked choke win over Eustaquio.

This time around, however, “Gravity” evened the score with one of the most sensational KOs of his career.

Just over two minutes into the third round – with the Finn standing as a target – Eustaquio spun into a back kick and drove his heel deep into the right side of his foe’s torso.

Tauru immediately covered his liver and fell to the floor, while the Filipino turned away for the walk-off win.

Next up, Eustaquio will try to stop South Korean star “Running Man” Song Min Jong in the co-main event of ONE: INSIDE THE MATRIX III.

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• Lineker Says He’ll Beat Top-Ranked Belingon: ‘No One Can Stop Me’
• How To Watch ONE: INSIDE THE MATRIX III
• Eustaquio Says Big-Fight Experience Will Give Him Edge Over Song

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Ramazanov Douses Bae In Ferocious Ground-And-Pound

Undefeated Russian juggernaut Murad Ramazanov stormed into the ONE Circle for a sensational debut against “Wolverine” Bae Myung Ho at ONE: KING OF THE JUNGLE this past February.

After a brief exchange on the feet, Ramazanov scored an early first-round takedown.

Bae tried repeatedly to return to his feet, but the Russian grappler kept snatching the South Korean’s legs out from underneath him and smothered him from the top – all the while looking for a finishing submission.

Then it happened.

Bae gave up his back, but instead of going for the rear-naked choke, Ramazanov began to rain down looping lefts and rights from behind until the referee was forced to stop the contest.

Ramazanov will now bring his exceptional grappling and ground-and-pound skills into the Circle against Pancrase Welterweight Champion Hiroyuki “Japanese Beast” Tetsuka at ONE: INSIDE THE MATRIX III.

Fan Rong Smothers, Finishes Off Sherif Mohamed

At ONE: LEGENDARY QUEST, “King Kong Warrior” Fan Rong slickly proved to martial arts fans that when a submission attempt doesn’t get the finish, you can always fall back on the KO.

In the second round of his clash with Egyptian standout Sherif “The Shark” Mohamed, “King Kong Warrior” took his opponent down 30 seconds into the stanza and worked diligently for a submission.

He rarely gave Mohamed a chance to breathe as he attempted multiple rear-naked chokes, but “The Shark” defended well.

Having no success with the submissions from behind, Fan then locked on a triangle choke when Mohamed rolled into his guard. But once again, the Egyptian escaped – albeit this time with his energy zapped.

With no drive to stand up, Mohamed rolled onto his back. Seeing this, “King Kong Warrior” stood over his opponent, dropping lefts and rights like he’d stolen his milk money.

At ONE: INSIDE THE MATRIX III, Fan will look to continue his finishing ways when takes on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Champion Yuri Simoes.

Adiwang Scores Crumbling 45-Second KO

Not every finish from the stars of ONE: INSIDE THE MATRIX III happened on the global stage for martial arts.

In fact, Lito “Thunder Kid” Adiwang’s came at ONE Warrior Series 4 against Alber Correia in February 2019 – eight months before the Filipino made his main-stage debut at ONE: CENTURY PART I.

The bout started with a calm but confident Adiwang stalking his opponent while waiting for an opening to present itself.

When it did, the #5-ranked strawweight jumped in with a left hook that missed its mark, but he followed with a right hand that sent Correia’s head back like it was on a hinge.

Correia fell into the corner, and by the time his back was on the canvas, Adiwang was already all over him, delivering a swarm of lefts and rights that finished off the Brazilian.

“Thunder Kid” will now attempt to further improve his stellar 91 percent finishing rate against Shooto Champion Hiroba Minowa at ONE: INSIDE THE MATRIX III.

Read more: Belingon Expects ‘Fireworks’ In Much-Anticipated Clash With Lineker