Top 5 Stoppage Wins From The MMA Stars Of ONE: UNBREAKABLE III
The final installment of the UNBREAKABLE event series is just days away, and if the first two shows were a sign of what’s to come, then martial arts fans are in for a treat.
This Friday, 5 February, ONE Championship will air ONE: UNBREAKABLE III, a previously recorded event from the Singapore Indoor Stadium that features 12 of the promotion’s brightest mixed martial arts stars.
Many of those stars have produced highlight-reel finishes, and they will attempt to do it once again. Before the action goes down this weekend, let’s relive five of their best stoppage victories in The Home Of Martial Arts.
Stamp Nabs First Career Submission
Former two-sport ONE World Champion Stamp Fairtex began her mixed martial arts career by knocking out Rashi Shinde at ONE: Warrior Series II in July 2018, and the Thai star made an even bigger statement in the all-encompassing sport 13 months later.
In August 2019, Stamp met then-undefeated Asha “Knockout Queen” Roka at ONE: DREAMS OF GOLD in Bangkok, Thailand, and to the surprise of fans everywhere, she turned her focus from striking to grappling – with impressive results.
The Fairtex standout scored a third-round rear-naked choke win over her Indian foe, sending the hometown crowd at the Impact Arena into a frenzy.
The submission came after Stamp clinched and then swept Roka to the canvas, where the Thai fell into mount and started to drop heavy punches. The Indian soon gave up her back, and Stamp sunk in the rear-naked choke to earn her first submission win.
This Friday, Stamp will put her all-around skills to the test against Alyona Rassohyna in the main event of ONE: UNBREAKABLE III.
Sato TKOs Brazilian Rival At Historic Venue
Japanese Mixed Martial Arts Champion Shoko Sato already had 21 finishes on his record by the time he entered the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan, on 13 October 2019, and by the end of the night, he had bumped that number up by one.
At the historic ONE: CENTURY PART II, Sato met a fellow Japanese Mixed Martial Arts Champion in Brazil’s Rafael “Morcego” Silva and set the bar high for the fights that followed later in the evening.
After a tightly contested clash, Sato scored a second-round TKO victory over the Brazilian, marking his second win in The Home Of Martial Arts.
The stoppage happened after Silva tried to take Sato down. The Japanese athlete stayed on his feet, pelted his opponent with knees, and then unloaded a slew of punches. With Silva struggling to stand, Sato finally finished him with a right hand that landed like a flying brick.
Next, Sato challenges Fabricio “Wonder Boy” Andrade in the co-main event of ONE: UNBREAKABLE III – but the former has earned his place on this list as well.
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Andrade Submits Hard-Hitting ‘Tyson’
After the martial arts world spent months fizzling under restrictions during the first wave of COVID-19, ONE Championship exploded back into action with ONE: NO SURRENDER – and Andrade may have lit the fuse.
The debuting Andrade stepped into the Circle against Mark “Tyson” Fairtex Abelardo, who was riding a five-bout winning streak.
Although the Filipino-Kiwi seemed unstoppable, “Wonder Boy” ended his veteran rival’s stellar run by slapping on a rear-naked choke and forcing his foe to tap in the second round.
Abelardo kept the pressure on Andrade throughout the contest, but after a failed takedown attempt from the Fairtex athlete in round two, “Wonder Boy” smartly slipped to his opponent’s back, slid his arm under “Tyson’s” chin, and sunk in the bout-ending submission.
This Friday, the Brazilian Muay Thai Champion will look to increase his growing list of rear-naked choke finishes against Sato.
Sawada Claims Debut Win With Rear-Naked Choke
Ryuto “Dragon Boy” Sawada scored back-to-back submission victories during an impressive run through ONE Warrior Series, but when the man from Japan took his grappling skills to the global stage, he really showed what he was capable of.
There were no doubts about Sawada’s abilities after his battle against Aziz “The Krauser” Calim at ONE: DREAMS OF GOLD in August 2019, where the Japanese star barely had time to break a sweat.
That evening, Sawada sunk in a rear-naked choke in just one minute and nine seconds of the first round of their mixed martial arts matchup.
After Calim launched a wild right hand at “Dragon Boy,” the Japanese athlete instantly darted in and wrestled his foe to the canvas. Once on the ground, Calim appeared to be in deep water, and Sawada kept the pressure on. Before long, he sunk in the submission, and “The Krauser” was forced to tap.
Sawada will now enter the Circle at ONE: UNBREAKABLE III against another star athlete with finishing power – Robin “The Ilonggo” Catalan.
Catalan Flattens Cuban Gladiator With Head Kick
Catalan wanted to be sure that he ended 2019 with more wins than losses, and that November, he did so in incredible fashion.
After suffering a first-round knockout loss to Pongsiri “The Smiling Assassin” Mitsatit in May 2019, the Filipino entered the Circle with Gustavo “El Gladiador” Balart at ONE: MASTERS OF FATE six months later in Manila, Philippines.
With compatriots cheering him on, Catalan sent a second-round head kick careening into the three-time Pan-American Greco-Roman Wrestling Champion’s left temple, sealing the instant KO victory.
The two men had just come out of the clinch, where they had spent some time working their dirty boxing. Balart marched forward and loaded up for a right hand, but “The Ilonggo” launched a dangerously fast high kick at the same time and sent his opponent face-first into the canvas.
At ONE: UNBREAKABLE III, Catalan will pit his striking skills against the versatile Sawada.
Read more: Full Card Revealed For ONE: UNBREAKABLE III
