ONE 173 Results: Yuya Wakamatsu, Christian Lee Retain MMA World Titles With Spectacular TKO Victories

ONE 173: Superbon vs. Noiri hosted a pair of explosive MMA World Title battles, and surprisingly, both ended in the same devastating fashion at Tokyo’s Ariake Arena on Sunday, November 16.

In the co-main event, ONE Flyweight MMA World Champion Yuya “Little Piranha” Wakamatsu successfully defended his gold on home soil and stopped reigning strawweight king Joshua “The Passion” Pacio with grounded knees in round two.

Before that, two-division ONE World Champion Christian “The Warrior” Lee finished undefeated rival Alibeg Rasulov in their ONE Lightweight MMA World Title sequel with a similar move to earn a second-round TKO victory.

Both Wakamatsu and Lee may have emerged victorious with bonus-winning performances at ONE 173, but each had to overcome some degree of adversity. Here’s what went down in these two exciting fights in the Japanese capital.

Wakamatsu Crushes Pacio To Retain Flyweight Crown

At ONE 172 this past March, Yuya “Little Piranha” Wakamatsu made history by dismantling longtime flyweight MMA king Adriano Moraes to capture the vacant belt. And in his first World Title defense, the Japanese star delivered another explosive performance on home soil.

This time, he ripped through strawweight ruler Joshua “The Passion” Pacio en route to a second-round TKO victory.

Pacio stunned the defending titleholder early with two short hooks, as Wakamatsu marched forward with his trademark aggression. The Filipino star then pressed forward, but “Little Piranha” escaped and locked in a guillotine choke on his challenger. The strawweight king, however, managed to survive.

Wakamatsu took his foe’s back moments later, and then he unloaded punches and grounded knees. Despite the barrage of relentless strikes, the Filipino veteran showed resilience and defended well. As Pacio tried to escape, the Japanese knockout artist slammed him to the canvas, but the challenger dug deep and made it to round two.

His survival, however, was short-lived.

Early in the second frame, Wakamatsu connected with a hard punch, but Pacio answered with a high kick – his last meaningful offense of the fight. Seconds later, “Little Piranha” landed a clean one-two that dropped the Filipino.

As Pacio hit the canvas, the 30-year-old seized the moment and hammered him with a barrage of knees to the head, forcing the referee to halt the contest at the 54-second mark of round two.

With the emphatic win, Wakamatsu moved his record to 20-6 and earned a US$50,000 performance bonus from ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong.

Lee Shuts Down Rasulov In Lightweight World Title Rematch

Two-division king Christian “The Warrior” Lee‘s first battle with undefeated challenger Alibeg Rasulov in December 2024 ended in a no contest due to an eye poke. But in their ONE Lightweight MMA World Title sequel, there wasn’t any controversy at all.

Lee handed the Turkish juggernaut the first loss of his MMA career, finishing him via TKO in the second round to retain his 26 pounds of gold.

Rasulov shot for a single-leg takedown early, and as the Singaporean-American kingpin tried to stand, the challenger wrapped his arms around both legs to keep the action on the canvas through the midway point of the opening frame.

Lee, who also holds the ONE Welterweight MMA World Championship, eventually scrambled free, returned to his feet, and went toe-to-toe with his adversary in the Circle.

Both athletes used leg kicks to slow each other’s forward pressure, but when Rasulov attempted another single-leg entry, “The Warrior” shut it down. Lee then capped the first round with a clean right hook.

In round two, Lee followed his corner’s advice by firing off low kicks and denying every takedown attempt.

After trading punches, the defending titleholder connected with a knee to the body and a high kick. Then, he poured on more kicks and punches to break down the challenger.

When Rasulov shot for another takedown, Lee sprawled, trapped his rival in a D’Arce choke, and unleashed a series of ground knees. With no intelligent defense coming from the Turkish contender, the referee stopped the fight at the 2:32 mark of round two.

Lee improved to 18-4 with 17 finishes, cementing his status as the winningest athlete in the world’s largest martial arts organization. To make it even sweeter, he also earned a US$50,000 performance bonus.