ONE Championship moves into its second event of the year with ONE: Hero's Ascent this coming Friday, 25 January.
The 11-bout card is set to take place at the Mall Of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines, including a main-event tilt for the ONE Flyweight World Championship.
All 22 athletes on the bill possess a knack for scoring knockouts, but here are the top three KOs from the stars appearing on the show.
#1 Mohammed 'Jordan Boy' Mahmoud’s stinging elbow
Mohammed Bin Mahmoud’s opponent, Stergos 'Greek Dynamite' Mikkios, started off the stronger of the pair as he landed several strikes on his Malaysian foe.
'Jordan Boy' did not shy away, however, and retaliated with a barrage of punches and kicks, which left the European on the back foot.
Mikkios attempted a fancy Superman punch, but he was brought to the canvas by Mohammed’s right elbow. He got up on wobbly feet, but the 22-year-old from Sampuri Muay Thai Gym landed a left kick and another hard right hand to seal his perfect debut.
Mohammed will be hoping for knockout number two in The Home Of Martial Arts against Hiroaki Suzuki this Saturday.
#2 Honorio Banario’s one-punch KO
Honorio 'The Rock' Banario attacked with superior grappling and took Jaroslav Jartim to the canvas barely a minute into the contest.
The 29-year-old continued to dominate the ground game in the second round before his opponent scrambled away and rose to his feet.
It was not long before he was sent back to the ground again — this time, via The Rock’s hands. Banario countered his opponent’s kick with a straight right, and then crumpled him with a perfectly-timed left hook on the jaw.
Banario faces undefeated grappler Lowen Tynanes in the first quarter-final of the inaugural ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix at ONE: Hero's Ascent.
#3 Yukinori Ogasawara’s spinning back elbow
After being dominated in the opening stanza and almost the whole of the second round, Japan’s Yukinori Ogasawara needed an answer to Rui Botelho’s attacking takeover.
He struggled to match his Portuguese opponent’s power and precision, but only needed a split second to completely turn things around.
The Japanese striker uncorked a beautifully-timed spinning back elbow, which clipped his opponent and knocked him down for good.
Ogasawara will have his eyes on another fancy finish against Elias Mahmoudi in Manila.
Astro Awani
Wed Jan 23 2019
Honorio Banario (right) stopped newcomer Jaroslav Jartim with a monstrous left hook. - ONE photo
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