Top 4 performances from ONE: Dawn Of Heroes

ONE Championship’s third event of 2019 in the Philippines on Friday, 2 August had fans on the edge of their seats.

The mammoth event saw 28 of the finest martial artists shock fans with electrifying back-to-back battles and hair-raising finishes.

There were plenty to choose from, but here are the top four performances from ONE Championship’s stable of warriors at ONE: DAWN OF HEROES inside the Mall Of Asia Arena, Manila.

#1 Martin Nguyen’s dominant display

Martin “The Situ-Asian” Nguyen proved why he is still the king of the featherweight division in the main event of the evening.

The Vietnamese Australian had to dig deep against Japan’s Koyomi “Moushigo” Matsushima, who put on the pressure from the opening bell.

“Moushigo” tried to influence the pace of the match, but Nguyen’s defense was unbreakable.

In round two, the ONE Featherweight World Champion showcased well-timed sprawls and beautiful counters to Matsushima’s wrestling. The last two minutes were packed with damaging body shots by “The Situ-Asia” that dropped the Japanese warrior en route to a ground-and-pound TKO finish.

#2 Rodtang Jitmuangnon’s unbreakable spirit

This striking masterclass between Jonathan “The General” Haggerty and Rodtang “The Iron Man” Jitmuangnon had fans on the edge of their seats.

“The General” managed to set the pace of the match with his lead-leg combinations, establishing his feints in the opening rounds of the bout. However, Rodtang came out unshaken by those series of events.

The Englishman’s precise striking may have controlled much of the early action, but he still could not find a way to breakdown Rodtang’s mental conditioning and boxing combinations.

After a close contest, the judges rendered a unanimous decision in favor of Rodtang, crowning him the new ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Champion.

#3 Rodlek’s knockout power

Muay Thai World Champion Rodlek PK Saenchaimuaythaigym did not hold anything back against Scotland’s Andrew “Maddog Fairtex” Miller in this slugfest.

Miller made good use of his reach advantage by employing multiple jabs and long-range strikes against his Thai counterpart, but it did not take long for the bout to swing in favor of his foe.

A fast-paced Rodlek wasted little time to think of a strategy, and he put Miller into reverse gear in the final round.

That marked the beginning of the end as the 29-year-old Koh Samui native landed a short right hand that forced the referee to call it a night at the 49-second mark in round three.

#4 Muhammad Aiman’s creativity seals a win

Muhammad Aiman returned to winning ways with a brilliant unanimous decision win in Manila against “The Terminator” Sunoto.

Malaysia’s very own “Jungle Cat” broke down his opponent from start to finish, dominating the contest by pushing forward and controlling each exchange within his range.

Sunoto’s expertise in the grappling department was clear, but “The Jungle Cat” continued to up the tempo to dish out more strikes in the final round.

The patience nearly paid off for the Bali MMA representative as he got into mount. However, he could not secure the finish as he ran out of time.