ONE Championship end of year awards: top five knockouts of 2022

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There were some incredible knockouts in the ONE Championship Circle in 2022, and that is no surprise.

The promotion is home to some of the best strikers in the world – in Muay Thai, kickboxing, and MMA competition – which has established it as one of the top destinations for highlight-reel knockouts in all of combat sports.

Here are our selections for the top ONE Championship KOs of 2022, along with our pick for the best of the year.

5. Panpayak Jitmuangnon

The 26-year-old Thai Panpayak Jitmuangnon proved just how dangerous he is at ONE on Prime Video 1 in Singapore in late August, when he met Cypriot Savvas Michael in the semi-final of the promotion’s flyweight Muay Thai grand prix.

Panpayak began to take control of the fight from the opening bell, cracking his confident foe with vicious combinations that repeatedly ended with a left high kick.

“That left round kick is superb,” commentator Michael Schiavello noted as the first round ended.

Ten seconds into round two, the fight was over, and while it was a Panpayak right hook that stung Savvas, it was the Thai’s superb left high kick – thrown just a split second later – that ended things.

That win set Panpayak up for a grand prix final clash with his fellow Thai Superlek Kiatm009 at ONE 164 this month in Manila. Unfortunately that fight was a disaster, as they both missed weight, meaning neither could win the tournament title. Things then got even worse for Panpayak when he lost a split decision.

It was not a great end to 2022 for the Thai, but it does not change the fact he scored one of the year’s best KOs.

4. Thanh Le

Vietnamese-American Thanh Le’s fight with Garry Tonon, which headlined the ONE: Lights Out card in Singapore in March, had fans excited from the moment it was announced, and for good reason.

At the time, featherweight MMA champion Le was considered the top knockout threat in his division, while his fellow American Tonon, a decorated Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt, was seen as its best submission specialist.

It was a classic clash of styles, and most people agreed that it would end with a Le knockout or a Tonon submission. Yet very people expected it to end so quickly.

Thirty seconds into the first round, Tonon pulled guard in an attempt to bring the action to the mat. For a moment, things looked dicey for Le, as the challenger attacked a leg lock.

But the champion returned fire with one of his best weapons: his ground and pound. He cracked Tonon with one punch, then another, then another. The fourth put the BJJ black belt out completely, and forced the referee to dive in and stop the fight – just 56 seconds after it began.

Le suffered a unanimous decision loss to China’s Tang Kai in his next fight, so he will start the new year as a contender rather than a champion, but there is no question he gave us one of the best knockouts of 2022.

3. Hu Yong

China’s Hu Yong picked up one of the best knockouts of the year right at the buzzer.

The flyweight mixed martial artist returned to action on the main card of ONE 163 this month in Manila – the promotion’s last event of 2022 – taking on former champion Geje Eustaquio, one of the Philippines’ top fighters.

In the early going, it looked like Hu could be in trouble, as Eustaquio had some success with his grappling.

But as the first round progressed, the Chinese fighter began to take control on the mat, and show off what commentator Michael Schiavello called “monstrous” power on the feet, hurting the former champ multiple times.

Hu finally ended things with less than 20 seconds left in the round, unleashing a blistering overhand right that left his foe crumpled against the cage in an unconscious heap – easily one of the most brutal knockouts of the year.

Runner-up: Demetrious Johnson

Demetrious Johnson’s August knockout of ONE flyweight MMA champ Adriano Moraes was extremely impressive, but what really made his win truly special was the context.

It was the American’s second meeting with Moraes. He first challenged the Brazilian champion for the belt in April 2021, and ultimately hit the deck after eating a knee and a volley of follow-up punches in round two.

It was the first knockout loss of Johnson’s career, and given his status as one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world, it went down as one of the year’s biggest upsets.

In the main event of ONE on Prime Video 1 in late August, Johnson got another chance, as he again challenged Moraes for the flyweight belt.

He got his revenge in poetic fashion, not only evening the score with a knockout of his own, but finishing the champ with an almost identical sequence of knees and punches.

The win, which came in the fourth round, made Johnson the ONE flyweight champion – the latest feather in his cap after 11 title defences in the UFC. It also set up a tiebreaking trilogy with Moraes, which will headline ONE’s first event on US soil on May 5, and already stands out as one of the year’s biggest fights.

Winner: Anatoly Malykhin

Anatoly Malykhin’s knockout of Reinier de Ridder might not be as significant as Johnson’s defeat of Moraes in the grand scheme, but in terms of sheer brutality, it beat out every other KO we saw in the ONE Circle this year.

Russia’s Malykhin, the promotion’s interim heavyweight MMA champion, challenged “The Dutch Knight” for the light heavyweight title in the main event of ONE on Prime Video 5 on December 3 in Manila.

Both men entered the Circle with undefeated records, and with clear advantages in the match-up. The slimmed down heavyweight Malykhin had a clear edge in striking technique and power, while De Ridder, also ONE’s middleweight champion, had an obvious advantage in terms of submissions.

In the end, De Ridder never had the chance to use his grappling.

The Dutchman began looking for takedowns early on, but Malykhin effortlessly denied each attempt, and responded with every bit of his heavyweight firepower. Before long, De Ridder was badly hurt, leaking blood and stumbling around the Circle on legs that clearly did not want to cooperate.

The end came with less than 30 seconds left on the clock, when Malykhin put his foe down with a vicious right hand and a salvo of ground strikes.

He left the cage with two ONE Championship belts and two US$50,000 bonus cheques, while De Ridder left it on a stretcher. Thankfully, the Dutchman made a quick recovery, and seems to be in good spirits despite the devastating loss.