ONE Championship end of year awards: top five upsets of 2022
- Joseph Lasiri shocked fans when he stopped Prajanchai PK. Saenchai to win the ONE strawweight Muay Thai title in May
- Sinsamut Klinmee also posted a big Muay Thai upset this year, while Woo Sung-hoon and Ilya Freymanov stunned with a quick KOs in MMA
There were some big surprises in the ONE Championship Circle in 2022.
Throughout the year, we saw fighters who seemed to have little hope of success pull off shocking upsets against world-class opposition – on several occasions, with a belt on the line.
As we near the end of 2022, here are our selections for the biggest upsets of the year, across all of ONE’s MMA, Muay Thai, kickboxing, and submission grappling divisions.
5. Halil Amir vs Timofey Nastyukhin
Timofey Nastyukhin is one of ONE Championship’s most experienced lightweight mixed martial artists. The Russian was previously ranked in the division’s top five, has beaten the likes of Eduard Folayang, Amir Khan and Eddie Alvarez, and even challenged Christian Lee for the belt in 2021.
Nastyukhin’s experience at the top of the lightweight division made him a very tough test for the debuting Halil Amir, whom he met at ONE on Prime Video 2 in September.
At least, that is what most people thought.
The first round of their fight was tense, as Nastyukhin pressed forward with his trademark power punches, and the Turkish newcomer Amir fired back with crisp hooks and knees. Neither man landed a knockout blow, but both were trying.