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Tom Taylor

All martial arts content – including ONE Championship coverage – has been made freely available. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing.
ONE Championship continued to expand its roster in 2022, signing a host of top mixed martial artists, Muay Thai fighters, kickboxers, and submission grapplers.
Many of the promotion’s new additions made quite a splash over the course of the year, with several actually winning world titles in their respective sports.
Here are our selections for the best ONE Championship newcomers of the year, and our pick for the fighter who had the biggest impact of all.
You can also check out our picks for best submission, best fight, best knockout and the biggest upset in 2022.

5. Shamil Gasanov
We saw a number of very promising MMA prospects debut in ONE in 2022, including Ilya Freymanov and Halil Amir, who announced themselves with emphatic stoppages of Martin Nguyen and Timofey Nastyukhin.
Of all the MMA fighters to debut with ONE in 2022, however, none seem to have the upside of Shamil Gasanov.
Gasanov, 27, is one of an increasing number of fighters from Dagestan, Russia, to parlay a sambo background into success in MMA.

Unbeaten Shamil Gasanov 🇷🇺 makes a STATEMENT in his ONE debut by choking out Kim Jae Woong! 💪#ONEonPrimeVideo3 #ONEChampionship
🇺🇸🇨🇦 Watch live on @primevideo 👉 https://t.co/6dyfTyGn7f
🌍 Watch live 👉 https://t.co/8MeKhRvqhy pic.twitter.com/2ccNB1DzEO
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) October 22, 2022

He made his debut at ONE on Prime Video 3 in October, taking on South Korea’s Kim Jae-woong at featherweight. Kim was very recently considered the top contender in the division, and looked like a very tough welcome for Gasanov, but those in the know were well aware of what the Russian could do.
In the end, he lived up to his supporters’ expectations, submitting Kim with a rear-naked choke inside two minutes. The win brought him to 13-0 overall – a solid record under any circumstances – and earned him the No 5 spot in the division’s rankings.
He does not currently have a fight booked, but it s very possible he will be fighting for a world title before the end of 2023.

4. Mikey Musumeci
ONE Championship made an aggressive push into submission grappling in 2022, and signed a host of decorated Brazilian jiu jitsu black belts to fill out its new divisions in the sport. Mikey Musumeci was one of those black belts, and easily one of the most successful of the bunch.
The 26-year-old American, who has since relocated to Singapore to train at Evolve MMA, made his ONE debut in April, submitting Japanese MMA legend Masakazu Imanari inside five minutes.

BJJ phenom Mikey Musumeci 🇺🇸 finishes the legendary Masakazu Imanari via rear-naked choke in a submission grappling showdown! 🥋#ONE156 #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship | How To Watch 👉 https://t.co/t1U58xACAx pic.twitter.com/W11qxDeAsZ
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) April 22, 2022

That impressive debut earned Musumeci a spot in ONE’s first-ever submission grappling title fight – a clash with Cleber Sousa at ONE on Prime Video 2, with the vacant flyweight belt on the line.
It was not the best submission grappling match of the year, but Musumeci was in control and aggressive throughout, winning a decision and the belt as a result.
He is set to defend his title for the first time at ONE on Prime Video 6 on January 14 in Bangkok, when he takes on Russian sambo specialist Sayan Khertek.

3. Jon Di Bella
Italian-Canadian kickboxer Jon Di Bella actually signed with ONE in 2020, but thanks to the challenges of the pandemic, was unable to make his debut with the promotion until this year.
It finally happened at ONE 162 in Kuala Lumpur in October, when he was matched up with streaking Chinese talent Zhang Peimian, with the promotion’s vacant strawweight kickboxing belt hanging in the balance.

Jonathan Di Bella DROPS "The Fighting Rooster" in the FINAL MINUTE! 🤯#ONE162 | #ONEChampionship
🇺🇸🇨🇦🇬🇧🇹🇭🇧🇷🇸🇦 Watch live on ONE YouTube 👉 https://t.co/uL1aHqdmel
🌍 Watch live 👉 https://t.co/8MeKhRvqhy pic.twitter.com/bEUGmhEeJJ
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) October 21, 2022

Di Bella and Zhang engaged in one of the year’s best fights, trading heavy shots at breakneck speed for five frenetic rounds. Yet in the end, Di Bella won a unanimous decision – largely on the strength of a fifth-round knockdown with a head kick – to capture the belt in his ONE debut.
The 26-year-old has not yet been booked for his first title defence, but is training hard at his family’s gym in Montreal, in the Canadian province of Quebec.

Runner-up: Tye Ruotolo
Tye Ruotolo and his twin brother Kade were two of the highest-profile grapplers ONE signed this year. The 19-year-old Americans had already picked up a host of titles, and were considered the future of jiu jitsu by those in the know.
Both lived up to the hype.

The Ruotolo brothers go 2-0! Tye Ruotolo 🇺🇸 TAPS OUT Garry Tonon via D'Arce choke in under two minutes 🥋#ONE157 | #ONEChampionship | https://t.co/eBUfsODAFL pic.twitter.com/zchLH9Qq1a
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) May 20, 2022

The two brothers made their debuts at ONE 157 in May.
Tye was matched up with his fellow American Garry Tonon – one of ONE’s top featherweight MMA contenders, and one of the best submission grapplers of his generation. In the end, the newcomer made it look easy, submitting his foe with a D’Arce choke in less than two minutes.
That win alone established Tye as a fighter to watch in ONE. When he tapped former featherweight MMA champ Marat Gafurov in his next fight, at ONE on Prime Video 6 in Manila earlier this month, it cemented him as one of the promotion’s best new talents.

Winner: Kade Ruotolo
Like his brother Tye, Kade Ruotolo made his ONE debut at ONE 157 in May. He also took on an experienced MMA veteran with a great grappling resume in Shinya Aoki.
Unlike Tye, Kade was not unable to get the tap in his debut, but dominated Aoki for 10 minutes to win a unanimous decision.
After taking a brief hiatus to become the youngest champion the history of the famed ADCC grappling tournament in September, Kade was then booked for a fight with Russian sambo specialist Uali Kurzhev at ONE on Prime Video 3, with the lightweight belt on the line.
That time around, he had no trouble getting the tap, as he locked up a fight-ending heel hook inside five minutes to become the champion.

Kade Ruotolo 🇺🇸 submits Uali Kurzhev with a WICKED heel hook to win the inaugural ONE Lightweight Submission Grappling World Title! 👑#ONEonPrimeVideo3 #ONEChampionship
🇺🇸🇨🇦 Watch live on @primevideo 👉 https://t.co/6dyfTyXq9f
🌍 Watch live 👉 https://t.co/8MeKhRMtjy pic.twitter.com/D04cBHw7ea
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) October 22, 2022

With the belt around his waist, Kade then closed out the year with a successful title defence, defeating fellow Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt Matheus Gabriel by unanimous decision at ONE on Prime Video 6 earlier this month in Manila.
After the fact, he expressed disappointment that he did not win by submission. But the victory brought him to 3-0 in ONE, and cemented him as the king of the promotion’s lightweight grapplers – not bad for his first year on the roster.


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ONE Championship

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

Kade Ruotolo (right) celebrates his lightweight submission grappling title win with his brother Tye. Photos: ONE Championship. 

Shamil Gasanov chokes Kim Jae-woong.

Mikey Musumeci celebrates after winning the ONE flyweight submission grappling title with a decision defeat of Cleber Sousa.

Italian-Canadian Jon Di Bella celebrates after winning the ONE strawweight kickboxing title with a decision defeat of China’s Zhang Peimian. Photo: ONE Championship.

Tye Ruotolo and Garry Tonon square up in their submission grappling match at ONE 157.

Kade Ruotolo looks at his title after becoming the inaugural lightweight submission grappling champion.

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

Joseph Lasiri lands an elbow on Prajanchai at ONE 157. Photos: ONE Championship. 

Halil Amir lands a left hand on Timofey Nastyukhin at ONE on Prime Video 2.

Woo Sung-hoon celebrates a quick TKO win over Yuya Wakamatsu at ONE 163. 

Sinsamut Klinmee celebrates a shocking knockout win over Nieky Holzken. Photo: ONE Championship.

Ilya Freymanov swarms for the finish against Martin Nguyen.

Joseph Lasiri poses with the ONE strawweight Muay Thai title after a win over Prajanchai. 

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

Christian Lee lands a punch on Ok Rae-yoon in their rematch at ONE 160 in Singapore. Photo: ONE Championship

Tang Kai celebrates with the ONE Championship featherweight title after beating Thanh Le in Singapore.

Adriano Moraes (left) congratulates Demetrious Johnson in Singapore.

Mitch Chilson interviews Jarred Brooks after his strawweight title win in Manila.

Anatoly Malykhin celebrates after knocking out Reinier de Ridder.

Christian Lee celebrates with his two titles.

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

Liam Harrison punches Muanghtai at ONE 156. Photos: ONE Championship

Angela Lee attacks Xiong Jingnan from top position at ONE on Prime Video 2 in Singapore.

Christian Lee walks off after finishing Kiamrian Abbasov.

Hiroki Akimoto celebrates a thrilling bantamweight kick-boxing title win over Capitan Petchyindee at ONE X. 

Liam Harrison gets dropped by Muanghtai at ONE 156.

Liam Harrison celebrates beating Muanghtai at ONE 156.

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

Anatoly Malykhin delivers hammer fists to finish Reinier de Ridder. Photos: ONE Championship

Panpayak Jitmuangnon knocks outs Savvas Michael with a head kick. 

Thanh Le knocks out Garry Tonon with ground and pound. 

Hu Yong cracks Geje Eustaquio with an overhand right. 

Demetrious Johnson knocks out Adriano Moraes with a knee to win the flyweight MMA title. 

Anatoly Malykhin (left) defends a takedown from Reinier de Ridder at ONE on Prime Video 5. 

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

Angela Lee with her baby daughter in the cage after her victory at ONE X. Photos: ONE Championship. 

Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida submits Kirill Grishenko with a heel hook in the first round.

Reinier de Ridder chokes out Vitaly Bigdash to retain his middleweight MMA title at ONE 159.

Tye Ruotolo submits BJJ legend Garry Tonon with a D’Arce choke at ONE 157 in Singapore.

Angela Lee attacks hunts for a submission against Stamp Fairtex at ONE X in Singapore in March.

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Martial Arts

Mixed Martial Arts


American twins Tye and Kade Ruotolo made a splash in ONE’s new submission grappling divisions this year, as did Mikey Musumeci
Kickboxer Jon Di Bella also made a statement in 2022, winning strawweight kickboxing gold on his promotional debut in October



Several newcomers make a splash in ONE in 2022, including Tye and Kade Ruotolo in submission grappling, and Jon Di Bella, who won kickboxing gold on his debut.


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

American twins Tye and Kade Ruotolo made a splash in ONE’s new submission grappling divisions this year, as did Mikey Musumeci Kickboxer Jon Di Bella also made a statement in 2022, winning strawweight kickboxing gold on his promotional debut in October

5. Shamil Gasanov

American twins Tye and Kade Ruotolo made a splash in ONE’s new submission grappling divisions this year, as did Mikey Musumeci

Kickboxer Jon Di Bella also made a statement in 2022, winning strawweight kickboxing gold on his promotional debut in October