ONE Championship 2021 MMA awards – best fight, KO, submission, upset and more
- SCMP MMA’s Post Fight Podcast crew recaps action-packed year in ONE, and crowns the best fighter, breakout star and most improved
- Award recipients include lightweight champ Ok Rae-yoon, atomweight Grand Prix champ Stamp Fairtex, and flyweight king Adriano Moraes
ONE Championship kicked off what should be an exciting 2022 with the stacked ONE: Heavy Hitters event on January 14 inside the Singapore Indoor Arena.
But SCMP MMA’s Post Fight Podcast recently crew got together to recap the promotion’s biggest moments of 2021 and hand out some year-end awards.
While Asian martial arts organisation ONE promotes kick-boxing, Muay Thai and MMA bouts, awards were limited to the latter sport.
Best knockout – Aung La N Sang defeats Leandro Ataides with second-round punches at ONE: Battleground
Aung La N Sang’s 2021 got off to a bad start. In his first fight of the year, the 36-year-old Burmese-American star lost a decision to Reinier de Ridder of the Netherlands, surrendering the ONE light heavyweight title in the process. It was his second loss in a row to De Ridder, after the Dutchman defeated him by first-round submission to win the middleweight title in late 2020.
N Sang (27-12) was in dire need of a win when he stepped into the cage with Brazil’s Leandro Ataides at ONE: Battleground in July. He ultimately knocked his rival out with a vicious volley of first-round punches, correcting his course in emphatic fashion.
The knockout would have been impressive under any circumstances. But factor in how firmly Aung La’s back was pressed against the wall, and it’s the most impressive of the year.
