Who Are The Biggest Stars In ONE Championship?
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In recent years, we can see ONE Championship rising really fast all across the world. It is even present in the countries like the US where the competition is very strong. Still, ONE Championship has its own unique concept and way of promoting MMA matches. And one of the reasons behind its rise is the quality of its roster.
Over the years, ONE Championship has become a home of a lot of young and skilled fighters the western world is yet to hear about. They are the reason why the quality of every ONE Championship event is better than the previous one which allows it to grow so fast.
Keep reading this article to find out more about the biggest stars in ONE Championship, and their unique stories.
10. Reinier De Ridder
2020 was a bad year for most people on the planet, but not Reinier De Ridder. While the entire world was shutting down, this man had a time of his life fighting inside the ONE Championship cage. He was able to win, in a single year, world titles in two separate weight classes by beating another star, Aung La Nsang. De Ridder is a superstar in the making and this is just a beginning for him.
It’s fair to say that De Ridder made his first footsteps on the Judo mats. He then elevated his grappling game to another level by switching to BJJ, which is his main weapon in MMA. But don’t sleep on his striking as he could be very technical at times.
9. Shinya Aoki
Aoki is the former two time ONE Championship lightweight champ who had also held titles in other promotions like “Shooto” and “Dream.” With over 30 submission wins on his record, it’s fair to say Aoki is a wizard when it comes to ground fighting.
Looking at him grappling on the mats is truly a piece of art every time the fight hits the ground. A black belt in Judo, BJJ, and Eddie Bravo’s “10th Planet” system, Aoki is one of those fighters who just need to grab a single part of your body, and you are in trouble. He prefers to take the fight to the ground from the clinch, and finish the fight with armlocks and leg locks.
Like a true warrior, Aoki went through some ups and downs in his career. But he has been fighting at the top of the food chain for almost two decades and his win rate is simply absurd. The weirdest part is that he is still going strong and improving.
8. Arjan Bhullar
Bhullar is the first ever Indian world MMA champ. He won the ONE Championship title in 2021 by stopping Brandon Vera in the second round. In our view, Bhullar is not the biggest ONE Championship star, but he is yet to become one. He’s got the talk, walk, and very, very good fighting skills. He reminds us of Daniel Cormier to some extend which is not a surprise since he trains at AKA.
Bhullar came into the sport as a decorated wrestler, who after going 7–0 in the regional circuit, signed with the UFC in 2017. But after going 3–1 inside the UFC octagon, he decided to leave and join the One Championship roster. He put his great wrestling skills to work to win a debut fight against Mauro Cerili, which secured him a shot at the title against Brandon Vera.
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At ONE Championship “Dangal”, he was able to stop Vera in the second round to become the first Indian to win a world MMA title.
7. Adriano Moraes
Moraes shocked the world in 2021 when he knocked out, by many, the MMA goat — Demetrious Johnson. Although he was already the ONE Championship champ at the time, no one saw him knocking out Mighty Mouse. He became the biggest star, not just in ONE Championship, but in the entire world overnight.
Still, many fans who watch ONE events already knew who Moraes was what he is capable of. He has been with the promotion since 2013 and fighting on top of the division for many years now. And the best thing about him is that he is just hitting his prime. We are going to see much, much more of him in the following years.
6. Xiong Jing Nan
Jing Nan is the first ever Chinese fighter to win a world MMA title which made her a huge star in her country. She did it back in 2018 by stopping Tiffany Teo with the barrage of punches in the fourth round.
Jing Nan got into martial arts at a very young age. She fell in love with the sport of boxing, and by the age of 18, she even made it to China’s boxing team. It was around this time that she started attending BJJ classes and working hard on adding grappling skills to her striking base. It was obvious that the next step for her was to start fighting in MMA, which she did in 2014.
Prior to joining the ONE Championship roster, Jing Nan was able to put a record of 12–1, scoring many brutal KOs in the process. And she needed less than a round to show her game in her ONE Championship debut by knocking out April Osenio.
5. Angela Lee
Angela Lee is a younger sister of the ONE Championship champ, Christian Lee who also holds a spot on this list. She is one of the best female fighters ONE Championship has ever had, and the youngest person to ever win a world title. She did it in 2016 by capturing the ONE Championship Atomweight title at the age of 18.
In her career, Lee failed to win the ONE Grand Prix on two occasions. But on the other side, she defended her title many times and has been a champ for many years. Her best title defense was, in our opinion, when she stopped Xiong Jing Nan in 2019.
4. Aung La Nsang
Nsang is the former ONE Championship champ in two separate weight classes and one of the biggest stars on their roster. And we don’t have to mention that he enjoys a God status in his native Myanmar.
When it comes to the skills he brings to the table, Nsang is a terrifying human being. Whether it’s a standup or grappling fight, Nsang is one of those fighters who always looks to finish a match. He has a really high finishing rate and many great fighters crumbled under his power and BJJ skills.
But above all, Nsang is an amazing role model and human being. Since becoming a popular ONE Championship fighter, he started many charity projects to help the children in his native Myanmar.
3. Christian Lee
We don’t want to exaggerate his fighting skills, but, Lee might be one of those gifted fighters who have that X factor. He is still very young, rising really fast, and showing a better version of himself with every fight. Although he is already a ONE Championship lightweight champ, mark our words, the world is yet to hear and cheer his name.
Lee made his pro MMA debut in ONE Championship back in 2015 when he was just 16 years old. In his first 10 fights, he scored nine wins out of which seven were first round finishes. Of course, this secured him a shot at the title he failed to win against more experienced Martin Nguyen.
But, Lee took it all as a lesson and he came back to score two stoppage wins that secured him another shot at the title. This time, he faced another legend, Shinya Aoki, whom Lee was able to stop in the second round to finally win the ONE Championship crown. It was really emotional to see Lee, who is literally a promotional child, capturing the belt.
2. Eddie Alvarez
In our view, Alvarez is one of the most underrated MMA fighters in the history of the sport. The guy never has received enough credit for all the great wars and wins he’s had in his career. I mean, we are talking about the fighter who was a champ in both UFC, Bellator, and many other smaller promotions.
What fans tend to miss about Alvarez is that he made a name for himself fighting in Bellator where he was a 155lbs champ. He came into the UFC in 2014, and after just two wins, he got the chance to beat Rafael Dos Anjos and win the UFC’s 155 lbs crown in 2016. But, he left the UFC in 2018 to test his value on the market, and this is when he got the call from ONE Championship.
At the time, Alvarez was, by far, the biggest name to join the ONE Championship roster. In some way, he opened the doors for other UFC fighters to do the same. Although in the late stages of his career, Alvarez is still going strong and rocking.
1. Demetrious Johnson
We don’t have to waste too many words about Mighty Mouse. He is, perhaps, the greatest MMA fighter to ever set a foot inside the steel cage. A true legend of this sport whom people, for some reason, often forget when talking about who is the GOAT in MMA. I mean, just look at his MMA resume:
- ONE Championship Grand Prix Winner
- UFC- Flyweight champ (eleven title defenses)
- Holds many records in the UFC
- Received many “Fighter of the Year Awards”
After cleaning the flyweight division and winning everything there was to win, Johnson left the UFC in 2019. He joined the ONE Championship roster and was on a mission to win another title.
Right the same year, he was able to win the “ONE Championship Grand Prix” title by beating Danny Kingad in the finals. But despite losing a title fight against Adriano Moraes, stay awake, Johnson is yet to show us his full potential.
If you want to see more awesome One Championship Content Check out our interviews. Here is one with the legend John Wayne Parr
