3 Stunning Knockouts From Guangzhou’s Fiercest Finishers

On Saturday, 7 July, the world’s largest martial arts organization will stage its next spectacle, ONE: BATTLE FOR THE HEAVENS, at the Guangzhou Tianhe Gymnasium in China.

The show will be headlined by a compelling main event to crown the inaugural ONE Super Series Kickboxing Atomweight World Champion, and is stacked with a captivating card featuring some of the organization’s most dynamic knockout artists.

Before the event goes down, relive some of the best action from the heroes competing at ONE: BATTLE FOR THE HEAVENS with three of their fiercest knockouts.

Gina Iniong’s First ONE TKO

Seven months after her successful promotional debut, Gina “Conviction” Iniong was determined to make a statement and leave the cage with her first stoppage victory in ONE.

The Filipina accomplished that goal at ONE: LEGENDS OF THE WORLD last November, when she defeated SEA Games wushu bronze medalist Priscilla “Thathie” Lumban Gaol in front of her compatriots at the Mall Of Asia Arena in Manila.

Some athletes find the experience of competing in front of a raucous home crowd nerve-racking, but Iniong was the picture of composure as she systematically broke the Indonesian atomweight down in the opening stanza.

She set a grueling pace and landed plenty of strikes inside the clinch, and as the second round got underway, Iniong had no problem clinching with Gaol again, and then dragging her to the ground. The six-time Philippine Wushu Champion transitioned to a dominant position and locked her rival in a mounted crucifix.

From there, “Conviction” rained down hammer fists. With both of her arms trapped, all Gaol could do was twist and turn to try and avoid the damage. There was no escape, the referee was forced to swoop in to stop the contest, and he awarded Iniong the second-round TKO victory.

Her next challenge will be against two-time Muay Thai World Champion Istela Nunes in Guangzhou.

Adrian Mattheis Wins The Tournament Championship

Adrian “Papua Badboy” Mattheis has recently established himself as a threat in the strawweight division, but fans got a glimpse of his potential two years ago in his promotional debut.

In August 2016, the Indonesian got off to a winning start at ONE: TITLES & TITANS with a 22-second knockout of Rustam Hutajulu, in the semi-finals of the ONE Strawweight Indonesia Tournament. He has the same outcome in mind later that evening when he met Roso Nugroho in the final – and that bout quickly turned into a slugfest.

Both athletes threw heavy leather at each other, but the tide shifted nearly 90 seconds into the contest when Mattheis dropped his countryman with a thunderous right hook.

Nugroho covered up, but “Papua Badboy” rained down more right hands. The referee would not let the ailing athlete continue to take damage, and he stopped the bout at 1:34 of the first round. That earned Mattheis the title of ONE Strawweight Indonesia Tournament Champion.

Mattheis will open ONE: BATTLE FOR THE HEAVENS against Robin “The Ilonggo” Catalan.

Sunoto’s “Terminates” Chan Heng

“The Terminator” Sunoto kicked off 2017 by living up to his moniker.

Last January, in front of his countrymen at Indonesia’s Jakarta Convention Center, he dominated Cambodia’s Chan Heng at ONE: QUEST FOR POWER.

The hometown hero entered the featherweight tilt with the intention of taking his opponent to the ground and working him over. He masterfully executed that strategy as soon as the opening bell rang.

Just 10 seconds into the contest, “The Terminator” put Heng on his back with a single-leg takedown. From there, Sunoto methodically advanced from side control to full mount, and then began to wail away with a barrage of hammer fists.

His opponent was made of stern stuff, but he had no answer when the Indonesian grabbed his left arm, pinned it down with his knee, and then fired off a series of devastating rights onto his defenseless opponent. The referee immediately jumped in to save Heng, giving Sunoto the win midway into round one.

Now continuing his successful run in the bantamweight division, Sunoto looks to extend his win streak to five. To do that, he will need to defeat Japan’s Shuya “Stealth” Kamikubo in China.