5 Victories That Prove Ev Ting Is Truly Elite

Throughout the course of his career, Ev Ting (14-4) has earned a reputation as a competitor willing to face any challenge.

The 28-year-old Malaysian has been a part of ONE Championship for nearly the past four years, and has quickly become one of the most exciting lightweights on the entire roster. With only a few decisions on his record, Ting prides himself on bringing the pressure to every single opponent he encounters.

Overall, he has racked up nine stoppage victories against everyone from top-rated strikers to world-class grapplers, and has proven that he is not afraid to mix it up with anyone. In fact, he is determined to continue his ascension up the lightweight ranks, and compete against the best martial artists in the world.

As Ting prepares to meet Ariel “Tarzan” Sexton (11-3) at ONE: QUEST FOR GOLD on Friday, 23 February, let’s revisit the victories that have made the Malaysian an elite contender in ONE’s stacked lightweight division.

His Head Kick KO Of Edward Kelly

What started out as a grappling display from Ting ended in one of the biggest highlights of his career, when he knocked out Team Lakay’s Edward “The Ferocious” Kelly at ONE: ROAR OF TIGERS in October 2014.

“E.T.” was on the attack from the opening bell, looking for takedowns and pressing the action by putting Kelly on his back. While the Filipino did a good job defending and working his way back to his feet, he struggled with separation, as Ting came after him during every second of the first round.

The Malaysian looked to utilize the same strategy in the second frame, until he found an opening. He blasted Kelly with a kick to the body, which reverberated throughout Malaysia’s Putra Indoor Stadium. A few seconds later, Ting went high with that same kick, which caught “The Ferocious” off guard. Kelly took the full impact, and then crashed to the canvas.

The ref called the bout at 4:28 of round two.

The Record-Setting Submission Of Honorio Banario

Ting picked up the fastest win of his career when he submitted former ONE Featherweight World Champion Honorio “The Rock” Banario in their catch weight bout at ONE: TIGERS OF ASIA in October 2015.

As the bout got underway, the Filipino came storming across the cage. He immediately looked for a grappling exchange with Ting, and he desperately attempted to bring his Malaysian adversary to the ground. “The Rock” was successful for a split second, until Ting worked his way back to his feet and separated.

It did not take long for Banario to try for another takedown, but this time “E.T.” countered by latching onto his neck, and then dropping to the ground with a tight guillotine choke in place. The submission was so tight, Ting almost immediately rolled into the mount, which only further tightened his grip.

The former world champion had no choice but to tap out at 56 seconds into the contest, which gave Ting the win, as well as the fastest submission victory in a ONE catch weight bout.

Out-Striking Rob Lisita

Ting’s main event showdown with Australia’s Rob Lisita from ONE: UNBREAKABLE WARRIORS in September 2016 ended up as one of the best bouts of the year.

Lisita opened the bout with a sound strategy, as he came out aggressively against Ting, and looked to take the action to the ground where he could apply his grappling prowess. “E.T.” did well to defend himself on the mat, but the Aussie was in control nonetheless.

The second round saw a dramatic shift in momentum, as Ting was able to stave off the takedown attempts. He began landing strikes from every angle, all while keeping Lisita at a distance. Punches, knees and elbows all found a home on the hard-hitting Aussie.

Ting continued to pour on the punishment with a versatile striking attack until the final bell sounded. The Malaysian crowd at Stadium Negara then erupted when their hometown hero was awarded with a unanimous decision victory.

Edging Out “The Prince Of Persia”

Kamal Shalorus may hold an extensive background in wrestling, but he was not interested in grappling at all when he faced Ting at ONE: THRONE OF TIGERS in February 2017.

Shalorus was throwing heat from the very first exchange, looking for the knockout blow with seemingly every punch he threw. In fact, “The Prince Of Persia” managed to catch Ting with one of those bombs in the early going, and even dropped the Malaysian for a moment before he recovered.

The punch, however, seemed to have woken Ting up, as he quickly settled into his strategy. “E.T.” found his distance, and he began feeding Shalorus a steady diet of punches and kicks to the legs. The Iranian had no answer for the technical striking that Ting displayed, and the Malaysian even uncorked a huge flying knee during the latter part of the bout.

When it was over, Ting edged out Shalorus by split decision in one of the toughest battles of his entire career.

The TKO Of A Former World Champion

Former ONE Welterweight World Champion Nobatatsu Suzuki wasted no time coming after Ting when they matched up at ONE: QUEST FOR GREATNESS last August.

Suzuki was firing power punches almost immediately, gunning for the knockout while obviously trying to catch the Malaysian off guard. Unfortunately for Suzuki, “E.T.” refused to be rattled, and he just weathered the early storm before countering with surgical precision.

Ting tagged his Japanese rival with a series of quick shots to the head and legs. Once he had Suzuki backing up, the Malaysian decided to alter his plan of attack by taking the action to the ground, and that is where he put together his finishing combination.

“E.T.” planted Suzuki with a huge slam, and then rained down punches in rapid fire succession until the referee swooped into stop the contest at 3:29 in the first round. Ting took out a second former ONE World Champion to add yet another impressive win on his resume.