Amir Khan’s 5 Biggest Wins In His Stellar Career

Amir Khan has proven time and time again during his tenure with ONE Championship that he is one of the best lightweight martial artists in the world. In fact, he owns the most knockouts and finishes in ONE Championship history, which is a fantastic feat given his young age of 23.

Currently riding an impressive six-bout win streak, the Evolve MMA product has shown off a variety of skills during his electric run, with five of those contests ending by way of knockout or submission.

The Singaporean is a homegrown athlete who has spent almost his entire young career as a member of ONE roster. He has evolved his skills and perfected his craft, all while competing on the biggest stage for martial arts in the world.

Now, Khan will face arguably his toughest challenge to date when he takes on Russian wrecking machine Timofey Nastyukhin at ONE: QUEST FOR GOLD on Friday, 23 February.

Ahead of that incredible showdown, let’s take a look at Khan’s five biggest wins in ONE. He has faced some of the best competition on the planet, and he has put together truly an astonishing resume of spectacular victories over the past four years.

His TKO Of Jimmy Yabo

Following a heartbreaking split decision loss, and the only defeat of his ONE career to date, Khan had something to prove when he stepped into the cage with Jimmy “The Silencer” Yabo back in February 2015 at ONE: PRIDE OF LIONS.

Khan stormed out of the gate with a swarming attack. He tried to overwhelm Yabo with a versatile stand-up game, including a barrage of knee strikes from inside the clinch, which proved to be an effective weapon for him.

A strong start nearly backfired, however, when Khan threw a spinning back kick. The Filipino caught him with a short left hand that dropped him to the canvas for a split second. Khan quickly recovered by grabbing onto Yabo’s legs and securing a takedown.

From there, the Singaporean had no intention of letting “The Silencer” back to his feet again, as he rained down a flurry of punches and elbows until the referee had seen enough to stop the contest at 4:18 of round one.

Tapping Out Vaughn Donayre In Thrilling Comeback

A late switch in opponents did not deter Khan from accepting a match-up with tested veteran Vaughn “The Spawn” Donayre at ONE: DEFENDING HONOR back in November 2016 in Singapore, but he definitely had a battle on his hands.

The hometown hero was dominant early, taking Donayre to the mat and nearly putting him away with a rear-naked choke in the first round. The same thing almost happened in the second frame, but “The Spawn” was able to reverse a takedown. He actually put Khan into some serious trouble when he latched onto a kimura, and he nearly secured the win with that effort.

Miraculously, Khan’s flexibility allowed him to survive the submission, and he came roaring back in the third and final stanza, as he once again put Donayre on the ground. This time, however, he was not letting “The Spawn” back up again.

Khan locked on the rear-naked choke to earn the thrilling victory, and both men’s performance brought those in attendance at the Singapore Indoor Stadium to their feet.

Stunning India’s Rajinder Singh Meena

Khan decided to stand and trade with decorated striker and former SFL Lightweight Champion Rajinder Singh Meena in their clash at ONE: DYNASTY OF HEROES back in May 2017.

The Singaporean looked incredibly comfortable trading shots with Meena, who was determined to land the knockout. Meena began hurling punches with every bit of force he could muster with each shot he threw. But Khan defended well, and quickly launched his own counter attack in the form of a head kick. The Indian attempted to block the kick with his hands, but still took the brunt of the impact.

Merely a second later, Khan had Meena on his back, and he began firing away with punches and elbows in rapid succession. Just 89 seconds into the contest, the referee saw enough, and stopped the bout before Meena absorbed any further damage.

The Picture-Perfect KO of Jaroslav Jartim

What started out as another grappling classic from Khan turned into one of the most jaw-dropping knockouts in ONE history, when he faced Czech striker Jaroslav Jartim at ONE CHAMPIONSHIP: SHANGHAI in September 2017.

The Evolve MMA representative has always shown well-rounded skills whenever he has stepped into the cage, but facing a taller opponent was something unusual for him.

Khan decided to close the distance on the Czech lightweight before bringing the action to the ground, where he looked to take the back and possibly set up a rear-naked choke. He eventually gave up the position to work back to his feet, where he lined up a spectacular finish with devastating precision.

As Jartim anticipated another takedown, the Singaporean ducked his head as a feint, then launched a left high kick which tagged his opponent and left him rattled. A split second later, Khan unloaded an explosive right hand right on the button. The Czech crumbled to the ground, and became part of Khan’s ever-growing highlight reel.

Edging Out Battle-Tested Veteran Adrian Pang

Khan had one of the toughest tests of his entire career when he took on battle-hardened veteran Adrian “The Hunter” Pang at ONE: IMMORTAL PURSUIT this past November.

While Khan is almost an automatic lock to put his opponents away — he had a 100 percent finishing rate going into the contest — this ended up being a real war of attrition that tested his mettle.

Pang was ultra aggressive with his constant forward pressure, looking for takedowns and trying to overwhelm his younger opponent. The Evolve MMA product would have none of it, as he fired back by countering the Aussie with heavy leg kicks and  precision punches that continued to do damage.

The Singaporean showed incredible patience and footwork in victory, as he had to maintain the utmost focus to ensure he got the win, especially in the face of Pang’s constant pressure and one-punch knockout power.

When it was all over, Khan had done more than enough to secure the unanimous decision victory, and undoubtedly established himself as one of the top contenders in ONE’s stacked lightweight division.