Keanu Subba’s Greatest Stoppage Victories

Keanu Subba (6-3) is a stoppage specialist.

All of the Malaysian’s victories have come inside the distance with a variety of strikes and submissions, and in ONE Championship, each one has come in the first round.

On Friday, 26 October, the Malaysian returns to action when he meets hometown hero Phoe Thaw (6-0) in a featherweight bout at ONE: PURSUIT OF GREATNESS in Yangon, Myanmar.

It is a big ask for an athlete to enter the Thuwunna Indoor Stadium and face any local favorite in front of his passionate countrymen, but Subba also has to find a way to do what no one else has done before – hand “Bushido” his first defeat.

With his knack for ending bouts in an instant, the Monarchy MMA product believes he can upset the applecart in Yangon.

Here are the five ONE Championship finishes that showcase why he might be right.

A Successful Debut

In his promotional debut at ONE: TIGERS OF ASIA, Subba picked up a first-round TKO victory in his hometown of Kuala Lumpur.

He stopped Florian Garel just nine seconds from the end of the opening stanza, but the Monarchy MMA man had to overcome the powerful Frenchman’s takedowns in order to unleash his own bout-ending attack.

Subba worked hard to land a trip of his own, and when he got the match to the floor, he passed straight to side control, and then into mount.

From there, he rained down punches and elbows. Garel was unable to find an escape route and the referee was forced to intervene.

Subba admitted his relief at getting the finish, with the pace of the contest and pressure of his first bout in the world’s largest martial arts organization leaving him exhausted after 4:51 of non-stop action.

Subba’s Fastest Victory

At ONE: CLASH OF HEROES, Subba squared off against karate stylist and compatriot Rayner Kinsiong in an all-Malaysian battle.

Both men had success in the early striking exchanges, but Subba quickly hit a takedown and brought the action to the ground.

From there, his experience took over. Kinsiong was a step behind in the grappling exchanges, and he was unable to improve his position underneath his countryman.

Once again, Subba attacked with his pinpoint elbows. As they found their mark, the karate stylist tried his best to cover up and avoid taking damage.

A final volley of punches sealed the deal, however, and the referee was forced to stop the contest at the 2:01 mark of round one. That turned out to be the fastest victory of Subba’s career.

Ground-Striking Power

Pakistan’s Waqar Umar struck first at ONE: UNBREAKABLE WARRIORS, catching a kick to take the top position and land some ground strikes.

However, Subba did not accept the position and reversed with a single-leg takedown to establish control on top. Umar searched for a heel hook, but the Malaysian kept his man at bay with strikes.

The man from Lahore made a critical error by committing his hands to his opponent’s legs from a sweep, and Subba landed a hard punch to the jaw that set off the finishing sequence.

A few more punches rendered Umar unable to continue, prompting a huge ovation from the fans in Malaysia’s capital city.

Taking Mujtaba’s Zero

Ahmed “Wolverine” Mujtaba boasted a perfect 6-0 record when he traveled to Subba’s backyard to face him at ONE: THRONE OF TIGERS.

Some critics wrote the hometown hero off against an unbeaten opponent, but he was undeterred by their doubts or the task in front of him.

Buoyed by the partisan crowd, he picked up his best victory to date thanks to a first-round guillotine choke.

In typical fashion, Subba was landing hard punches and elbows, which forced “Wolverine” to look for an escape. As he worked for an underhook to stand up, the local favorite snared him in a tight guillotine against the cage, quickly eliciting the tap in fewer than three minutes.

“That’s my favorite submission,” he said. “I hit it all the time in training and was happy to pull it off.”

A Welcome Return

Victory at ONE: PURSUIT OF POWER was sweet for the hometown boy, as he was returning after almost a year out of action.

“White Dragon” Xie Chao was flawless in his three ONE appearances. He had a trio of stoppage victories, and was looking to establish himself as one of the top Chinese athletes in the promotion.

Subba was controlling from top position, but when Xie tried to escape the mount, his foe had already anticipated the next move. The 24-year-old Malaysian latched on to his rival’s arm, and set up a tight armbar.

Xie was resilient and held out for a moment despite his discomfort, but a slight readjustment was enough to achieve maximum torque on the limb, force the tap, and seal a triumphant return for Subba.