ONE Championship is one of the largest mixed martial arts promotions globally and is the largest in Asia today. It has the most diverse martial arts stage offering MMA, Muay Thai, Kickboxing, and Submission Grappling for the fight fans to indulge in. With the origins of muay thai coming from Asia and spread across the globe, it has attracted countless talents globally as they compete in the ONE global stage to fight for the number one spot. In this article, leave it to us to answer the question, “Does ONE Championship currently have the best striking roster?”
Combat Sports Today
When we talk about combat sports today, what comes to mind are MMA, Boxing, Muay Thai, Kickboxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and Wrestling. With MMA at the forefront and leading the charge, it is the perfect display of combining all the martial arts into one weapon. MMA champions have all come from different martial arts backgrounds and have been champions of at least one type of martial art before entering the MMA scene.
Generally, fighters who come from South America, particularly in Brazil, are most likely BJJ world champions with grappling as their base when they enter MMA. On the other hand, with the prevalence of wrestling in the United States, when an American MMA fighter excels in MMA, it is most likely that the fighter is a former wrestler.
Given that each region has its specialties that are most likely to determine its fighting style, outside of MMA, Nak Muay (Thai Boxers) have produced some of the best and most popular strikers in the fighting world today. Fighters like Buakaw, Saenchai, Nong-O, Sagat Petchyindee (Sagat was the character inspiration for Sagat in the popular Street Fighter game), Superlek, Rodtang Jitmuangnon, John Wayne Parr, Liam Harrison, and Jean-Charles Skarbowsky (GSP’s Muay Thai coach) are some of the few successful household name fighters Muay Thai has produced.
The ONE Championship Global Stage
ONE Championship is known not only for MMA but also for its diverse martial arts stage. From kickboxing stars to Muay Thai greats, ONE has some of the best talents in the world and is home to legendary fighters. The ONE global stage allows the best talents in the world to test themselves against each other and has taken the lead as the premier international martial arts organization.
With many rising superstars and legends on the roster, ONE has changed the face of modern Muay Thai. They use a Global Muay Thai Rule Set, which means athletes will wear 4-ounce mixed martial arts gloves in their bouts. On the other hand, in Kickboxing, the Global Kickboxing Rule Set is employed, and fighters competing in the lighter weight class are required to wear 8-ounce boxing gloves and 10-ounce boxing gloves for featherweights or heavier.
To test their striking abilities, top Muay Thai prospects and champions often compete against their Kickboxing counterparts under the Kickboxing ruleset. Some of the hottest cross-over matches were against Superlek and Takeru Segawa and Superbon and Chingiz Allazov.
ONE Muay Thai And Kickboxing Roster
Before they arrived, ONE world champions were already multiple-time world champions in their respective disciplines and were at the peak of their careers. Currently, ONE is home to many striking superstars and fighting legends and has a deep talent pool, especially in the lighter-weight classes. Let’s have a look at some of the current notable ONE Championship striking rosters below.
1) Prajanchai PK Saenchai
Prajanchai is the current ONE Muay Thai and Kickboxing Strawweight world champion. He notably captured the prestigious Lumpinee and Rajadamnern Stadium World Titles in two different weight classes, engraving his name in Muay Thai history.
Highly regarded as one of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters on the roster, Prajanchai started his career in the ONE Championship circle in 2021. In his debut, he dethroned another legend and fellow countryman, Sam-A Gaiyanghadao, to capture the ONE Strawweight Muay Thai title. His reign found its first challenge after his first loss against Joseph Lasiri in 2022. A year later, he reclaimed the ONE Strawweight world title and has kept it ever since.
Since they’re only one weight class above, will we ever see Pranjanchai battle it out against Rodtang in the future?
Nong-O is a former ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Champion who has notable title defenses against Felipe Lobo, Rodlek PK Saenchai, and Saemapetch Fairtex in the ONE Championship Muay Thai circuit, all by knockout. Before joining ONE, Nong-O was already an established fighter in the Muay Thai circuit, being a four-time Lumpinee and Rajadamnern Lightweight Stadium World Champion.
Jonathan Haggerty is currently the ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing World Champion. He joined the ONE circle in 2019 and made an astonishing debut, defeating another talented and future ONE Strawweight Muay Thai World Champion, Joseph Lasiri. Started training at the age of 7, Haggerty is one of the best strikers ever to represent the UK.
In 2019, Haggerty defeated the legendary Muay Thai Champion, Sam-A Gaiyanghadao, to take the ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Title.
After losing his belt to Rodtang, Haggerty moved up a weight class in 2023 and captured the Bantamweight Muay Thai World Champion spot from Nong-O via first-round TKO. After a few months, Haggerty yet again captured the ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing Title from Fabricio Andrade, becoming a two-sport world champion in ONE.
Currently, on an 11-fight win streak, Superlek Kiatmoo9 is the current ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai and Flyweight Kickboxing World Champion. On his path to greatness, Superlek also captured the throne at the famous Lumpinee Boxing Stadium and was named the Muay Thai Fighter of the Year by Sports Authority in 2012.
Superlek joined ONE Championship in 2019 and captured the vacant ONE Flyweight Kickboxing World Title in 2023 against Daniel Puertas.
Additionally, Superlek engaged in one of the most historic Muay Thai fights ever against Rodtang Jitmuangnon in 2023.
Since then, Superlek has been unstoppable in competing both in Muay Thai and Kickboxing, even beating the Japanese Kickboxing stand-out Takeru Segawa.
Rodtang is the former ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Champion. Stripped of his belt in November 2024 because of missing weight, Rodtang vowed to reclaim his throne and rule yet again over the flyweight Muay Thai division.
Rodtang has claimed the Omnoi Stadium title twice. In 2019, he claimed the ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Title against Haggerty, which earned him many fans. Rodtang dominated the division for five years and has been a fan favorite ever since because of his fighting reels and antics.
Rising from Japan, Takeru found his first love for Kickboxing because of the famous Japanese promotion, K-1, watching lots of kickboxing stars competing in the event. Takeru’s life is full of ups and downs and challenges. As a teen, he worked multiple jobs to afford a plane ticket to Thailand, where he learned Muay Thai.
Takeru made it to K-1 in 2014, went on a seven-year unbeaten run, and became a three-division Kickboxing World Champion.
Currently at an 8-fight win streak in the ONE Championship circuit, Tawanchai is the current ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Champion. He also won the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium, Siam Kela Fighter of the Year award, and the Sports Authority of Thailand in 2018.
In 2021, Tawanchai joined the ONE roster. In 2022, he dethroned the long-time ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Champion, Petchmorakot Petchyindee, via decision to win the belt.
8) Stamp Fairtex
Stamp Fairtex is a three-sport ONE World Champion. She is the former ONE Atomweight Kickboxing and Muay Thai World Champion, and after transitioning to MMA, she became the Atomweight MMA champ.
Stamp, who is also a two-division Northeastern Thailand Champion, gained a lot of fans not only because of her excellent fighting abilities but also her pre-fight antics, which made a mark on the ONE global stage.
Conclusion
ONE Championship may very well have the best striking roster, especially in the lighter weight classes. While we have only noted some champions on the list, keep in mind that the ONE striking pool is full of talented fighters and is constantly growing ahead of the competition, especially now more than ever that it has gotten a lot of attention from fans globally, particularly in the West.
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