The 3 most shocking finishes at ONE 171: Qatar
A lot of jaws dropped during ONE Championship's return to the Middle East at ONE 171: Qatar last Feb. 20. Lusail Sports Arena was rocking all night long, as all 13 bouts of MMA, Muay Thai, kickboxing, and submission grappling delivered non-stop excitement at the highest levels of combat sports.
While fans were spoiled with several savage finishes, three performances stood out the most.
Unsurprisingly, the three valiant warriors from this list all took home a well-deserved $50,000 performance bonus from ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong by night's end.
Shamil Erdogan annihilates Aung La N Sang
Shamil Erdogan already blasted Aung La N Sang before and he scored an even more emphatic finish in their second meeting.
'The Burmese Python' looked loose early on and put pressure on Erdogan by coming out as the aggressor on the feet. The Turkish powerhouse, though, calmly bided his time and blocked Aung La's power shots.
Once a window opened, the 34-year-old uncorked a devilish head kick that immediately flat-lined the former two-division MMA world champion.
The statement finish pushed the undefeated fighter's record to a perfect 11-0 and cemented his status as the next middleweight MMA world title contender.
Roberto Soldic destroys Dagi Arslanaliev with a one-hitter quitter
Roberto Soldic reminded the whole world why he's one of the most feared men in mixed martial arts.
'Robocop' bucked off a slow start against the ultra-aggressive Arslanaliev, who threw with evil intent as soon as the bell rang. After getting a feel of his Turkish foe's movement, Soldic found a way to land one of the most notorious signature punches in the game, his deadly left hook.
Soldic timed Arslanaliev's body kick attempt perfectly, as he unleashed a brutal counter that sent the ONE mainstay flying. The sheer impact of the blow was so wicked that Arslanaliev went out right away and faceplanted to the canvas.
Joshua Pacio erases all doubts with a come-from-behind ground-and-pound win over rival Jarred Brooks
Things looked grim for Joshua Pacio in the opening five minutes of his strawweight MMA world title unification bout with interim champ Jarred Brooks.
Much like their first two meetings, 'The Monkey God' once again imposed his will on the ground by taking down 'The Passion' with ease and applying immense pressure.
This time, however, the proud Filipino warrior did not break. Pacio somehow survived an arm-in guillotine, a mounted guillotine, and even a D'Arce in the opening round.
Sensing Brooks was gassed after that opening barrage, Pacio seized the moment and roared back. The now undisputed strawweight MMA kingpin exacted revenge by giving Brooks a dose of his own medicine, pounding the American into oblivion with relentless ground-and-pound for the satisfying TKO victory.
The full replay of ONE 171: Qatar is available via watch.onefc.com.