Martial arts fans across the world were treated to an entertaining show from the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan.
With the event now in the books, here are three of the finest submissions from ONE Championship’s debut in “The Land Of The Rising Sun.”
Shinya Aoki puts Eduard Folayang to sleep
Japanese grappling wizard Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki made a thunderous statement by defeating ONE Lightweight World Champion Eduard "Landslide" Folayang at the 2:34 mark of the opening round.
The 35-year-old Japanese hero started in the unlikeliest of fashion.
Instead of going for his usual one-two combination, followed by takedown, Aoki attacked with two head kicks. It did not bother his opponent, however.
Folayang then started to make his mark in the game, but just as he did, “Tobikan Judan” pushed forward with a body lock, which forced the Filipino onto the cage.
The veteran grappler then brilliantly swept him to the ground and went in search for his trademark arm-triangle choke.
Folayang – a true warrior – refused to tap, but Aoki maximized the pressure on the choke, which put his foe to sleep.
The victory gave him a fourth consecutive first-round stoppage and the prestigious ONE Lightweight World Championship belt.
Demetrious Johnson’s wicked guillotine
Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson capped a perfect ONE debut with an exalted guillotine choke against hometown favorite Yuya “Little Piranha” Wakamatsu.
It was a hard-earned victory for the 12-time Flyweight World Champion as Wakamatsu answered everything "Mighty Mouse" threw at him in the opening five minutes.
In the second stanza, the Japanese flyweight landed a punch in the opening seconds, which caught “Mighty Mouse” off guard. But the American remained calm and took the contest to the mat, well aware of his rival’s striking prowess.
Johnson’s strength was clear from then on, as he forced Wakamatsu into two submission attempts.
“Little Piranha” escaped the first attempt, but the American’s experience in mixing martial arts proved to be the deciding factor, and he eventually caught him with a tight guillotine choke at 2:40 of round two.
Mei Yamaguchi's late armbar
Mei Yamaguchi thrilled her hometown crowd with a late submission victory despite being pushed into deep waters by Kseniya “The Tigress” Lachkova.
After two rounds of back and forth action, the Japanese veteran started the third round off strongly — she connected with a series of punches, along with two huge overhand rights.
She then took the contest to the ground, but Lachkova proved to be tough.
Yamaguchi wasn’t giving up, however, and gained side control midway through the period as she continued her ground and pound attack.
As Lachkova attempted an escape, Yamaguchi saw her exposed left arm and secured the armbar, which forced “The Tigress” to tap at the 3:18 mark of the final round.