MMA News: Biggest Winners From Knockout-Filled ONE: Lights Out Event

Singapore-based ONE Championship had its most recent card last Friday, March 11, and the ONE: Lights Out card certainly lived up to its name.

Adrian Mattheis Surprises Former ONE Strawweight King

In the second fight of the night, Adrian Mattheis had a golden opportunity to prove that he was deserving of becoming a ranked fighter if he were to defeat his idol and former ONE strawweight champion Alex Silva.

Silva had the upper hand on his younger opponent in the first round of the fight and even threatened to finish him with a north-south choke, but Mattheis kept a level head through the attempt and was able to slip out of it momentarily.

As if noticing that Silva was giving him an opening by sticking out the left hand, Mattheis slipped an overhand right to the jaw of Silva which ended up being the TKO hit.

Mattheis immediately let his emotions out, while a frustrated Silva confronted the referee as he believed that it was an early stoppage.

Defeating his mixed martial arts (MMA) idol was a double-edged sword for Mattheis, but the six-year ONE veteran kicked off his return from a three-year layoff in spectacular fashion.

John Lineker Silences Critics

After multiple delays and months of trash-talking, MMA fans finally got to witness the explosive conclusion of the bantamweight championship rivalry between Bibiano Fernandes and John Lineker in the co-main event of ONE: Lights Out.

The bad blood between the two was on full display during this fight and the heavy hands started flying as soon as the opening bell rang, with Fernandes on the receiving end of some big blows.

At the end of round one, it was clear that Lineker’s “Hands of Stone” moniker was more than just that as Fernandes looked just as surprised as the commentators that his face was getting busted up badly.

Lineker would make good on his promises of knocking out Fernandes when he caught him with a monstrous left hand that put the champion to sleep instantly.

At 31 years old, Lineker is still very much at the top of his game and it will be interesting to see who will first challenge the new king of the bantamweights.

Thanh Le’s short night

The ONE featherweight title was up for grabs in the main event of ONE: Lights Out, and Thanh Le only needed less than a minute to keep the title around his waist.

Going into the fight, Garry Tonon had a six-fight win streak under his belt, with three submission victories to his name and two knockouts.

Tonon attempted to add Le to his list of victims by going for a heel hook 30 seconds into the first round.

To his credit, it seemed as if he had the submission in place, but a quick scramble later allowed the champion to free himself momentarily and land the knockout blows from top position.