Top 5 ONE Championship Knockouts of 2020

Between spinning heel kicks, head kicks and right hooks, there were a lot of candidates to choose from for the best ONE Championship knockouts of 2020. To be exact, there were 50 (yes, we counted).

However, we narrowed our list down to five. Taking into consideration physical impact, creativity and in some cases the importance of the match, here are our top five ONE knockouts from the year.

5. Kulabdam Sor. Jor. Piek Uthai punch vs. Sangmanee Klong Suanpluresort (Aug. 21)

Sangmanee came into the semifinals of ONE's bantamweight muay thai tournament as a heavy favorite, but that didn't stop Kulabdam from landing a devastating knockout punch in the first round and advancing to the final. It was a tremendous flurry of offense from the Thai, starting with a right jab and then landing a left body shot, right uppercut and left hook to finish his opponent off.

He didn't go on to win the tournament, but Kulabdam will always have this impressive knockout and major upset on his resume.

4. Thanh Le knocks out Martin Nguyen (Oct. 30)

Heading in to their match, Nguyen was the top knockout artist ONE had to offer. It seemed like every match he was part of ended in dramatic fashion. That continued to be the case when he took on Le, but this time he was on the wrong side of the result.

At the start of the third round, Nguyen pressured Le immediately and landed some heavy punches that clearly bothered his opponent. It seemed like Nguyen was headed for another knockout to add to his resume until Le responded with a crisp right hand that came out of nowhere.

Le took advantage of a hurt Nguyen and continued with an onslaught of punches that looked like something out of Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots. The referee came in to stop the match, and Le was the new ONE featherweight world champion. To be able to bounce back from the number of shots Nguyen was landing and defeat him in a title match is a testament to Le and this knockout.

3. Nong-O Gaiyanghadao punch vs. Rodlek P.K. Saenchaimuaythaigym (Dec. 18)

After Rodlek won the bantamweight muay thai tournament, he earned a title shot against champion Nong-O. It wouldn't end with a championship for the challenger, though, as Nong-O landed a lightning-fast jab that dropped Rodlek to the mat in a split second.

This knockout earns extra points for how sudden it was. It seemed like no one was prepared for the match to end right at that moment, but Nong-O had other ideas.

2. Bokang Masunyane head kick vs. Rene Catalan (Dec. 4)

Masunyane came into this bout looking to break into the strawweight rankings with a win over the No. 3-ranked Catalan. He did that and more after landing a vicious head kick seemingly out of nowhere just 37 seconds into the match for an incredible knockout.

Masunyane is now 8-0 and will look to have another big year in 2021.

1. Rade Opacic spinning heel kick vs. Errol Zimmerman (Dec. 11)

You can always expect great striking technique from kickboxers, but the spinning heel kick from Opacic was a thing of beauty. The Serb timed it perfectly, landing right on Zimmerman's jaw and rendering him unable to continue their match. 

The creativity and physical impact of this knockout is too great to not have in our top spot.

What do you all think? Let us know in the comments.