Power-Ranking Top 10 American ONE Championship Fighters
Mixed martial arts fans stateside know ONE Championship's Eddie Alvarez and Demetrious Johnson are the most recognizable faces on its roster. However, there is a young core of Americans at the Singapore-based company who are either making their way into title contention or are already there. How do they compare to the very best Americans that ONE has to offer?
Let's do our best to rank the top U.S.-based competitors at ONE Championship.
10. Tyler McGuire
Age: 34
Division: Welterweight
Record: 11-1
We haven't seen the Spokane, Washington, resident since November 2018 as he's also dealing with long-term injuries. The last time we did see him though, McGuire challenged for the ONE welterweight championship left vacant by Ben Askren, who was traded to the UFC for Demetrious Johnson.
He came up short to Zebaztian Kadestam in the title match, but the high-level wrestler's stamina makes McGuire a troublesome opponent for many in the division. His only other ONE match was a win over Luis Santos, formerly of Bellator, in his promotion debut.
When McGuire does return, he'll hope to work his way back to title contention and challenge new welterweight champion Kiamrian Abbasov.
9. Garry Tonon
Age: 28
Division: Featherweight
Record: 5-0
There's probably no American on the ONE roster with more potential than Garry Tonon. Although he's 28 and only competed in five MMA matches, his legacy as arguably the best Brazilian jiu-jitsu athlete in the world gives him an incredibly high ceiling.
Tonon has won 21 gold medals in various BJJ tournaments since 2014 and finished third in last year's ADCC World Championship. Now, the South Brunswick, New Jersey, native wants to focus his attention on MMA. Earlier this year, Tonon called out ONE featherweight champion Martin Nguyen.
"I think a lot of guys who are contenders aren't interested in fighting me," Tonon told Bleacher Report Live. "If you're the champ, you can't really be afraid of anyone in the division."
Let's see if Nguyen answers Tonon's call sometime soon. The BJJ champion's level of competition at ONE so far hasn't really stood out, but his overall resume could be more than enough to earn an opportunity at gold.
8. Thanh Le
Age: 34
Division: Featherweight
Record: 11-2
Former Legacy Fighting Alliance champion Thanh Le made the jump to ONE last year and is 3-0 since. All three opponents were veterans with a combined record of 56-20-3 and included former ONE champion Kotetsu Boku.
Fighting out of Metairie, Louisiana, Le possesses a ton of knockout power, as none of his matches have gone the distance. Every victory has come within the first two rounds. It's possible that Le is the No. 1 contender for Martin Nguyen's title; perhaps a No. 1 contender match against Tonon is in the near future. Whatever the case is, Le is undoubtedly in the hunt for a title shot.
7. James Nakashima
Age: 31
Division: Welterweight
Record: 12-0
Like Le, James Nakashima is also a former Legacy Fighting Alliance champion. The University of Nebraska wrestling standout and 2009 NJCAA national champion is among ONE's elite mat workers. All but one of his matches have been won by decision; he keeps his foes grounded and dictates the pace. Once Nakashima gets a hold of the opponent, he's like a wet blanket and incredibly tough to get off.
The 31-year-old's most recent wins came against 65-11-1 Luis Santos and former UFC competitor Yushin Okami. ONE's welterweight division doesn't have any clear contenders at the top aside from Nakashima, so expect his title shot against current champion Kiamrian Abbasov to come sooner rather than later.
6. Brandon Vera (ONE heavyweight world champion)
Age: 42
Division: Heavyweight
Record: 16-8
The Filipino American has spent the majority of his career with the UFC, competing against the likes of Frank Mir, Randy Couture and Jon Jones. Since joining ONE in 2014, Vera has won the inaugural heavyweight world title and has held on to it since, successfully defending it twice.
Last October, he challenged light heavyweight world champion Aung La N Sang in hopes of becoming just the third ONE athlete to hold two belts simultaneously. It wasn't meant to be, however, as Sang knocked out Vera in the second round.
Now, Vera will continue to defend his heavyweight championship against Arjan Bhullar later this year. At 42, it's unknown how many matches The Truth has left in him. Whenever he does decide to call it quits, it's going to take quite some time before someone dethrones him as the greatest ONE heavyweight of all time.
5. Janet Todd (ONE kickboxing atomweight world champion)
Age: 34
Division: Atomweight
Record: 36-11
Training out of Hermosa Beach, California, Janet Todd is responsible for what's likely the upset of the year so far when she defeated former two-sport champion Stamp Fairtex, who was 7-0 in all competitions at ONE, by split decision to become the new kickboxing atomweight world champion.
Todd's only loss in five ONE matches came in her debut, which happened to also be against Stamp. Since then, she's earned two knockout victories, a win over former champion Kai Ting Chuang and redemption from Stamp for the most prestigious championship of her career.
A trilogy match against Stamp could be in the cards, and JT is riding a wave of momentum as one of the most decorated American kickboxers at the moment.
4. Eddie Alvarez
Age: 36
Division: Lightweight
Record: 30-7
The Underground King debuted for ONE last March when he shockingly lost to Timofey Nastyukhin in the lightweight world grand prix quarterfinals. Alvarez nearly dropped to 0-2 after Eduard Folayang landed a wicked kick to an already hurt ankle of the former UFC champion. The 36-year-old did manage to recover, though, submitting Folayang less than a minute later for a wild comeback.
Alvarez does seem to have lost a step since joining ONE, as is natural for an older athlete and who is competing in one weight division higher than what he was used to (ONE's lightweight limit is 170, compared to UFC's 155). His goal remains the same, though: become the first competitor in martial arts history to win titles at ONE, UFC and Bellator. Slated to fight Saygid Arslanaliev later in the year, a win over the Turk would likely guarantee him a shot at Christian Lee's belt.
3. Angela Lee (ONE atomweight world champion)
Age: 23
Division: Atomweight
Record: 10-2
The Canadian-born Lee is an American citizen training out of Waipahu, Hawaii, and has represented the U.S. in amateur competitions before. She's been the ONE atomweight world champion for nearly four years and has successfully defended her title four times, tied for the second-most defenses in ONE history.
It was a rocky 2019 for Unstoppable when she lost two matches, the first defeats of her career, in an attempt to move up to strawweight. However, she ended the year on a positive note when she rematched Xiong Jing Nan to successfully defend her atomweight belt by way of rear-naked choke in the final seconds of the fifth round.
Although many assumed Lee's first match of 2020 would be a trilogy bout against Xiong, ONE chairman Chatri Sityodtong announced she will next face 7-0 Denice Zamboanga for her fifth title defense. The date of the match is yet to be announced.
2. Christian Lee (ONE lightweight world champion)
Age: 21
Division: Lightweight
Record: 13-3
Like his sister Angela, Christian Lee also trains out of Hawaii and has represented the U.S. in amateur competitions. The 21-year-old ONE lightweight world champion has one of the highest ceilings in the world and possesses a unique blend of striking power and mat work for someone so young.
He knocked out the legendary Shinya Aoki last May to earn his first title. In October, he stepped in on two week's notice to face Saygid Arslanaliev in the lightweight world grand prix final. Lee dominated the match with his wrestling, grounding the one of the most dangerous 170-pounders for the majority of their bout. His versatility is what should keep Lee at or near the top of his division for years to come.
The Warrior wants to drop down to the featherweight division and face champion Martin Nguyen, to whom Lee has lost twice. First up though is 13-0 Iuri Lapicus in what will be Lee's first defense of his lightweight championship. The date of that match is yet to be announced.
1. Demetrious Johnson
Age: 33
Division: Flyweight
Record: 30-3-1
There are levels to the martial arts game. Competitors like Angela and Christian Lee show plenty of promise and are already at the top of their respective divisions at incredibly young ages. They could very well stay there for the foreseeable future. However, neither of them are close to touching Demetrious Johnson's place as one of the greatest to ever do it.
Johnson is most well known for dominating the UFC's flyweight division for the better part of seven years as its first champion. His transition to ONE last March has been just as seamless, winning the flyweight world grand prix thanks to a second-round submission and two decision victories.
His next match will be against ONE flyweight world champion Adriano Moraes, who is the division's most successful champion with three separate reigns over the span of six years. They'll face off on May 29.
Honorable Mentions
Lowen Tynanes: The undefeated Hawaiian could easily be in the lightweight world championship picture if he wasn't dealing with spondyloarthritis, a rare autoimmune disease that affects the spine and also attacks the limbs and vital organs.
The last time we saw the 10-0 Tynanes in January 2019, he dominated Honorio Banario in the lightweight world grand prix quarterfinals. Slated to compete against Eddie Alvarez in the semifinals, Tynanes pulled out to deal with his disease. Before doing so, though, he called out the former UFC champion.
Hopefully the 29-year-old returns soon and we can finally see an intriguing match between him and the Underground King.
Troy Worthen: At 7-0, the Lakeland, Florida, native has grown leaps and bounds since joining Evolve MMA, a renowned Singapore-based team that trains some of Asia's top competitors. Worthen's marquee win came last February against Mark Abelardo, who was 19-6 and one of the rising contenders in ONE's bantamweight division.
With a couple of more wins, we could see the 26-year-old competing for a title sooner rather than later.
