As ONE Championship's remarkable 2025 campaign draws to a close, six athletes stand apart from their peers, having delivered performances that transformed them from promising competitors into undeniable superstars.
No fighter dominated 2025 quite like Nabil Anane.
The 21-year-old sensation opened the year by obliterating Nico Carrillo to win the ONE Interim Bantamweight Muay Thai World Championship, then settled unfinished business with Superlek Kiatmoo9 in March, avenging his sole career loss and then earning undisputed championship status in June.
The towering 6-foot-4 striker refused to rest on his laurels, boldly crossing into kickboxing territory. After a no contest marred his divisional debut, Anane silenced doubters in November by dismantling former K-1 Champion Hiromi Wajima.
Japanese kickboxer Yuki Yoza transformed 2025 into his coming-out party with three increasingly impressive victories. The 28-year-old methodically worked his way through the bantamweight kickboxing ranks, defeating Elbrus Osmanov before shocking former ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing World Champion Petchtanong Petchfergus.
November brought Yoza's definitive moment when he defeated the iconic Superlek, establishing himself as a genuine championship threat while proving Japanese striking talent continues producing world-class competitors.
ONE Welterweight Submission Grappling World Champion Tye Ruotolo already reigned atop his discipline after defending against Dante Leon in May, but 2025 became the year he proved his skills transcend any single ruleset.
The 22-year-old's MMA debut against teenage prodigy Adrian Lee silenced critics who questioned whether pure grapplers could thrive in mixed martial arts.
Ruotolo's second-round submission victory announced his arrival, while November's submission of Japan's Shozo Isojima confirmed he belongs among MMA's rising elite.
Austrian striker Stella Hemetsberger authored 2025's most inspiring success story.
Earning her US$100,000 contract through an April knockout represented a dream fulfilled, but the 26-year-old refused to let that be her ceiling.
September delivered Hemetsberger's crowning achievement when she defeated ONE Women's Strawweight Kickboxing World Champion Jackie Buntan to capture the ONE Women's Strawweight Muay Thai World Championship.
ONE Championship’s Breakout Stars:
1. Nabil Anane
2. Yuki Yoza
3. Nadaka
4. Tye Ruotolo
5. Stella Hemetsberger
6. Samet Agdeve
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