A champion kickboxer suffered a broken jaw and was taken to hospital in one of the knockouts of the year

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A champion kickboxer suffered a broken jaw and was taken to hospital in one of the knockouts of the year
Superbon defeats Giorgio Petrosyan by knockout. Photo by One Championship.
  • Superbon Banchamek pulled off a knockout of the year contender Friday.
  • The 31-year-old dropped and stopped Giorgio Petrosyan at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
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A champion kickboxer suffered a broken jaw and was taken to hospital in one of the knockouts of the year Friday at a One Championship event inside the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang.

Giorgio Petrosyan, 35, was enjoying a winning streak heading into the featherweight contest and had not lost a match since 2013.

The Armenian-born Italian kickboxer, widely considered one of the best kickboxers on the planet, has won various honors, including the One's featherweight grand prix finals in 2019.

But this weekend, he ran into 31-year-old Superbon Banchamek, who became one of only two fighters in history to put Petrosyan down on the ground and out for good in a thumping finish at the event called "First Strike."

It was a right high kick in the second round that caused the fight-ending damage, and the knockout was so good that Superbon couldn't help but celebrate raucously by running around and around the cage.

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Petrosyan, meanwhile, was concussed, unconscious, and flat on his back. MMA Fighting reporter Damon Martin tweeted later that Petrosyan regained consciousness at the stadium.

Doctors performed checks on him at a local hospital, Martin said, before adding that he will undergo surgery for the broken jaw Saturday.

Watch the awesome fight clip right here:

See the cage-side angle of the finish here:

"It's the best memory of my life, the best history of my life, that I can win over the No.1 kickboxer," Superbon said in the virtual media zone after the event.

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On the fervent reaction his knockout win generated on Twitter, Superbon said: "I don't know what social media is talking about, but for me, this is the best moment."

The Thai fighter lauded Petrosyan as one of the sport's great fighters, alongside Buakaw, but put all kickboxing athletes on blast as he said he's only going to grow in strength in the fight game.

"I might be No.1 right now, but I would not compare myself with legends like Buakaw and Petrosyan," he said.

"I will do even better, I will beat everyone, and I will show everyone that I can be even stronger."

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