Songchainoi Meets Banluelok In ONE Title Eliminator

Songchainoi Kiatsongrit headlines an atomweight Muay Thai main event against Banluelok Sitwatcharachai at The Inner Circle 27 this Friday, streaming live from Bangkok's Lumpinee Stadium. Both fighters carry identical losses to reigning ONE Atomweight Muay Thai World Champion Nadaka, and the winner gets a legitimate claim to the next title shot.

Songchainoi, who carries a 60-18 career record, pushed Nadaka the full five rounds at ONE SAMURAI 1 this past April before dropping the decision, as BJPenn.com reports. Banluelok has built his ONE Championship tenure almost entirely on finishes, stopping Nuatoranee Jitmuangnon, Tubtimthong IngfahhotelUbon, and Petbanrai Singha Mawynn before a third-round knockout of Rak Erawan at ONE Friday Fights 157. His only promotional defeat came against the same man who denied Songchainoi.

Shared Nadaka History Adds Stakes to Friday's Main Event

That shared history with Nadaka gives Friday's main event an added layer, with both fighters carrying real evidence they can compete with the division's best despite their identical result against the champion. Whichever man leaves Lumpinee Stadium victorious will have proven he can hang with Nadaka over the sport's full five-round championship distance or finish opponents at a rate few others in the division can match.

The co-main event pits Komawut FA Group, working to reverse a rough recent stretch, against Kyaw Swar Win, a Lethwei practitioner from Myanmar coming off a win over Slatan Jitmuangnon at ONE Friday Fights 158. Two additional bouts, a lightweight Muay Thai clash and a flyweight kickboxing matchup, round out the card.

Both men enter August 21 with far more on the line than a simple step up the rankings. The Inner Circle 27 airs live from Lumpinee Stadium in Asia primetime.

Reported via:

• BJPenn — Records collide as Songchainoi and Banluelok both chase a way to ONE World Title