Tawanchai P.K. Saenchai Muaythaigym Plans to Make Second Featherweight Muay Thai Title Defense at ONE 167

June 6, 2024

3 months

Trying to predict future results based on competitions in different sports is usually a fruitless endeavor. Jo Nattawut impressed everyone when he stepped in at ONE Fight Night 15 to fight Tawanchai P.K. Saenchai in a kickboxing match. When the scorecards were tallied up, the results reflected a wild fight.

Tawanchai, the One Featherweight Muay Thai champion, raised his hand in a non-title fight. But many who followed online boxing news were curious if his success that night could translate into a Muay Thai fight between the two men. Many things have changed since the two fighters first met.

The situation this time around is also different. During their first fight, Nattawut stepped in on late notice, not giving Tawanchai a full camp to prepare. That won’t be an issue this time, as both parties have known about this bout for quite some time.

Tawanchai will have to be sharp to win this fight. Nattawut is tasked with replicating the magic he displayed in the first bout to win the title. This event will see ONE branch out more than it has during recent fight night cards.

While the fight nights have typically been heavy with Muay Thai and took place at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium, ONE 167 will give everyone looking for their niche something to be happy about. This card, which will be held at Impact Arena in Bangkok, features a number of MMA fights, as well as some grappling and kickboxing.

Rodtang Ready to Answer the Call

Denis Puric was hot in pursuit of a fight with legendary ONE fighter Rodtang Jitmuangnon. Puric didn’t let up while trying to earn a fight with the longtime ONE Flyweight Muay Thai world champion. Following a recent win over Jacob Smith, Puric said he came to ONE specifically to fight Rodtang.

Puric has said specifically that he wants to make a fool of Rodtang. That would be quite a feat if Puric could do that. Rodtang is the ONE flyweight Muay Thai champion.

Rodtang has defended that championship five times and has taken on other difficult challenges in combat sports. He once fought Demetrious Johnson in a mixed-rules fight. While this fight won’t be for a championship belt, this is what Puric has been dreaming of.

People looking at MMAfighting latest news will see that Puric hopes Rodtang won’t make this his nightmare.

Sousa Will Have Another Opportunity to Show Dominance

Gabriel Sousa surprised the grappling community by beating Mikey Musumeci with a north-south choke in 2021. Musumeci has been hoping for a rematch ever since. Musumeci, an American grappler, has won 14 straight matches since then and has become the ONE flyweight submission grappling champion.

During Musumeci’s time in ONE, he has stuck out as one of the top grapplers in the promotion. Now, Musumeci would like to turn back the clock and clean up some old business. Sousa appeared to be the larger competitor during the first meeting.

Musumeci would like to show his skill advantage, which will make him the superior competitor in this match.

Liam Harrison Ready for Return

English fighter Liam Harrison’s opponent wasn’t a fellow Muay Thai practitioner during the last two years. Nor did Harrison dabble in MMA or boxing. Instead, Harrison has been fighting a serious battle with the surgical knife.

Several serious injuries have kept Harrison from competing since he lost a championship fight with Nong-O Gaiyanghadao for the ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai Championship in August 2022. Harrison suffered a knee injury in the loss to Nong-O from leg kicks.

Now, Harrison will have to prove he can still reach the top level expected of him during a fight with Katsuki Kitano. Kitano has long been able to carve out his own unique path to success. He won the WBC Japan Championship and a WPMF title in Muay Thai.

He first burst onto ONE radar after having a strong performance at the Road to ONE: Japan tournament. Kitano has only fought once in the promotion so far. Kitano debuted successfully last October when he edged Halil Kutukcu in a unanimous decision victory.

Harrison would like to jump back into the deep waters with a win over Kitano. The major question looming over this fight will be what type of shape Harrison is in for this fight.

Grappler Ready to Branch Out

Kade Ruotolo has strong grappling bona fides. But Ruotolo has developed other interests beyond his BJJ roots. Ruotolo is the ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion, but will test the MMA waters when he goes up against Blake Cooper this weekend.

Ruotolo has never competed in MMA action before, but he has accumulated grappling titles in ONE and ADCC, as well as various other organizations. Ruotolo believes he can strike.

Fortunately for Ruotolo, ONE isn’t feeding him to one of the top lightweight fighters in the world. Instead, Cooper is another opponent who has limited experience fighting in MMA. He is 2-1 as a professional.

During Cooper’s ONE debut, he was put to the canvas by Maurice Abevi, who finished the fight with elbows and punches with 24 seconds left in the first round. Cooper does have one knockout on his resume but doesn’t necessarily have anything that would show he is a top striker.

This fight could be interesting, but Ruotolo will likely do his best to force this to the mat, where he is much more comfortable.

Here’s a look at the other fights on the card not mentioned above: