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Veteran British fighter Liam Harrison is set to make his long-awaited return to competition in June against streaking Japanese fighter Katsuki Kitano, who he considers a solid opponent and looking forward to facing.
The two warriors will collide in a bantamweight Muay Thai showdown at ONE 167: Stamp vs. Zamboanga on June 7 at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand. It will mark the first fight back of Harrison after he injured his knee during the opening round of his title showdown against former ONE bantamweight Muay Thai king Nong-O Hama in August 2022.
Speaking to talkSPORT MMA in an interview, 'Hitman' gave his take on Kitano, saying:
"Well he's a solid Japanese fighter. I think he's won his last six or seven in a row. He's on a good run of form. He won his first fight under ONE Championship late last year. So yeah I'm looking forward to it."
Watch the interview below:
Heading into ONE 167, Kitano has won seven straight fights, including his ONE debut last October, where he defeated Dutch-Turkish fighter Halil Kutukcu by unanimous decision. Meanwhile, Liam Harrison, 38, will try to return to the win column. Before injuring his knee and absorbing a TKO loss against Nong-O, he won back-to-back matches, both by way of knockout.
ONE 167 is headlined by the ONE atomweight MMA world title fight between reigning champion Stamp Fairtex and No.2 contender Denice Zamboanga. It will be available live and for free in U.S. primetime to North American fans via Amazon Prime Video.
Liam Harrison looks at ONE 167 return as a crossroads moment
Now in the tail end of his long martial arts career, Liam Harrison knows that at some point he has to choose whether to continue competing or not. But he is holding out any decision on his future until after his scheduled return to action at ONE 167: Stamp vs Zamboanga on June 7 in Bangkok, Thailand.
Speaking to Sportskeeda MMA. the 38-year-old Leeds, England, shared that he will see first how he performs and how his body holds up in his comeback fight against Japanese Katsuki Kitano, and make a decision after on the direction he will take moving forward.
Liam Harrison said:
"If it goes well, I'll hang around a little longer. I'm just going to listen to what my body tells me, whether I feel good or not. I go by my performnace in the gym, and what my body can do, and who I'm sparring with."
Watch the interview below:
ONE 167 is the sixth outing for Harrison in ONE Championship since making his promotional debut in 2018. But it will be his first match in nearly two years because of a knee injury.
