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By Dana Becker
All total, six featherweights will be in action at ONE: Valor of Champions, with the third and final bout at 145 pounds pitting Shannon Wiratchai against Amir Khan. And while incredible pressure will be on everyone who competes, nobody might be feeling it more than Khan. Khan took a different road than most from his native home, leaving Singapore and competing as an amateur in the United States. There, he went a perfect 4-0, including a first round finish with a nasty knee to Derek Downer to complete his amateur career.
After deciding to return to Singapore, Khan joined the famed Evolve MMA gym after receiving an invite-only offer. The trial run went just as expected; with the youngster joining up with many of the top fighters in the world including ONE champions Shinya Aoki and Ben Askren. His pro debut was one that taught Khan a tough lesson, as Cody James secured an ankle lock and earned the first round submission victory. That didn’t keep ONE officials from offering him a fight a few months later, which Khan took and showed off his skills by finishing Jian Kai Chee inside of the first round.
Khan’s next fight was just as impressive, as he tallied another first round finish vs. Waqar Umar. Along with fine-tuning his skills in the U.S., the 20-year-old phenom embarked on several trips to Thailand to improve his Muay Thai, which he came to display in his ONE career. Khan is a blue belt under Relson Gracie in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He started in Muay Thai at just 13 and had his first pro bout at 14, which he was successful in. Wiratchai has the chance to halt the hype train behind Khan, and he even has the right skills to do so.
A southpaw, Wiratchai is Thailand’s top featherweight and that means he has exceptional striking skills. The 26-year-old from the Bangkok Fight Lab put his face on the highlight reels at ONE 11: Total Domination when he did just that to Mitch Chilson. The two had previously met in 2012, with the bout being declared a no-contest after an illegal soccer kick was landed from Wiratchai. The native of Bangkok, Wiratchai showed his heart by surviving a rough first round vs. Chilson and landing a nasty right hook that floored him before the illegal kick.
Not surprisingly, the decision of the fight with the illegal maneuver prompted ONE officials to change their ruling regarding soccer kicks completely, which opened the door in the rematch.This time around, the soccer kick from Wiratchai was legal, as was the follow-up ground-and-pound that ended Chilson’s night.
Three of his five pro fights have taken place under the ONE banner, including a tough decision loss to Bashir Ahmad back in 2013. Prior to joining ONE, Wiratchai went 2-0 for Dare Fight Sport, including his lone career submission win vs. Tondamrong Panjabutra in 2012 when he secured a second round rear-naked choke.
