"It's much more Western-friendly" - Liam Harrison says Muay Thai in four-ounce gloves has done wonders for the sport

ONE Championship turned the combat sports world on its head in the late 2010s when they started holding Muay Thai and kickboxing fights and Muay Thai star Liam Harrison is more than happy to be part of it.

There is a stark difference between traditional Muay Thai rules and ONE Championship's ruleset, but the 'Hitman' believes that making the change was the correct move and one that had made the sport more widely accepted today.

Here is what he said in an interview with the South China Morning Post:

"Under the three three's ONE Championship rules, it's far more explosive. In four-ounce gloves, it's good for them. I mean, look at ONE Friday Fights, there's a lot of guys out there, who are coming in just blitzing the Thais and knocking them out.

He continued:

"But if you swap things out, five rounds of threes in eight-ounce, it takes away the excitement. This style [ONE Championship's rulset] is much more exciting for the fans and it's much more Western-friendly too."

Alongside Harrison, Muay Thai stars like John Wayne Parr, Jonathan Haggerty and Regian Eersel have all benefitted from it as fans have seen in their many fights under the promotion's banner.

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Liam Harrison looking forward to fighting again

The Bad Company product will get to end his near two-year layoff at ONE 167 on June 7 inside the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand as he takes on Katsuki Kitano.

Liam Harrison recently stated his excitement about getting back to the Circle:

"Katsuki is a good opponent I watched his last fight. He's dangerous and he's on a good win streak. So I'm looking forward to getting in there and just get the ball rolling and getting the ring rust knocked off and just fighting again."

ONE 167 will air live and for free to all Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.