Denis Puric ONE Fight Night 26: "It was just priceless" - Denis Puric shares unforgettable experience in return to Bosnia for the first time in 17 years

Legendary Muay Thai figure Denis Puric looked back fondly on his 17-year wait to return to Bosnia after his once-in-a-lifetime catchweight (141.25 pounds) kickboxing bout with Rodtang Jitmuangnon at ONE 167 this past June.

'The Bosnian Menace' had this to say about his return to his homeland in an interview with the Bangkok Post:

"In Bosnia, they have this festival every August and I was like a special guest and it was about 30,000 people there. And just the way they welcomed me everybody recognized me and when I went up on the stage, I had a little interview with one of the hosts. And you look in the crowd, there's 30,000 people, but then you look at my parents' faces and it was just priceless."

Puric continued:

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"It was very, very humbling and touching, just to see them proud of me. That was my number one goal, to make my parents proud."

Watch the entire interview here:

Puric's never-back-down fighting style, which he has always prided himself on, led to his three unforgettable victories under the ONE banner.

The Team CSK representative will be gunning for his fourth win in the promotion when he trades blows with Elias Mahmoudi under flyweight Muay Thai rules at ONE Fight Night 26 on Friday, Dec. 6, inside the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Denis Puric eyeing massive upset over Elias Mahmoudi

Denis Puric has made a career out of scoring upset victories and is craving for the same result over Elias Mahmoudi at ONE Fight Night 26.

In the same conversation with the Bangkok Post, Puric declared:

"I mean, that's okay, I agree with you. I don't blame them because he's a tall, young stud, very very strong. But it's just my job to disappoint those people."

ONE Fight Night 26 will air live and free to all Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.

About the author

Karl has been an MMA writer at Sportskeeda since 2023. He holds a Bachelor of Arts major in history, which helps him pay attention to the finer details while writing, and also has first-hand experience in boxing. He has a total experience of 5 years, and has worked for the International Business Times.

Karl turned into an MMA fan back in 2011 after watching Tito Ortiz defeat Ryan Bader via first-round submission at UFC 132. He has interviewed ONE world champions like Eduard Folayang, Joshua Pacio, Stamp Fairtex, and Tawanchai in his career so far.

On the non-MMA side of things, he interviewed WWE superstar Matt Riddle in 2021 and his question about Roman Reigns elicited an interesting answer which was widely covered by outlets like Sportskeeda and Cultaholic Wrestling's YouTube channel. He has also interviewed NBA stars Dwight Howard, Nick Young, Andre Roberson, Shabazz Muhammad, Jason Williams and Brian Scalabrine plus Filipino women's volleyball star Alyssa Valdez.

Karl ensures to double-check facts before using them in articles, and reads up on potential topics for pieces a day before. In his off time, he likes to play video games, and keep up with basketball and pro wrestling.

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Edited by Tejas Rathi