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On May 20 at ONE 157, ONE Championship strawweight Muay Thai contender Joseph 'The Hurricane' Lasiri will fight current champ Prajanchai P.K Saenchai for the belt. Before he fights for his first ONE world title, let's go back to 2019 when Lasiri beat a future Kickboxing world champion.
The Italian fighter faced the now-bantamweight kickboxing champ, Hiroki Akimoto, two years ago at ONE: A New Era. At the time, however, Akimoto was still yet to become the world champion that he is today. Regardless, what Lasiri showed that night couldn't be ignored.
'The Hurricane' started furious, blitzing Hiroki Akimoto early and knocking him down with a frightening combination. Akimoto's right eye swelled right after he beat the referee's count. Lasiri, like a shark smelling blood in the water, swarmed the Japanese with strikes in and out of the pocket.
Come the second round, Akimoto got into his rhythm going and tipped the scales a little bit over to his side. The back-and-forth brawl ended with both fighters getting more than a few good exchanges in as the result came down to the wire. In the end, while one judge scored it a draw, the other two saw it for Lasiri, handing him the majority decision.
Watch the full fight here:
Joseph Lasiri will fight for the ONE Championship strawweight Muay Thai belt at ONE 157
On May 20, at ONE 157, Joseph Lasiri will face champion Prajanchai P.K. Saenchai for the ONE Championship strawweight Muay Thai belt. He's already beaten a future champ in kickboxing, so now Lasiri will look to beat a reigning champion under Muay Thai rules this time.
Against Prajanchai, Lasiri will face a veteran of 300+ fights. The 29-year-old is the epitome of classic Muay Thai, highly technical but still capable of unleashing controlled chaos. The two will face each other in the co-main event of the night.
Also on the card will be a headlining bout between ONE featherweight Muay Thai champion Petchmorakot Petchyindee and Jimmy Vienot.
Another exciting event on the card will be four quarterfinal bouts at ONE Championship's inaugural flyweight Muay Thai Grand Prix. The tournament will feature the top 125-pound Muay Thai fighters in the world, including current ONE champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon and former champ Jonathan 'The General' Haggerty.
ONE 157 will showcase Muay Thai of the highest order. Can't wait for May 20th.
