ONE Fight Night 17 results: Jo Nattawut edges out Luke Lessei in bloody war of attrition

In the ONE Fight Night 17 co-main event, Dubuque, Iowa native Luke Lessei made his highly anticipated promotional debut against ONE veteran and No. 4 featherweight Muay Thai contender, ‘Smokin’ Joe Nattawut.

The significantly taller Lessei came out attacking the lead led of Nattawut as the Thai favorite looked to overwhelm the debutant early. Nattawut unloaded a flurry of strikes that drew some blood over the right eye of Lessei, but Lessei quickly snapped back with a big right hand that Nattawut ate.

As we reached the halfway point of the opening round, Nattawut was beginning to let his hands go, unleashing a series of combinations on the young gun. ‘The Chef’ was been able to take everything Nattawut had thrown at him, but how much longer could Lessei absorb Nattawut’s punishment?

Things picked up right where they left off in the second round with both fighters standing in the phone booth and trading a series of brutal elbows in close. As the round grew longer, Nattawut began to take over, punishing Lessei in the corner. By the time the bell sounded in the penultimate round, Lessei was a bloody mess but had no intentions of giving up.

With the crowd inside Lumpinee Boxing Stadium going absolutely crazy, the two warriors came out for the third and final round. Nattawut’s pace noticeably slowed in the final round as he opted to stand in the center of the ring and trade with Lessei.

With less than a minute to go, Lessei landed a massive right hand that had Nattawut on wobbly legs. Looking for the late finish, ‘The Chef’ turned up the heat, but was unable to put the finishing touches on a magnificent ONE Championship debut.

Official Result: Jo Nattawut defeats Luke Lessei via unanimous decision.