"(Petchmorakot) I'm coming for you" - Tawanchai PK.Saenchai earns knockout, title shot, and $50k at ONE 158

Tawanchai PK.Saenchai and Niclas Larsen fought in the main event of ONE 158. The Muay Thai fight was a title eliminator to decide who would next face Petchmorakot Petchyindee for his ONE Championship featherweight Muay Thai title. Tawanchai earned a second-round knockout victory.

Tawanchai proved why he is considered such a generational talent. Before the bout, the 23-year-old fighter predicted he would win via knockout in round two. He did just that, ending the bout in the second round at 2:42. The win earned him a title shot and a $50,000 performance bonus.

With a big smile in his post-fight interview, he said:

"I feel so happy and extremely grateful and super, super excited tonight."

This knockout victory earned the Thai fighter a title shot against Petchmorakot Petchyindee. He sent a message to the champion:

"Petchmorakot, are you actually watching? I'm coming for you. See you very soon."

Tawanchai entered the fight with a Lumpinee Stadium title and over 120 career victories. Meanwhile, Larsen once held a WBC world title and has experience of fighting around the world.

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Tawanchai PK.Saenchai vs. Niclas Larsen play-by-play

The two fighters aggressively traded kicks and punches in round one. Tawanchai scored a knockdown with a counter punch. He then kicked Larsen down with a push kick to the body. The Danish fighter continued to move forward but Tawanchai picked his shots and landed better kicks and punches.

At one point, Larsen scored a sweep and put his Thai opponent on the ground. They were soon back on their feet, where they traded shots, one of which was a hard kick to Larsen's body. Towards the latter stages of the round, Tawanchai landed a punch that caused his opponent to stumble back.

In round two, 'Dreamchaser' continued to march forward and eat body kicks for his efforts. The 23-year-old Tawanchai was landing well in this round with a series of hard punches and body kicks. As Larsen moved forward, his opponent connected with a hard left that sent him to the ground. The Danish fighter was unable to stand up. The fight ended in round two as a knockout victory for the Thai-born Tawanchai.

Regarding the knockout punch, Tawanchai PK.Saenchai said in his post-fight interview:

"I actually thought about a lot of movements how to end this match, but this is how I did it."