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Rising star Tawanchai proved to be championship material and then some at ONE 161, where he bested Petchmorakot Petchyindee to attain Muay Thai featherweight gold.
Expectedly, the 23-year-old Thai has been bombarded with questions regarding his next fight, which will serve as his first title defense. One name that's been circulating is No.3-ranked contender Jamal Yusupov. Tawanchai told ONE Championship about the potential challenger:
“I have watched many of [Yusupov’s] fights. His punch is good. Our matchup would be exciting."
Yusupov is 3-0 in ONE Muay Thai contests. However, he has only fought once per year dating back to 2018. His previous victory came in July at ONE 159 against Jo Nattawut.
Tawanchai knows that Jamal Yusupov has KO power
Despite his limited ONE experience, Yusupov is a three-time Russian kickboxing champion as well as a three-time Russian Muay Thai national champion.
The newly crowned featherweight Muay Thai champion believes either him or Yusupov will get knocked out if they fight:
"If he can manage to land a clean punch on me, I may get [knocked] out. But if he doesn’t, he would be the one who [goes to] sleep."
However, the Thai prodigy is also open to rematching Petchyindee to clear up any doubts following their competitive encounter at ONE 161. Despite winning the fight on all three judges' scorecards, some viewers believe the long-reigning champion did enough to win. Tawanchai added:
"I'm ready for the rematch because I enjoyed the last fight. And there are controversies, so I’d gladly accept the rematch.”
Still, the consensus remains that the 23-year-old dethroned Petchyindee fairly convincingly.
Another compelling matchup for the new champ is No.2-ranked contender Superbon Singha Mawynn, who's also the reigning ONE featherweight kickboxing world champion.
The PK Saenchai Muay Thai Gym affiliate is regarded as one of the brightest young stars in all of mixed martial arts. His title-winning performance at ONE 161 showed that his ceiling might even be higher than many people thought.
Be sure to lookout for an announcement regarding the next ONE featherweight Muay Thai title fight.
Check out the ONE 161 highlights from Tawanchai and the rest of the card below:
