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It was a successful first world title defense for reigning ONE featherweight Muay Thai world champion Tawanchai P.K. Saenchai last weekend in a fight that saw him feed off the energy given to him by the hometown fans.
The Thai phenom emerged victorious in his initial test as world champion, making short work of Turkish challenger Jamal Yusupov in their world championship clash at ONE Fight Night 7 on Prime Video on February 24 in Bangkok.
Tawanchai unleashed a cracking kick to Yusupov’s right leg that immediately immobilized him. The referee did not waste much time calling a stop to the match just 49 seconds into it, seeing how the challenger could no longer continue.
In an interview with SCMP MMA following his successful world title defense, the reigning champion shared that Thai support at the famed Lumpinee Boxing Stadium provided added motivation for him to go for the win.
The 23-year-old superstar said:
“It was a fight that had a lot of fans and it encouraged me not to lose this fight.”
Watch the interview below:
The fight was a homecoming for Tawanchai, who fought in Singapore in his previous five fights.
“It feels like I’m coming back home” - Tawanchai is inspired to perform in front of his countrymen at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium
Apart from successfully defending his ONE featherweight Muay Thai world title, what made Tawanchai P.K. Saenchai’s recent match even more special was that he got to do it at his old stomping ground of Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok.
The Thai superstar returned to the famed arena at ONE Fight Night 7 on Prime Video on February 24, where he defeated Turkish challenger Jamal Yusupov with a first-round technical knockout to remain as world champion.
It was Tawanchai’s first fight at Lumpinee under ONE Championship and that really got him excited in the lead-up to the contest.
He shared in a video feature to ONE Championship:
“It feels like I’m coming back home. Getting to fight in my home country, in Lumpinee, inspires me, and I can feel a strong connection to this familiar place.”
Watch his video feature below:
The Thai champion had some of his most memorable fights early in his career at the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium, which is widely considered the home of modern Muay Thai and where top strikers in the world compete.
