“I had to go find my own style” - Luke Lessei recalls the tough decision to leave his father’s gym after turning pro

Luke Lessei knew he had to leave his comfort zone if he wanted to reach his ultimate potential as a professional fighter.

The American star trained under the tutelage of his father throughout his amateur career, but Lessei knew he had to eventually leave Dubuque Martial Arts Group to further evolve as a Muay Thai artist.

Lessei said in an interview with ONE Championship that while he knew leaving his father’s gym was needed, he also admitted that it was probably the hardest decision of his career.

He expressed:

“I had to go find myself. I had to go find my own style. I was fighting exactly how my dad wanted to fight me for a really long time. And it’s funny enough, this was the hardest time, but also, I grew the most within this amount of time, because I was like, ‘Whoa, I really am figuring out how I want to fight.’”

That decision, however, paid off for good, and Lessei quickly found himself developing a style of his own and not just a copy of what his father used to be.

Luke Lessei is once again on the precipice of a career shift when he makes his global debut.

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Luke Lessei faces Jo Nattawut in ONE Championship debut

The American star has been tearing it up in the regional scene, but he’s now stepping on the biggest stage of his life.

Luke Lessei will have arguably the toughest assignment of his life when he faces Thai star Jo Nattawut in a featherweight Muay Thai match at ONE Fight Night 17 on December 8 at the historic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium.

Nattawut is one of the most exciting strikers in the world, and he’s coming off an absolute thriller against ONE featherweight Muay Thai world champion Tawanchai PK Saenchai at ONE Fight Night 15.

ONE Fight Night 17 is ONE Championship’s first-ever all-Muay Thai card and will be broadcast live and for free in North America via Prime Video.