Jamal Yusupov fighting Yodsanklai (Left and Right)

WATCH: Jamal Yusupov upsets legendary Muay Thai fighter Yodsanklai 

ONE Championship has posted a throwback video of Jamal Yusupov defeating Yodsanklai.

In November 2019, Yusupov made his promotional debut at ONE: Age of Dragons. ‘Yeniceri’ was matched up against the legendary Yodsanklai, and little did most people know that a new potential superstar would emerge. The Turkish Muay Thai fighter silenced the doubters by pulling off a massive upset with a second-round KO. ONE recently posted the fight on YouTube with the caption:

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“Before Turkish striking sensation Jamal Yusupov challenges ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Champion Tawanchai PK.Saenchai on February 24, relive his shocking finish of Thai legend Yodsanklai IWE Fairtex in 2019!”

Yodsanklai was no spring chicken when fighting against Yusupov, but the Muay Thai legend was still winning fights. At the time, ‘The Boxing Computer’ was 1-0 in Muay Thai and 2-1 in kickboxing under the ONE Championship banner and had not lost a Muay Thai contest for a little over seven years outside the promotion. Meanwhile, ‘Yeniceri’ was making his promotional debut and shocked fans with his impressive win.

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After defeating Yodsanklai, Yusupov returned a year later to defeat Samy Sana. In 2022, he claimed a win over Jo Nattawut to improve his record to 3-0 inside the circle. His impressive run has shown that he is worthy of a world title shot against reigning featherweight Muay Thai king Tawanchai PK.Saenchai.

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Watch Jamal Yusupov take out Yodsanklai below:

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Can Jamal Yusupov pull off the upset against Tawanchai?

There is no doubt that Jamal Yusupov will be the underdog against Tawanchai at ONE Fight Night 7. The reigning featherweight Muay Thai world champion is coming off three impressive wins against Saemapetch Fairtex, Niclas Larsen, and Petchmorakot Petchyindee. With that said, overlooking Yusupov would be a mistake.

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This won't be the first time Yusupov has been underestimated. The Turkish fighter’s list of accomplishments pales in comparison to legendary Thai fighters, especially since he only started training at 21 years old.

He then overcame the odds by defeating Yodsanklai in his promotional debut. ‘Yeniceri’ silenced doubters once again by securing two more wins to earn a world title shot at 39 years old.

Muay Thai is considered a young man’s sport, but Yusupov's situation is different. He started training and competing late, meaning he’s taking less damage, especially considering Tawanchai has 98 more fights than him.

With that said, the 23-year-old world champion is one of the best Muay Thai fighters on the planet. The high-stakes featherweight world title fight goes down on February 24 and can be watched for free by North American Amazon Prime Video subscribers.

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Edited by
Micah Curtis
 
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