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The last time Tawanchai went toe-to-toe with Thai standout 'Smokin' Jo Nattawut, he did so with one freakin' eye.
On January 24, the reigning ONE featherweight Muay Thai world champion will return to Impact Arena in Bangkok set to defend his 26 pounds of gold against former kickboxing king Superbon at ONE 170.
But first, Tawanchai sat down with Sportskeeda MMA in an exclusive interview to look back on his most recent title defense against Nattawut at ONE 167 in June. On that night, Tawanchai came out on top via a decision, but his performance was quickly criticized by fighters and fans alike who accused the champ of looking unusually flat.
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Even ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong suggested that Nattawut had done enough to walk away with the featherweight title.
As it turns out, Tawanchai suffered a pretty nasty eye injury near the halfway point of the fight and essentially fought the remaining two and a half rounds with nothing but pure instinct and a whole lot of heart.
"Many things I didn’t show in my last fight because," Tawanchai revealed. "I got injured in the eye around the middle of the third round. So for the last two rounds, I was just fighting on instinct, pure heart."
Tawanchai will need every weapon at his disposal to defeat Superbon at ONE 170
Tawanchai may have been able to pull out a victory over Jo Nattawut with pure instinct and heart, but he'll need all of his weapons available if he hopes to leave The Land of Smiles with his title intact against the reigning ONE featherweight kickboxing world champion.
Tawanchai vs. Superbon will be the second-ever meeting between the two Thai superstars on martial arts' biggest global stage. Their first came at ONE Friday Fights 46 in December 2023. On that night, Tawanchai earned a unanimous decision victory, though the fight was much closer than the scorecards would suggest.
With Superbon recently being promoted to the undisputed featherweight kickboxing throne, there is no doubt that the 116-win veteran will be looking to make a statement and etch his name in the history books as a two-sport ONE world champion.
ONE Championship fans can catch ONE 170: Tawanchai vs. Superbon II live on January 24 at watch.onefc.com.
