Joseph Lasiri’s run from underdog to ONE world champion has inspired many of his colleagues, including current lightweight titleholder Christian Lee.
‘The Warrior’ will look to become a dual-world champion when he challenges welterweight king Kiamrian Abbasov on November 18 at ONE on Prime Video 4. The event will be free and available to North American audiences who have a Prime Video subscription.
On the same night, Lasiri returns to the circle with plans to capture his own second-world title. Ahead of the stacked lineup that will air live on Amazon Prime Video, Christian Lee spoke with ONE regarding Joseph Lasiri and his epic career resurgence in recent years:
“I like Joseph Lasiri, I've seen him fight. For a long time, he was one of those guys that I saw fighting early on when I was fighting for the lightweight title as well. So yeah, I'm a fan of his career, on how he went from being a guy who took a few losses early on in his career in ONE Championship to now winning the title, so I hope he does well.”
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Lasiri currently reigns as the promotion’s strawweight Muay Thai world champion. At ONE on Prime Video 4, he will have the opportunity to etch his name in the history books as he challenges for the flyweight Muay Thai crown. Of course, in order to walk away with two pieces of gold wrapped around his waist, he’ll have to go through ‘The Iron Man’ Rodtang Jitmuangnon.
Joseph Lasiri’s incredible turnaround from 0-4 to world champion
When Joseph Lasiri signed with ONE Championship, he thought his dreams had finally come true. Two years later, it appeared to have become something of a nightmare. Making his promotional debut at ONE: Global Superheroes in January 2018, Lasiri suffered a second-round knockout loss to Muay Thai legend Sam-A Gaiyanghadao.
There is certainly no shame in falling to an icon like Sam-A. Moving on, ‘The Hurricane’ next met Singtongnoi Por Telakun, another Muay Thai star with over 200 career wins to his name. Lasiri once again fell short, suffering the same fate as he did in his debut. Lasiri found himself in the losing column two more times, dropping decisions to former flyweight Muay Thai world champion Jonathan Haggerty and Mongkolpetch Petchyindee.
With nearly three years inside the circle and little to show for it, Joseph Lasiri finally got a break by scoring a split-decision victory over Rocky Ogden at ONE: Inside the Matrix IV. From there, it was off to the races. Lasiri bagged his first win via knockout against Asahi Shinagawa in late 2021.
With back-to-back wins, Lasiri found himself in a world title fight against Prajanchai PK.Saenchai for the vacant belt left by a retiring Sam-A Gaiyanghadao. ‘The Hurricane’ made the most of his opportunity and delivered a beating so severe that Prajanchai opted not to come out for the fourth round. Joseph Lasiri captured the ONE world championship, completing one of the greatest career turnarounds in combat sports history.