Former world title contender Jo Nattawut faces off against France’s Bampara Kouyate in featherweight Muay Thai clash at ONE 170

Former world title challenger Jo Nattawut could restart his bid for the throne when he takes on Bampara Kouyate in his first match of 2025.

Nattawut will face the French striker in a featherweight Muay Thai clash at the stacked ONE 170 card on Jan. 24 at Impact Arena.

ONE Championship announced the fight on social media:

"Guaranteed FIREWORKS 🧨 Featherweight Muay Thai contenders COLLIDE when second-ranked “Smokin” Jo Nattawut battles fourth-ranked Bampara Kouyate on January 24 at ONE 170! Who comes out on top?⁠ @jonattawut @bambi.nho"

Jo Nattawut and Kouyate are in the top five of the dangerous featherweight Muay Thai rankings. The victor in this matchup would take a huge step forward to a potential world title challenge.

Kouyate, the No.4-ranked contender, is coming off a superb third-round stoppage win over American rising star Luke Lessei when they squared off at ONE Fight Night 23 in July.

Nattawut, meanwhile, lost to Superbon via first-round stoppage in September this year. The No.2-ranked contender is number two in the division and faced ONE featherweight Muay Thai world champion Tawanchai PK Saenchai twice in 2023 and 2024.

Tawanchai's first meeting against Nattawut was a nail-biting featherweight kickboxing matchup with fans practically screaming for a sequel.

That groundswell ultimately erupted into a high-stakes matchup for Tawanchai's ONE featherweight Muay Thai world title at ONE 167 in June this year.

Although Nattawut fell short in his bid for the gold, their brutal back-and-forth in Bangkok only left fans with more questions than answers.

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Tawanchai's world title rematch against Superbon headlines stacked ONE 170 card in Bangkok

ONE Championship didn't pull its punches when it chalked up its first numbered event of 2025.

The promotion has, so far, announced three world title fights for the stacked Bangkok card.

ONE 170's main event will feature Tawanchai defending the ONE featherweight Muay Thai world title against ONE interim featherweight kickboxing world champion Superbon, more than a year since they contested for the gold in December 2023.

Superlek Kiatmoo9 will defend the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world title against Scottish knockout monster Nico Carrillo in the card's penultimate match.

Fabricio Andrade rounds out the trio of world title fights when he defends his ONE bantamweight MMA world championship against old foe Kwon Won Il.