Instant classic: Marat Grigorian-Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong VI set for ONE 165 on January 28

Marat Grigorian and Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong will cross paths for the sixth time when ONE Championship’s massive return to Japan gets underway on Sunday, January 28.

The pair of striking greats will be part of a loaded ONE 165 bill, and their three-round catchweight kickboxing should set the tempo high inside Tokyo’s Ariake Arena before Superlek Kiatmoo9 puts his flyweight kickboxing gold on the line against Takeru Segawa.

This clash and two other matches were made official by the promotion on its website earlier today.

In their first meeting in December 2015, the Sitsongpeenong Muay Thai Camp affiliate and multi-time kickboxing world champion took home a majority decision after a strong showing in a high-octane nine-minute war.

Just four months later, both men went toe-to-toe in Paris, France. Although Grigorian put out a more formidable game plan, finding better openings from bell to bell, he still fell short to Sitthichai’s exceptional striking game.

It was the same case for the Armenian legend in his next pair of outings against the Thai striking genius, as he slumped to two split decision defeats.

Knowing he needed to change something in his arsenal, the three-time Glory kickboxing world champion worked on his shortcomings and earned a title shot against ‘Killer Kid’ with an impressive triumph over Christian Baya.

As fate would have it, the Hemmers Gym affiliate eventually took home a win in the series against the marauding Thai when they met in the Netherlands in May 2019.

Both men went on separate paths following their five-chapter rivalry. But after inking a deal with the world’s largest martial arts organization in 2020, Grigorian and Sitthichai knew at the back of their heads that fight number six was inevitable.

Despite having a 4-1 lead in the series, ‘Killer Kid’ knows he cannot underestimate what Griogiran brings to the table when their fight gets underway at ONE 165: Superlek vs. Takeru on January 28.

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Sitthichai’s run in ONE Championship

After a forgettable promotional bow against Superbon Singha Mawynn at ONE: No Surrender in July 2020, Sitthichai went to the drawing board and returned with victories over Tawanchai PK Saenchai, Tayfun Ozcan, and Davit Kiria before his ONE Featherweight World Grand Prix final battle against Chingiz Allazov at ONE X.

That evening, ‘Killer Kid’ fell short to the Azerbaijan-Belarus representative after a nail-biting three-round war inside the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

He has since left the global stage of ONE with his hand raised twice, with lopsided wins over Mohammed Boutasaa and Eddie Abasolo.

Unfortunately, Sitthichai stared at defeat once more as he succumbed to Mohammed Siasarani’s technical prowess at ONE Friday Fights 32 in September last year.