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'Smokin' Jo Nattawut is keeping his focus on business as usual as he makes his final preparations ahead of ONE 167. The Thai striker is stepping into what could be the biggest fight of his career on June 7 at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.
From the moment that the stacked card was announced, fans were particularly excited about the co-main event offering. However, with Stamp Fairtex injured, Nattawut will now take main event billing for his ONE featherweight Muay Thai world championship clash with Tawanchai.
The narrative for this fight is all about their previous meeting at ONE Fight Night 15, where the two men went to war in kickboxing. Tawanchai got his hand raised on that night, with many believing that it should have gone the other way.
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For Jo Nattawut, he isn't letting himself get caught up in the anticipation of the fight, as he spoke about in a recent interview with ONE Championship:
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"In the ring, everywhere I feel the same, right? But I think for the fans, the fans will be more excited than we are for this fight. As a fighter, we just go there and perform. We fight."
Jo Nattawut is coming to seize the throne
Jo Nattawut may have benefitted from losing the decision back in October.
No competitor would choose to lose a fight rather than win it, but without a shadow of a doubt, this fight is even bigger than the first time.
A win over Tawanchai in kickboxing could have seen 'Smokin' Jo progress up the rankings but there was no guarantee of a title shot given how stacked that division is.
Instead, because of the controversy surrounding their first meeting, he now gets to challenge his former opponent for the Muay Thai world title after many already felt like he was the better man last time around.
ONE 167 will air live in U.S. primetime from the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand, on June 7. North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription can catch the entire card for free.
