"I took the chance and exploited it with two wins" - Joseph Lasiri is loving his shift to strawweight

Joseph Lasiri didn’t have a strong start to his ONE Championship career, but things took a turn when he dropped from flyweight to strawweight.

Feeling at ease in his new weight class, Lasiri racked up two straight wins to set up a title match against ONE strawweight Muay Thai world champion Prajanchai PK. Saenchai.

Their title bout will be the co-main event of ONE 157: Petchmorakot vs. Vienot on May 20. The event will be broadcast live from the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

In an interview with ONE Championship, Lasiri said he’s stronger not just physically but also mentally since he dropped a weight class.

"It is not just my physical power, but the new division helped me a lot from the mental point of view. Having the opportunity to compete in a heavier division against elite athletes and champions gave me incredible mental confidence to fight in the new division.”

He added:

“It was an incredible opportunity to get moved to my [more natural] weight division, and I took the chance and exploited it with two wins.”

Lasiri had a rough start to his ONE Championship tenure, going 1-5 in his first six fights. That lone win, though, came at the expense of now ONE bantamweight kickboxing world champion Hiroki Akimoto in March 2019.

His move down to strawweight eventually saw him rack up the meaningful victories. Lasiri first scored a split decision win over Rocky Ogden in November 2020 before knocking out Asahi Shinagawa in December 2021.

His two wins eventually bumped him to the No.1 contender spot in the strawweight Muay Thai rankings and got him a shot at Prajanchai’s strap.

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Joseph Lasiri is out to silence his doubters

Joseph Lasiri, like any other fighter, wasn’t safe from criticism after his wins against Shinagawa and Ogden. His relentlessness, which sometimes borders on recklessness, is his calling card. However, some members of the viewing public believe that it’s not enough to dent Prajanchai.

Prajanchai is one of the best strikers of his generation. The 27-year-old Thai superstar holds a preposterous 338-51-3 record and has held several world titles across different promotions.

Nevertheless, Joseph Lasiri isn’t one to sulk and get intimidated with his opponent’s accomplishments.

“I don’t have to prove anything to anyone. I only care about my coach, my training partners, and my family. These are the only people for whom I really care that my name is respected. For me, all these critics just give me a huge edge to prove all the doubters wrong and show my value. I rebuilt my way back to the world title, and I feel like I deserve it totally.”