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'The Queen' Phetjeeja Lukjaoporongtom is fired up to protect her spot atop the ONE atomweight kickboxing division. However, the Thai striking dynamo believes it won't be as easy as many perceive it to be.
She puts her coveted ONE atomweight kickboxing world title on the line against one of the best Japanese kickboxers, former K-1 champion Kana Morimoto, at ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang inside the Saitama Super Arena.
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Ahead of her March 23 showdown against Kana, Phetjeeja played down her chances while giving credit to the Japanese superstar's ability:
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"She has championship caliber because she [was] the K-1 champion, and I think we have a similar style. So we are both going to have a great match, and I hope we both can have a great fight," she told the media assembled during the ONE 172 official press conference.
That said, make no mistake, the Team Mehdi Zatout warrior isn't going to let the challenger run amok around her on fight night.
Phetjeeja wants to get her first world title defense out of the way and move to 7-0 in the world's largest martial arts organization.
'The Queen' has looked unstoppable so far, and if her world title matchups against Anissa Meksen and Janet Todd are anything to go by, the Thai superstar is definitely world championship caliber, too.
Watch the full interview here:
Kana looks to make it back-to-back wins when she takes on Phetjeeja
Kana, meanwhile, heads into this showdown off a dominant unanimous decision victory over Swedish sensation Moa Carlsson at ONE Friday Fights 95.
The 32-year-old fighter looked impressive throughout the three-round scrap on her way to a first promotional win inside the legendary Lumpinee Stadium.
Before that win, 'Krusher Queen' suffered a loss on the scorecards to multi-time striking world champion Anissa Meksen.
Who leaves the 'Land of the Rising Sun' as the ONE atomweight kickboxing world champion? Will Kana produce an upset of the ages or will Phetjeeja continue her mastery over anyone standing across her?
Fight fans can head to watch.onefc.com to catch ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang live via pay-per-view at watch.onefc.com this Sunday, March 23.
