“Proved he is meant to be on ONE” - Luke Lessei shows he’s one of the world’s finest in banger ONE debut

ONE Championship newcomer Luke Lessei put on a brutal war against divisional star Jo Nattawut ONE Fight Night 17 last Friday. 'The Chef' and 'Smokin' Jo brought the crowd inside the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium to its feet with their three-round Muay Thai war.

After throwing everything but the kitchen sink at each other, Luke Lesssei and Jo Nattawut won Fight of the Night honors, with Nattawut winning via a decision to snap his three-fight losing streak. As for Lessei, 'The Chef' introduced himself on the world stage as a fighter with an iron chin and unstoppable fighting spirit.

Here's a video of Lessei backstage after the fight:

Despite the loss, 'The Chef' earned the love and respect of fans. Everyone's giving him words of encouragement in the comments section:

Comments on the video

@naythiit_linntun saw Lessei's potential to be on the world stage even if he didn't get the win that night:

"Didn’t win but definitely proved he is meant to be on ONE"

@garzabeatz had a bold statement about the fight that we couldn't really disagree with:

"Fight of the year in all of combat sports. 🙌 How you gonna make your debut against the #4 guy and make it a war?"

@artekhardwoodsct.ma.ny.ri said it best:

"Unbelievable fight. True war of attrition. To go with the #4 guy first time in small gloves, and nearly finish him after absorbing that amount of punishment says everything that needs to be said about you 🤟🤟🤟"

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Luke Lessei vs. Jo Nattawut fight highlights

The taller Luke Lessei came out using his length advantage to take Jo Nattawut's head off as the 5-foot-10 Thai fighter looked to swarm the promotional newcomer early. Nattawut managed to make Lessei bleed.

In the mid-way point of the opening frame, 'Smokin' Jo appeared to have hurt the 6-foot-2 Lessei with a series of strikes. 'The Chef’, however, bravely took everything without taking a step back.

In the second round, both warriors stood toe-to-toe early and traded brutal elbows inside. As the round went on, the balance started to tip over to Nattawut's side, punishing 'The Chef' with brutal combinations in the corner. At the start of the final round, Luke Lessei was wearing a crimson mask.

With the euphoric crowd inside Lumpinee Boxing Stadium going absolutely insane, the two blood-and-guts warriors came out to end their brutal battle on a high note. Nattawut’s pace slowed down a notch, with Lessei excitingly finding a second wind to close the gap in the scorecards.

With less than a minute left in the fight, Luke Lessei landed a crushing right hand that wobbled Nattawut. ‘The Chef’ brazenly tried to finish the fight but was ultimately unable to pull off the comeback victory on his magnificent promotional debut.

Watch the fight highlights here: