Tawanchai ‘happy’ and ‘impressed’ following successful kickboxing debut in ONE Championship

At ONE Fight Night 13, ONE featherweight Muay Thai world champion Tawanchai P.K. Saenchai looked to make a big impression.

Having reached the top of his division, the champ chose to challenge himself in between defending his title.

Looking to prove his status as one of the best strikers in the world, the Muay Thai titleholder returned to kickboxing after a long break from competing in this ruleset.

Joining the talent-stacked ranks of the ONE featherweight kickboxing division, the Thai striker put himself right into the mix with another great performance.

Defeating Davit Kiria, the 24-year-old showed his class against his Georgian opponent.

While Kiria has faced some of the top competitors in the division, he had never faced someone like Tawanchai under the ONE Championship banner before and that showed in the fight.

With his devastating arsenal of kicks, the Muay Thai champion took Kiria apart piece by piece before landing the final shot in the third round.

Delivering a lightning strike of a kick to his opponent, Kiria could no longer compete due to a broken arm from the impact of the attack, ending the contest immediately.

In an interview with the South China Morning Post on YouTube, Tawanchai spoke about his return to kickboxing and reviewed his performance.

“I’m happy and impressed with myself," said Tawanchai. "It's been four to five years since my last kickboxing match. So I'm very happy with the result.”

Watch the full interview below:

The entire highlight-filled ONE Fight Night 13 card is available to watch back in full for free via Prime Video for North American subscribers.