Tawanchai was impressed with Jamal Yusupov’s domination of Jo Nattawut

The ONE featherweight Muay Thai world championship fight between Tawanchai PK Saenchai and Jamal Yusupov drops next week, and the reigning world champion thinks highly of his Russian opponent.

Yusupov is undefeated at 3-0 with ONE Championship and took out another Thai featherweight last summer at ONE 159, winning a unanimous decision over Jo Nattawut. Reigning ONE featherweight Muay Thai world champion Tawanchai recently spoke to ONE Championship about Yusupov and that fight, having this to say:

"He did very well. It was a close fight. Too bad Jo was knocked down [during the fight]."

Jamal Yusupov grew up in Dagestan, Russia, and started training in Muay Thai at the age of 19. Combat sports athletes originating from Dagestan are presumed to be world-class wrestlers rather than strikers, so Yusupov’s path is a bit of an outlier.

Fighting in Lumpinee Boxing Stadium will be new territory for Yusupov, who’s already a three-time Russian kickboxing champion. His world title fight with Tawanchai is the co-main event of ONE Fight Night 7 and is slated to take place on February 24 in Bangkok, Thailand. It will be broadcast live and for free on Prime Video to all Amazon subscribers across North America.

Tawanchai, who is 16 years younger than Yusupov, has been fighting in the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium since he was just 14 years old. Now 23 years old, he’ll look to make his first defense of his world championship against Yusupov.

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Tawanchai ready to tear through ONE’s featherweight Muay Thai elite

The newly-crowned featherweight Muay Thai king Tawanchai is still young - both in age and his experience in ONE Championship.

Last September, he upended Petchmorakot Petchyindee’s featherweight Muay Thai throne when he won a five-round decision at ONE 161. Now that he’s on top of the food chain in his division, he’s ready to take on the biggest names in the sport.

The PK.Saenchai product relishes the opportunity to take down any challengers. Speaking to ONE Championship, he said:

"I like being in this weight class. It’s a popular one. It’s pretty massive. There are so many top fighters in the world who are in this weight class. I want to face all of these incredible fighters. It’s a way to prove myself, that I can stand among the top-ranking fighters."

After beginning his career in ONE at bantamweight, he moved up to featherweight and later found himself fighting Niclas Larsen last June in a No.1 contender fight. He’s looked much stronger since the move and now has the opportunity to pick off the rest of the top five in the division.

Scheduled to fight No.2-ranked Jamal Yusupov next week, he’s also beaten No.5-ranked Larsen. That leaves No.1 and No.3 to fight, i.e., Superbon Singha Mawynn and Jimmy Vienot, respectively.

There’s also a rematch looming with Sittichai, who’s at No.4 in the division. The two fought in August of 2021, with Sittichai winning a split decision over Tawanchai. Even with a win over Jamal Yusupov next week, the options are deep for the world champion within his own division.