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In the ONE 161 main event, Petchmorakot Petchyindee will defend his ONE featherweight Muay Thai world championship against No. 1 ranked contender Tawanchai PK.Saenchai.
With 127 career wins and three victories inside the Circle, Tawanchai will aim to dethrone the reigning world champion who is currently riding a five-fight win streak under the ONE Championship banner.
Speaking to ONE Championship days away from the highly-anticipated main event clash, Tawanchai was asked a very simple question: do you think you have what it takes to defeat Petchmorakot? Tawanchai responded, saying:
“I will work hard as much as I can to show that I'm good enough to beat him and become the champion.”
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Debuting for ONE in 2021, Tawanchai PK.Saenchai scored a third-round knockout over Sean Clancy. Since then, he has earned two more wins via knockout against Saemapetch Fairtex and, most recently, Niclas Larsen. His impressive performance and second-round knockout of Larsen secured his bid for a world title opportunity.
On Friday, he will cash in on his opportunity with the goal of dethroning Petchmorakot, a man who has not known defeat in four years.
Tawanchai PK.Saenchai on Petchmorakot’s victory over Jimmy Vienot at ONE 157
The last time we saw Petchmorakot Petchyindee in action was at ONE 157 in May. In the headline bout, the Thai world champion retained his title, defeating Jimmy Vienot in a closely contested split decision win.
When asked about his thought’s on Petchmorakot’s performance against Vienot, Tawanchai said:
“I think his performance was good for the last fight, but it's also tough for him because he stopped fighting for almost a whole year.”
Given the close nature of the bout and the split decision that was rendered, Tawanchai was asked if he agreed with the decision or if he thought Jimmy Vienot did enough to defeat the ONE world champion.
“Petchmorakot's rounds were better than his opponent, Jimmy, for that fight because he had a chance to drop his opponent by the right punch in the fourth round as well.”
Two of Petchmorakot’s last three fights have ended via split decision, allowing the world champion to narrowly escape with his title intact. Because of this, many see Tawanchai PK.Saenchai as the favorite heading into their world title headliner this Friday.
