![ONE featherweight Muay Thai world champion Tawanchai. [Photo via: ONE Championship]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/03/349f1-17413476448184-1920.jpg)
![ONE featherweight Muay Thai world champion Tawanchai. [Photo via: ONE Championship]](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http%3A//www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20xmlns%3Axlink='http%3A//www.w3.org/1999/xlink'%20viewBox='0%200%2010%206.6666666666667'%3E%3Cfilter%20id='b'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20stdDeviation='.5'%3E%3C/feGaussianBlur%3E%3CfeComponentTransfer%3E%3CfeFuncA%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20type='discrete'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20tableValues='1%201'%3E%3C/feFuncA%3E%3C/feComponentTransfer%3E%3C/filter%3E%3Cimage%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20filter='url(%23b)'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
ONE featherweight Muay Thai world champion Tawanchai PK Saenchai's unparalleled rise to superstardom in ONE Championship was fueled by an unfortunate sequence of events during his childhood in Thailand.
Ahead of his marquee showdown with Masaaki Noiri over the ONE interim featherweight kickboxing world championship at ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang on March 23, Tawanchai looked back on his humble beginnings in a 10-photo post shared by the promotion on Instagram, saying:
"I competed for the first time when I was just seven years old. It was a three-round fight in a bar and I got 200 baht (US$5) after winning by knockout. A few months later, I fought in a boxing ring and earned 700 baht (US$20)."
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The 25-year-old megastar continued:
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"I moved to Bangkok and kept fighting until I signed with ONE, and it changed my life. I could finally tell my family they never had to worry about money ever again. That's all I ever wanted for them."
Check out the entire post below:
With his family ties continuing to drive his career, Tawanchai will stop at nothing in his quest to join an exclusive club of ONE athletes to simultaneously hold 26 pounds of gold in two different sports.
Johan Ghazali reveals Tawanchai's greatest advantage over Masaaki Noiri
Tawanchai and Masaaki Noiri's interim world title tilt is a solid contender to win Fight of the Night honors and ONE flyweight Muay Thai star Johan Ghazali is confident that the former has an intangible ace up his sleeve that will bring him to victory.
In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda MMA, the 18-year-old shared:
"His fight IQ. His intelligence. He's very smart, you know. In every fight, you see him switch game plans in between rounds. I don't think he even needs to listen to his corner, you get what I mean? He knows what to do."
The Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan will host ONE 172. The event will be available live on pay-per-view at watch.onefc.com.
