“They’re helping us blow up” - Eddie Abasolo grateful that ONE keeps showcasing Muay Thai to a global audience

Eddie Abasolo recalls a time when the concept of Muay Thai was a foreign subject to most Americans.

Nowadays, 'The Art of Eight Limbs' is all the rage, especially in Western countries that have grown to embrace Thailand's national sport.

According to Abasolo, ONE Championship is a big reason why Muay Thai has shifted from a niche sport into a burgeoning combat sports giant.

'Silky Smooth' had this to say about the promotion's influence in an interview with 4oz to Freedom:

"These days, I feel like [Muay Thai] has blown up. But you know, we didn’t have like a ONE platform. Now ONE is in the US. They’re helping us blow up."

ONE Championship has indeed elevated the sport into the mainstream through its weekly ONE Friday Fights events inside 'The Mecca of Muay Thai' Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Muay Thai is also a fixture in the home of martial arts' marquee events, which airs live in US primetime via Amazon Prime Video.

Meanwhile, Eddie Abasolo is also a part of another blockbuster card, ONE 169: Malykhin vs. 'Reug Reug' on Nov. 8.

The 38-year-old dynamic striker will duke it out with Mohamed Younes Rabah in a three-round featherweight Muay Thai encounter at Lumpinee Stadium.

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Eddie Abasolo says Muay Thai's popularity in the US will continue to rise

Americans were once again treated to the beauty of 'The Art of Eight Limbs' in the historic ONE 168: Denver last September, headlined by Superlek Kiatmoo9's epic knockout of Jonathan Haggerty.

With ONE expected to hold more shows in the United States next year, Abasolo believes Americans will soon welcome Muay Thai wholeheartedly, just like mixed martial arts.

The Resistance Gym man said in the same interview:

"I do know a lot of people in the US who love Muay Thai, are aware of Muay Thai, and are practitioners of Muay Thai. You know, coaches and the fighters and the people in the game way far more progressed than when I first started."

ONE 169: Malykhin vs 'Reug Reug' will air live in US primetime free of charge for Prime Video subscribers in North America.

Watch Eddie Abasolo's full interview: