“We never saw it coming” - Johan Ghazali admits he never had Tawanchai knocking out Superbon on his bingo card

Johan Ghazali never expected to see Tawanchai PK Saenchai knock out Superbon Kiatmoo9.

After going the distance with Superbon and scoring a unanimous decision win in December 2023, Tawanchai ran it back with his fellow Thai warrior at ONE 170 in January.

This time around, Tawanchai delivered an early contender for Knockout of the Year, planting Superbon on the mat 70 seconds into the second round and securing his ninth-straight win on martial arts' biggest global stage.

Looking back on the jaw-dropping finish, Johan Ghazali still can't believe what he saw, but credited the highlight-reel knockout to Tawanchai's superior fight IQ.

"Yeah, that caught us totally unexpected," Ghazali told Sportskeeda MMA in an exclusive interview. "I think we never saw it coming. But, again, it goes back to that fight IQ of his. It’s so good. And that was what helped him in that Superbon rematch I guess."

With another big win over Superbon in the books, Tawanchai's attention now turns toward becoming a two-sport ONE world champion.

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Tawanchai goes for two-sport glory at ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang

Emanating from the legendary Saitama Super Arena in Japan on Sunday, March 23, Tawanchai will exchange his four-ounce gloves for a pair of eight-ouncers to add kickboxing gold to his collection.

ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang will see Tawanchai square off with former two-division K-1 titleholder Masaaki Noiri — the winner leaving as the new ONE interim featherweight kickboxing world champion.

Thus far, Tawanchai is perfect in kickboxing competition under the ONE banner, earning wins over Davit Kiria and 'Smokin' Jo Nattawut.

Of course, he also holds two wins over ONE featherweight kickboxing king Superbon, though both of those bouts were contested under Muay Thai rules.

But should he come out on top against Noiri, Tawanchai will land himself a title unification clash with Superbon and an opportunity to go 3-0 against one of the greatest strikers in the history of combat sports.

ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang will emanate from the Saitama Super Arena in Japan on Sunday, March 23. Head over to watch.onefc.com to learn more about how you can watch the event live.