“I'm trying to take every fight” - Luke Lessei eyes ONE Championship’s US cards in Denver and Atlanta
American Muay Thai fighter Luke Lessei hopes to compete at ONE Championship's shows in the United States this year. He even expressed willingness to be part of both cards if possible.
ONE returns to the U.S. this year after a successful firtst-ever live on-ground event there in May 2023. It heads to Denver, Colorado, on Sept. 6 for ONE 168, and then Atlanta, Georgia, on Nov. 8 for ONE 169.
Asked by Sportskeeda MMA about the possibility of being part of ONE's U.S. shows, Iowa native Luke Lessei answered in the affirmative, highlighting how competing on home soil would be a welcome change.
The 28-year-old Dubuque Martial Arts Group standout said:
"I'm down for any card in America, of course. I want to fight [there]. I would love it. It's a long travel from Iowa to Bangkok. I am in the middle of the States, but yeah I'd love to fight in the U.S. as long as there's enough time in between. I'm trying to take every fight that they offer me, you know what I mean?"
ONE Championship held its first-ever live on-ground event in the U.S. on May 5, 2023 with ONE Fight Night 10, which was played to a sold-out crowd in Colorado. It was headlined by the trilogy title fight between flyweight MMA king Demetrious Johnson and Brazilian challenger Adriano Moraes.
Luke Lessei returns to action at ONE Fight Night 23
While he awaits the opportunity to compete in the United States under ONE Championship, Luke Lessei will first return to action this week in Thailand.
'The Chef' is featured in a featherweight Muay Thai battle against Frenchman Bampara Kouyate at ONE Fight Night 23: Ok vs. Rasulov on Prime Video on July 5.
It is part of the event emanating from the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok and airing live and for free to North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.
At ONE Fight Night 23, Luke Lessei is out to make it back-to-back victories after chalking up his first victory in ONE Championship back in February, with a split decision win over fellow American fighter Eddie Abasolo.
Meanwhile, out to clip the momentum he has built is Kouyate, who dropped his debut outing last October against Iraqi Shakir Al-Tekreeti by unanimous decision and is gunning for a bounce-back win.