“It was psychological warfare” - Two-sport king Prajanchai dissects rivalry with ‘mischievous’ Joseph Lasiri
Prajanchai PK Saenchai's classic rivalry with Joseph Lasiri was just as much psychological as it was physical. In July 2021, Prajanchai earned the biggest win of his combat sports career, defeating Thai legend Sam-A Gaiyanghadao to become the ONE strawweight Muay Thai world champion.
Less than a year later, it all came crashing down.
Defending his title against Lasiri, the Thai athlete was forced to quit on his stool following Round 3, surrendering his belt and his unbeaten record on martial arts' biggest global stage.
It was a shocking turn of events, and Lasiri took full advantage of the situation, slamming the PK Saenchai Muaythaigym athlete in interviews and on social media while boasting about his victory.
Looking back on all of it during an appearance on The ONE Podcast, he dubbed Lasiri as "mischievous" and made it clear that he took none of what was said or reported personally. The two-sport ONE world champion said:
"For me, it was psychological warfare. That moment before the fight is very important. Psychology matters a lot in fighting. It works effectively, too. But honestly, in real life, Joseph is a nice person, just mischievous."
He added:
"He likes to stir things up, and people often take that and make news stories out of it. Sometimes the headlines use inappropriate wording."
Prajanchai avenged his loss to Joseph Lasiri before becoming two-sport ONE world champion
Less than two years removed from his loss against Joseph Lasiri, Prajanchai would come looking for redemption. Stepping back inside the ring with Lasiri at ONE Friday Fights 46 in Bangkok, the Thai got the last laugh, landing a shocking 88-second knockout to even the series and reclaim the undisputed ONE strawweight Muay Thai world championship.
Since reclaiming his Muay Thai gold, he has become a two-sport ONE world champion, adding the ONE strawweight kickboxing world championship to his resume after handing former titleholder Jonathan Di Bella his first career loss at ONE Friday Fights 68 last year.
What's next for Prajanchai remains to be seen, but the Thai superstar has already been talking about a move to the flyweight division and a potential showdown with former three-division K-1 champion Takeru Segawa.
But first, he will have to settle some unfinished business with his Canadian-Italian kickboxing foe.