"Liam trained his butt off and he's a legend" - Chatri Sityodtong empathizes with Liam Harrison after ONE 167 weigh-in debacle
ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong understands why Liam Harrison opted not to fight at ONE 167.
It appeared all systems go for 'Hitman', who was coming out of the shelf following a nearly two-year hiatus due to a knee injury.
However, disaster struck during the weigh-ins, where an unfortunate incident with a ONE official attributed him to missing weight for his supposed bantamweight Muay Thai clash with Katsuki Kitano.
After his Japanese opponent also missed hydration and came in four pounds above the weight limit, the Brit refused a catchweight bout and decided to pull out from his return fight.
Speaking during the ONE 167 post-event press conference, Sityodtong offered his sympathy for Harrison's delicate situation:
"I empathize with Liam. If it was me, I would be very upset, too. I have not spent time on the situation, and so I don't really have an opinion on it. But obviously, I'm gonna talk to my team and figure out what happened with the officials as well and all that stuff."
Moreover, the ONE head honcho said he understands the hardships Liam Harrison endured on his long road to recovery.
Plus, given the Brit's record of professionalism throughout his entire career, Sityodtong agreed it's only fair to give him the benefit of the doubt. He added:
"I get it. Liam trained his butt off and he's a legend a multiple-time world champion, who's never missed weight in like twelve years or something, maybe even more. Fans should not be upset at Liam at all, that's my opinion."
Here's the full ONE 167 post-event presser:
Liam Harrison was compensated in full after ONE 167
It appears Liam Harrison has also let bygones be bygones after the world's martial arts organization did right by him.
Taking to Instagram, the British striker revealed he personally spoke with Chatri Sityodtong, and both sides left with no misunderstandings.
"I just had a great chat with the big boss @yodchatri who has been very understanding of this whole situation. He also paid me in full and compensated me for my camp and hard work in the build-up to this fight. Can't thank him enough for how he has dealt with this for me."
The replay of ONE 167 is free on demand for those with an active Prime Video subscription in North America.