"The fights that the fans want to see" - ‘Smokin’ Jo Nattawut honored to headline stacked ONE 167 mega card
'Smokin' Jo Nattawut is honored to headline ONE Championship's highly anticipated return to Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.
On Friday, June 7, Nattawut will step into the main event spotlight for a ONE featherweight Muay Thai world title clash with reigning and defending world champion, Tawanchai.
Speaking with the promotion ahead of fight night, Nattawut appreciated the opportunity to close out a show featuring some of the biggest names in combat sports, including Rodtang, Kade Ruotolo, Mikey Musumeci, and Liam Harrison.
"Oh, it's a big card, of course," Nattawut said. "It's good. To me, it’s overall, right. The fights that the fans want to see. The fight card is in the big stadium in Thailand. So, it's nice."
The fight between Nattawut and Tawanchai will be a rematch of their kickboxing clash at ONE Fight Night 15 in October. After three rounds of entertaining action, Tawanchai came out on top.
However, Nattawut's impressive performance was more than deserving of a rematch for Tawanchai's 26 pounds of ONE Championship gold.
Tawanchai looks to keep his streak alive against Jo Nattawut at ONE 167
Going into his third defense of the featherweight Muay Thai crown, Tawanchai is one of the hottest fighters in all of ONE Championship, riding a seven-fight win streak that dates back to Jan. 2022. That string of wins includes victories over the likes of Saemapetch, Petchmorakot, Niclas Larsen, and Superbon.
June 7 fight with Nattawut will be the first rematch of Tawanchai's ONE Championship run, but after being undeniably impressed with his fellow Thai's performance in their first meeting, it was hard to deny Nattawut a sequel.
“I thought I’d have the advantage because I’ve been fighting many fights but Jo Nattawut is a very strong fighter as well but I also believe that I’m a better kickboxer but he did fight very strong and I was impressed,” Tawanchai said in an interview with ONE.
Who takes the ONE featherweight Muay Thai world championship when two of the promotion's fiercest strikers trade in their eight-ounce gloves for a pair of four-ouncers?
ONE Championship fans in the United States and Canada can watch ONE 167 live and for free via Amazon Prime Video in U.S. primetime on Friday, June 7.