"There was too much going on" - Smilla Sundell regrets not using knowledge from Tawanchai in Natalia Diachkova war
At just 25 years old, Tawanchai PK Saenchai is a true expert in his chosen field and he is able to pass that experience and knowledge onto others. The ONE featherweight Muay Thai world champion is set to return at ONE 167, where he will defend his gold on one of the biggest events of the year.
The Thai phenom believes that he has a point to prove when he faces Jo Nattawut in a rematch following their closely contested kickboxing duel last October.
In the lead up to this fight, the world champion had been doing some seminars and training sessions to teach some of the skills and tricks of the trade that he has picked up along the way.
A world class striker in her own right, former strawweight Muay Thai world champion Smilla Sundell was able to take some lessons from Tawanchai to add to her expanding arsenal.
Unfortunately, as she revealed during an interview on the ONE on SK Podcast, her last fight against Natalia Diachkova started so fast and frantically that she didn't get the chance to showcase her improvements.
From the opening bell, she was fighting on instinct in the main event of ONE Fight Night 22:
"He did teach me about his teeps and stuff. But yeah, I didn't do anything like that in the fight. I think there was too much going on in that fight so I couldn't use his teachings."
Watch the full podcast and interview below:
Tawanchai will look to show the evolutions in his own game at ONE 167
Crucially, while he is able to pass on the knowledge that he has accumulated whilst being at the top of the sport, Tawanchai is also still improving.
He will have learned a lot from his hard fought decision win against Jo Nattawut at ONE Fight Night 15 last year.
Having faced 'Smokin'' Jo with little time to prepare for him as an opponent, the same will not be the case in their rematch.
This is a fight that the defending world champion will have thought about a lot before they finally step inside the building on fight night.
ONE 167 will air live from the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand, on June 7. North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription can catch the entire spectacle live in U.S. primetime for free.