"Would love to see them fight again" - Fans want to reignite rivalry between Thai superstars Superlek and Panpayak
Fresh off his successful comeback at ONE Friday Fights 83 with a unanimous decision win against Silviu Vitez from their flyweight Muay Thai clash, Panpayak Jitmuangnon received a congratulatory message from reigning two-sport and two-division world champion Superlek Kiatmoo9.
Superlek was backstage at the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand and was waiting to give Panpayak a positive reception following his fifth win under the promotion.
This moment between the two Thai superstars was captured and posted by the world's largest martial arts organization on Instagram:
"Game recognizes game 🤝 Would you like to see Panpayak throw down against Superlek again in 2025? 👀 @panpayakjitmuangnon @superlek789"
In the video, 'The Kicking Machine' showered 'The Angel Warrior' with kind words after his impressive performance.
This win was more impressive for Panpayak because it was his first taste of action since December 2022 after taking a sabbatical for personal reasons.
In the eyes of fight fans, this short interaction has rekindled their rivalry, and they want to see a third fight featuring them. In particular, users @huanlinpk, @keerundb, @vmier, @thaiboxing_and_travel, and @crksncstls have sent their reaction through their comments:
"Would love to see them fight again but I wanna see panpayak fight nico first before that. 🔥"
"Think panpayak needs some more ring time before he steps in with superlek 😂"
"When your old friends compliment you, and he is the world champion 🔥"
"I think panpayak looked the strongest against superlek"
"Hopefully he can shake off that ring rust and get back to what he used to be"
Panpayak revealed the main reason for his comeback in professional fighting
The Jitmuangnon Gym representative was away from the sport for almost two years, but during this period, he didn't miss the action in the ONE Championship because he watched the fights closely.
In a recent talk with the promotion before his recent return, Panpayak revealed the real reason why he decided to pick the gloves and return to fighting once again, as he shared:
"I always followed ONE during the past two years. I admit that I missed fighting a bit, but I didn't have any motivation to come back to fight - until I had a child."