Tawanchai's Short Journey through ONE FC

The 23 year old phenom Tawanchai delivered his third victory with ONE FC last week, shooting him towards the controversial champion of their featherweight division, Petchmorakot. As with many athletes hyped by ONE he has managed to live up to his promises, delivering knockout after knockout while looking calm and collected throughout. 

His debut fight against the slugger Irishman Sean Clancy ended with a highlight reel worthy head kick finish, following three rounds of slick dominance on Tawanchai's part. Although he looked as if he was just going through the motions, viewers all over the world nevertheless fell in love with the young Thai. If not for his silent style then for his calm KO finishes, which, if I am to be honest, can often be underwhelming in ONE's Muay Thai fights. 

The one blemish of his ONE FC run so far is a close split decision loss to his fellow countryman Sitthichai. The unfortunate loss so early in his ONE career set him back from getting an immediate title shot, instead forcing him against the notable Bantamweight contender Saemapetch. Although his opponent's ONE career may not look so shining, one only has to look at the names that line the collection of wins and losses. Tearing through the bantamweight division, Saemapetch fell short after challenging the ever-dominant Nong-O, before bouncing back and earning two hard-fought victories against Rodlek and Kulabdam. It was no small feat that the young Tawanchai pulled off that night.

Just last week, Tawanchai earned his title shot against Petchmorakot after blazing through Niclas Larsen. Although he put up a good fight, it's clear that Tawanchai's final hurdle to the title shot was more of a sacrificial pawn than an active contender. Defeating the unranked Larsen, Tawanchai maintained his fifth rank spot in ONE FC rankings. If Petchmorakot's dismal performance against the third ranked Vienot is anything to go by, I think we may expect a new featherweight champion sometime this year. 

Petchmorakot's one hope is Tawanchai's reliance on stand up striking. Two of his three KO finishes in ONE are by way of boxing. Petchmorakot is a Thai stadium contender through and through, down to his lazy and passive fifth round that plagues the sport. Vienot abused Petchmorakot with sweeps and counters, finding ways to overcome the Thai's kicks at every turn. It will be interesting to see how Tawanchai approaches this match, however few will disagree if I say I believe he'll be the next ONE Featherweight Champion.