Now Or Never: Why Jo Nattawut Must Defeat Tawanchai PK Saenchai At ONE 167

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"Smokin" Jo Nattawut shocked the world in October of 2023 when he took on ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Champion Tawanchai PK Saenchai in kickboxing action on short notice, dragging his Thai compatriot through three furious rounds of action despite dropping a close decision.

Now #3-ranked Nattawut, who's at the tail-end of his career, aims to shock Tawanchai in a different way when they collide for the latter's title in the main event of ONE 167 this Saturday, 8 June, inside the sold-out Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.

"Smokin's" tenure in ONE Championship dates back to 2018. Since his debut at ONE: HEROES OF HONOR, Nattawut has consistently fought the best that the promotion has to offer - Giorgio Petrosyan, Samy Sana, and featherweight kickboxing king Chingiz Allazov to name a few.

Even though he didn't walk away victorious every time, he gained some experience and learned a few lessons. It's taken some time for Nattawut to blossom and realize his full potential in ONE Championship, but at 34 years old, he truly seems to have reached top form.

He displayed this against Tawanchai last year. In fact, Nattawut took the Thai star and everyone watching by surprise with his conditioning and game plan even as a late replacement.

Up until then, Tawanchai was making quick work of most of his opponents. But Nattawut's abilities reminded the stoic 25-year-old that not everyone will conform to the featherweight Muay Thai king's prowess.

Nattawut isn't a camp-to-camp combatant. He stays ready. And he was able to show that on the grandest stage. Nobody had taken the fight to Tawanchai quite like Nattawut did. And that allowed him to become a notable name in ONE Championship.

Following that, his bout at ONE Fight Night 17 against Luke Lessei drew plenty more eyes upon it. Fans expected a firefight, and that's exactly what they got as the world-class strikers went head to head.

This time, though, Nattawut's skills saw him prevail after three rounds of hard hitting action. The bout left Lumpinee Boxing Stadium fans clamoring for more, raised Nattawut's stock even more, and guaranteed him a pivotal rematch with Tawanchai.

The pair now meet in the sequel this weekend at the top of the biggest combat sports card of the summer in ONE 167. But for Nattawut to go out of the sport on top, featuring in the bout isn't enough. Nattawut needs to win.

From the outside, defeating Tawanchai appears to be an insurmountable task for many. But Nattawut came close once before. Should he manage to prevail this weekend, the Thai will have etched his name into stone, shocking the world in the process, and becoming a legend in his own right.