Superbon vs Jo Nattawut To Headline ONE Friday Fights 81

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On Friday, 27 September, Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, will play host to a huge ONE Friday Fights 81 card. And ONE Championship has just announced a monumental headliner for the bill that will have fans counting down the days.

The top of the card sees a featherweight Muay Thai tilt between former ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Champion Superbon and #2-ranked featherweight Muay Thai contender "Smokin" Jo Nattawut.

Superbon was last in action at ONE Friday Fights 58 in April, where he defeated Marat Grigorian to become the ONE Interim Featherweight Kickboxing World Championship across five rounds of striking action.

But before that, the 33-year-old showed up and showed out against Tayfun Ozcan, illustrating his fine craft at ONE Fight Night 11 by knocking out the Turkish tussler with a signature head kick.

After cementing himself at the top of the division, the Thai great has moved back to the art of eight limbs where he looks to make use of his #1-ranked status to pursue a second opportunity at ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Champion Tawanchai PK Saenchai.

Superbon came up short to Tawanchai last December at ONE Friday Fights 46, losing a majority decision to the 25-year-old. It was a razor-close outing last time around. And the veteran striker will want to make good on another chance at a second ONE World Title.

But in order to earn another crack at the crown, he must overcome Nattawut, who has shown a whole new side of himself in this chapter of his career - and he's not about to let Superbon cruise past him.

Nattawut has been among the best strikers in ONE's featherweight Muay Thai division since its creation in 2018. He's flirted with both Muay Thai and kickboxing ventures since, willing to go wherever the action takes him.

Despite a mixed bag of results, the Atlanta, Georgia, resident stayed resilient. And his last outings have shown big improvements in his game. That began with a short-notice performance against Tawanchai at ONE Fight Night 15 last October, shocking everyone with a strong showing in a narrow loss.

Taking momentum from it, Nattawut went to war with Luke Lessei at ONE Fight Night 17 last December in a memorable encounter across three rounds to get back into the win column. And that earned him a second shot at Tawanchai.

The pair fought once more at ONE 167 this past June in an even closer contest that many thought Nattawut had nicked. And as a result, he'll look to make the third time a charm when he meets the stoic Thai at ONE 169: Atlanta on Saturday, 9 November.

But in the meantime, Nattawut has his hands full in the form of the legendary Superbon, and there's plenty of momentum for both parties to gain when they lock up in this highly anticipated contest on Friday, 27 September.