ONE Featherweight Muay Thai King Credits Hometown Crowd For Quick Title Defense

Tawanchai PK.Saenchai entered the biggest test of his young career thus far when he stepped into the ring against Jamal Yusupov at ONE Fight Night 7, but the ONE featherweight Muay Thai champion proved he can shine when the lights shined brightest.

The rising Thai star brought his countrymen watching live from the legendary Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok to their feet after landing a massive leg kick to the back of Yusupov's thigh that sent him limping to the ropes.

Referee Olivier Coste granted Yusupov the grace of a 10-count, but the official stopped as he went on to five as "Yeniceri" was left reeling on the ropes and he had no other choice but to call it off, awarding the victory to Tawanchai.

During the post-match press conference, Tawanchai revealed that he had known about Yusupov's hard punches and had prepared for them while also talking about the importance of having a hometown crowd cheering him on.

"I needed to be careful about his punches because he's a heavy hitter, but I also had prepared myself well, so I wasn't worried… The ambiance definitely made me think of the old ambiance that I had fought in the stadium. It was really a motivation and encouraged me to keep winning," Tawanchai stated.

The Lumpinee Boxing Stadium is to the sport of Muay Thai as Madison Square Garden is to basketball fans and for Tawanchai to defend his title in spectacular fashion against a dangerous opponent inside the legendary venue meant a lot to his career.

"I tried kicking him a few times, but he wasn't really blocking it. So, at that time, I tried to kick him hard. And I also know that the timing was right. So yeah, that's when I knew that the fight would end," Tawanchai said about his one-shot knockout.

For his making quick work of Yusupov, the Pattaya, Thailand-born star earned a $50,000 performance bonus,

As for what lies ahead for Tawanchai, a matchup with ONE featherweight kickboxing champ Chingiz Allazov could be a possibility.

"I am interested in that fight. Chingiz is a top fighter, so I will probably try a few matches in kickboxing, and probably afterwards, I can meet with Chingiz," Tawanchai mused.

Tawanchai has proven that his reign in ONE Championship is only just beginning after easily handling the challenge that was Yusupov and has no plans of relinquishing the title anytime soon.