Tawanchai To Make ONE Kickboxing Debut Vs. Davit Kiria In August

Tawanchai PK.Saenchai has had one of the best rises to the top of the Muay Thai scene in recent memory, but being the king of ONE Championship's featherweight Muay Thai division is not enough for the youngster.

In an announcement shared by the promotion on its Instagram page, Tawanchai will be having his first-ever kickboxing bout under ONE Championship's umbrella come August 5 (August 4 in the United States) against Davit Kiria of Georgia.

Last fighting at ONE Fight Night 7 in February, Tawanchai was tasked to defend his title against Jamal Yusupov in what many had expected to be a barn-burner of a match.

Similar to how he claimed the ONE Muay Thai featherweight title over Petchmorakot Petchyindee, it was Tawanchai who had the last laugh as he repeatedly fired cracking shots at Yusupov's legs, leading to the eventual leg kick that sent him limping.

Yusupov would be declared unable to continue as he struggled to get to the ropes and further proved how devastating of a fighter Tawanchai actually is with him getting the win in just 49 seconds.

While many would be quick to point out how difficult it might be for the Bangkok, Thailand native to adjust to kickboxing rules, Tawanchai has already had kickboxing experience under his belt.

On July 27, 2017, Tawanchai squared off against Zhang Wensheng at the Wu Lin Feng World Cup in China, which he won by split decision and it also marked his first-ever fight outside of Thailand.

As for his opponent Kiria, his stint under ONE Championship could have been better after racking up a 1-3 record which features losses to the likes of all-time great Giorgio Petrosyan, Thailand's Sitthichai Stisongpeenong and Dutch-Moroccan Mohammed Boutasaa.

His lone win saw him come away with a TKO via the three-knockdown rule in kickboxing as he devastated Enriko Kehl in the quarterfinal of the ONE kickboxing featherweight Grand Prix in October of 2021.

Kiria's 1-3 record under ONE Championship belies his willingness to throw down and that might be something that could pose a problem to Tawanchai's hyper-aggressive fighting style as one errant punch could derail his kickboxing debut.

ONE Fight Night 13 will be headlined by Chingiz Allazov's defense of the ONE featherweight kickboxing title against Armenian knockout artist Marat Grigorian, while Marcus "Buchecha" Almeida will also fight Oumar "Reug Reug" Kane at the same event.