What Lies Ahead For Petchmorakot, Joseph Lasiri After ONE 157

Singapore -- ONE Championship put on a great show last Friday, May 20 with ONE 157 as it delivered action that ranged from submission grappling to Muay Thai.

However, two fighters stood taller than the rest when it was all said and done.

Joseph Lasiri

In the biggest upset of the night, Italian-Moroccan Joseph Lasiri was crowned the new strawweight Muay Thai champion after forcing Prajanchai PK.Saenchai to retire on his stool a few seconds before the start of round four.

“The Hurricane” winning it all comes as a massive surprise to anyone who has followed the ONE Super Series because he had a 0-4 start to his career within the promotion.

Danial “Mini T” Williams was surprised with the outcome of the fight because of how Lasiri dismantled Prajanchai with ease because of the Thai fighter’s lack of experience in dealing with non-Thai practitioners.

With Lasiri being crowned the new king of the division, Williams made it clear that he wants next.

“I feel I should be his next match. I’ve always accepted a challenge–I fought Rodtang on really short notice. I know Joseph will want to defend his title, and that’s what I’m mentally chasing right now. Similar style, similar build, similar forward pressure–it will be a Fight Of The Year contender,” said Williams.

Williams also took the time to dissect Lasiri’s fight style and why they would be a great matchup.

“I’ve seen pretty much all of [Lasiri’s] fights, and I still think he’s quite predictable… I think my game will be a little bit too tricky for him, a little bit too different in terms of movement and technique. Enjoy it while you can because I’m coming for you, and I won’t be taking a step back,” he shared.

Petchmorakot Petchyindee

ONE 157’s main event saw a razor-thin split decision victory in favor of Muay Thai featherweight king Petchmorakot Petchyindee as he faced promotional newcomer Jimmy Vienot from France.

The decision could have easily gone either way as both champion and challenger had their shining moments throughout the five-round contest.

Petchmorakot was critical of those who believed that he was unworthy of the victory, saying that he was more than ready to accept a rematch with Vienot soon.

But with the organization not committing to a rematch yet, ONE fans might see him take on fellow Thai superstar Superbon Banchamek in a mega-fight of epic proportions.

The current holder of the ONE kickboxing featherweight title last fought against Marat Grigorian at ONE X this past March and could now be on a collision course with the Muay Thai featherweight king.

Prior to the Grigorian bout, Superbon added another feather to his cap after knocking out the widely-regarded greatest kickboxer of all time in Giorgio Petrosyan to claim the title.

It was Petchmorakot who fired the first shot in possibly getting this fight to come to fruition.

“I want to fight Tawanchai [PK.Saenchai], but it’s up to ONE Championship whether it’s Superbon or Tawanchai or anybody else in the division. I think a more entertaining fight for me would be with Superbon. I want to be the best, meaning there are no other contenders. I will beat everybody in the division,” Petchmorakot stressed.

Superbon has yet to respond to Petchmorakot’s comments, but fans will surely be interested in seeing the two greats square off against one another.