ONE Featherweight Muay Thai King Cautiously Confident Against Dangerous Title Challenger

New ONE featherweight Muay Thai champion Tawanchai PK. Saenchai is set to enter the ring once again at ONE Fight Night 7 versus Jamal Yusupov for his first-ever title defense.

Speaking to the media in a digital press conference this week, Tawanchai revealed that despite his status as a champion coupled with the fight taking place in his home country of Thailand, pressure is a word that is not in his vocabulary.

"I wouldn't say that I am under a lot of pressure, but I will never underestimate my excellence and I have prepared myself very well," Tawanchai said.

Tawanchai took the Muay Thai world by storm when he put prolific Irishman Sean Clancy to sleep with a head-kick knockout in the third round of his debut fight at ONE: Dangal in May 2021.

His next bout saw him lose by split decision to fellow Thai star Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong three months later, but his 2022 was certainly one of the ages in the ONE Super Series.

The burgeoning Muay Thai star proved that he is carrying bombs in his hands when he defeated Saemapetch Fairtex and Niclas Larsen respectively.

Tawanchai would go on to fulfill his destiny by ending Petchmorakot Petchyindee's long reign as the division kingpin with a strong unanimous decision victory at ONE 161 back in September.

For someone to showcase these types of performances at the age of 23, fans already have high hopes for what the future holds for him and made it known that the hard-hitting Yusupov does not faze him.

"I've fought a lot of heavy hitters in my life. I'm also doing the training and I've trained with a couple of heavy hitters as well, so there's nothing to worry about," Tawanchai stated.

Tawanchai also neglected to guarantee a knockout against the formidable Yusupov and there is a reason for him to be wary of making such a promise.

The Russian's journey to being the first challenger for Tawanchai featured him knocking out Yodsanklai Fairtex at ONE: Age of Dragons in November 2019, tanking every shot that Samy Sana could throw at him in December 2020, and a star-making showdown against "Smokin'" Jo Nattawut at ONE 159 in July 2022.

In all of the aforementioned fights, "Yeniciri" has shown fans that anyone who he shares the ring with needs to stay as far away as possible from his trademark left-hand blows as the knockout power he carries in it is very real.

But in the eyes of Tawanchai, he is as prepared as he can be after undergoing a much better training camp.

"I feel like I'm more physically fit, stronger and my strength has increased," Tawanchai said.

"The training period for this fight is much longer and I also did a lot of weight training where I feel like my physique is much better than in the last fight."

ONE Fight Night 7 takes place at the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand on February 25 (February 24 in the United States), and Tawanchai's title defense against an imposing Yusupov is set for the co-main event.