SUMMARY
- ONE Championship's Friday Fights series has given a chance to a lot of fighters to change their lives forever.
- Here are some of the success stories that will inspire many aspiring fighters.
The ONE Friday Fights series has been fruitful for the promotion, with a slew of rising stars now featuring regularly on ONE Fight Night cards after cutting their teeth on the weekly platform.
The show takes center stage every Friday at the historic Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, but it is taking a break during the Songkran Festival celebrations. With ONE Friday Fights on ice for this week, we look back at its biggest success stories so far.
“The Queen” Phetjeeja
Undeniably, the greatest story to emerge from ONE Friday Fights is that of Thai phenom Phetjeeja. Just two fights were all that was needed to convince ONE brass that “The Queen” was the real deal, as the 22-year-old steamrolled her opponents with devastating punching power.
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She scored two more stunning knockouts as a member of the ONE roster before she shocked the world by outclassing kickboxing legend Anissa Meksen to claim the ONE Interim Women’s Atomweight Kickboxing World Title at ONE Friday Fights 46.
She then turned away another legend when she outpointed lineal champ Janet Todd to become the undisputed women’s atomweight kickboxing queen last month.
Natalia Diachkova
Natalia Diachkova hopes to follow in Phetjeeja’s footsteps in the ONE Fight Night 23 main event. “Karelian Lynx” scored knockouts in three of her four wins before earning a full-time contract with ONE at ONE Friday Fights 55.
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The powerful Russian striker now challenges ONE Strawweight Muay Thai World Champion Smilla “The Hurricane” Sundell in the May 3 headliner in a bid to become just the third ONE Friday Fights alumni to win a World Title after Alexis Nicolas claimed the lightweight kickboxing strap this past weekend.
Johan Ghazali
Johan Ghazali could be the next big thing in Muay Thai. The 17-year-old Malaysian phenom won four straight at Lumpinee before being awarded a contract. He made good on his ONE Fight Night debut with a shocking 36-second demolition of former ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Title challenger Edgar Tabares this past December.
“Jojo’s” ultra-aggressive fighting style has drawn comparison to flyweight Muay Thai king Rodtang Jitmuangnon, and few will bet against him replicating the success of the Thai legend.
Seksan Or Kwanmuang
One of the most heartwarming stories to emerge from ONE Friday Fights is Seksan Or Kwanmuang. “The Man Who Yields To No One” is a legend of the Thai stadium circuit, having delighted local fans over a storied career spanning 284 fights.
But the 35-year-old was contemplating retirement in 2022 before ONE Championship came calling. The opportunity proved life-changing and provided him with unprecedented earnings.
“Last year was the best year since I started this career. It was the most successful year for me. My life has changed a lot. The quality of life with my family has greatly improved,” he said.
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“For now, I don’t think I have any room to improve. Because having a chance to fight in ONE is considered my greatest achievement. Going from the guy who was thinking about retirement to the star, my life was turned upside down. I just feel satisfied with the way it is.”
Seksan reeled off five straight wins before landing a $100,000 contract with ONE at ONE Friday Fights 29. The former four-time Muay Thai world champion added three more as a fully-fledged member of the roster before his incredible eight-fight win streak came to an end this past weekend at ONE Friday Fights 58.