Ben Woolliss Ready To Prove His ONE Championship Debut Was No Fluke At ONE Fight Night 43
Ben Woolliss stopped a former world champion in under two minutes on nine days’ notice in his promotional debut. Some fighters would take the reputation that earns and protect it carefully. Woolliss has done the opposite. He has walked straight toward another former world champion with a full camp behind him and the same unshakeable belief that he belongs here.
The Grimsby native takes on former ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing World Champion Petchtanong Petchfergus in bantamweight kickboxing at ONE Fight Night 43: Tang vs. Gasanov on Prime Video on Friday, May 15, live in U.S. primetime from Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
The bigger the moment, Woolliss says, the more clearly he sees.
“I feel like as these moments get bigger, I only rise to the occasion more and more,” he said. “I’m even more excited for that — to fight on the big stage against another big name who’s a former champion. I’m excited to get in there and compete with someone of his caliber and show the world my abilities.”
Petchtanong carries over 400 professional fights into this bout. That volume of experience produces composure and deeply ingrained habits. He believes these kinds of patterns are almost impossible to fully rewire in a career that long. Woolliss has studied those patterns and arrived at a specific game plan built around exploiting them.
“He’s had over 400 fights. So the composure and the time in the ring are probably one of his biggest strengths,” Woolliss said. “But I also feel, if you have that many fights, it’s going to be very difficult to unwire your usual patterns, and I’m looking to exploit those patterns. His strengths are obviously his left kick, his left knee, his ability to be evasive, and his ability to be tricky. He also has a good fight IQ. That said, I feel like I’m very educationally aware of everything, and I see some great opportunities that I can exploit there.”
Woolliss has built his confidence on something more than talent. A decade-long battle with Crohn’s disease — an incurable autoimmune condition that cost him years of competition and reduced him to 14 kilograms underweight at his lowest point — has given him a reference point for suffering that most fighters simply do not possess. When he assesses his opponent’s experience, he measures it against a different kind of hardship entirely.
“Of course, he’s an incredible athlete with a resume to back that up,” he said. “But he’s never been to the depth of darkness that I’ve been to. It doesn’t faze me. I just feel like this is my time.”
The prediction is built on preparation rather than bravado. Woolliss has trained for every version of the fight Petchtanong can present and arrived at May 15 ready to impose his own terms.
“I can see this fight ending in a few different ways. I’m prepared for every avenue. I’m explosive enough to put pressure out there, and I’m also in amazing condition to be able to put a pace on for three rounds,” Woolliss said.
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