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Samet Agdeve Dedicates ONE Heavyweight Kickboxing World Title To His Mother

One Championship Writer — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 06:26:33 +0000

Before Samet Agdeve was a world champion, he was a teenager sleeping rough in Germany, working construction and security shifts on an empty stomach, held together by lessons his mother had taught him long before anyone in the combat sports world knew his name.

“The King” defends the ONE Heavyweight Kickboxing World Title against two-sport, two-division king Roman Kryklia in the co-main event of The Inner Circle 19, streaming live for members in Asia primetime from Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday, June 19. The 22-year-old Turkish titleholder enters the rematch undefeated at 18-0 with 12 knockouts.

The road to that record runs through Izmir, Türkiye, where Agdeve grew up in a household shaped by hard work and harder circumstance. His father worked in construction while his mother raised three boys under enormous pressure, including her own battle with cancer. Watching her fight through the illness at a young age left an impression that has never left him.

“It was a very difficult period in my life. Watching my mother battle cancer at such a young age taught me patience, resilience, and responsibility,” he said.

“It forced me to grow up earlier than most people. Those experiences shaped me not only as a fighter, but also as a man. They taught me how to stay strong during hard times and never give up when life becomes difficult.”

Agdeve relocated alone to Germany as a teenager, training at AllStars Germany while surviving on construction wages and security work, occasionally with no roof overhead. Through every setback, his mother’s voice remained the constant. The lesson she returned to most was the one she lived by: gratitude, regardless of circumstances.

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“The most important lessons I learned from my mother were patience and gratitude,” he said.

“No matter how difficult life became, she taught me to be thankful for what I had instead of focusing on what I lacked. Those lessons helped me stay strong during tough times, keep moving forward, and never lose faith in the process.”

He arrived on the world stage at ONE Fight Night 37 last November as the undefeated Turkish unknown, facing Kryklia’s seven-year unbeaten streak in ONE Championship. Five rounds later, Agdeve had claimed the inaugural ONE Heavyweight Kickboxing World Title by unanimous decision. In that moment, the first person he thought of was not a trainer or a promoter.

“I was absolutely thinking about my mother even while I was standing in the ring,” he said.

“The moment I became World Champion, one of the first people who came to my mind was her. I dedicated that victory and the World Title to my mother because she played a huge role in shaping the person I am today. It was an emotional moment, and sharing that achievement with her meant more to me than any belt or trophy.”

The post Samet Agdeve Dedicates ONE Heavyweight Kickboxing World Title To His Mother first appeared on Sidekick Boxing.

Jonathan Di Bella Sizes Up The Inner Circle 19 World Title Doubleheader

One Championship Writer — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 06:27:19 +0000

Jonathan Di Bella has earned the right to have opinions on world-class striking. As the reigning ONE Strawweight Kickboxing World Champion, the Italian-Canadian has lived through the pressure of defending gold at the highest level, and he knows what it takes to perform when everything is on the line.

The Inner Circle 19 delivers two World Title bouts live in Asia primetime from Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday, June 19, streaming exclusively for members.

In the main event, ONE Women’s Atomweight Muay Thai World Champion Allycia Hellen Rodrigues defends her title against ONE Women’s Atomweight Kickboxing World Champion “The Queen” Phetjeeja Lukjaoporongtom. In the co-main, newly crowned ONE Heavyweight Kickboxing World Champion Samet “The King” Agdeve puts his title on the line against two-sport, two-division king Roman Kryklia in a rematch.

Di Bella’s connection to the main event runs deeper than casual observation. At ONE 172 in March 2025, Phetjeeja trained alongside him and his father Angelo after their respective bouts, drilling technique and discussing errors with a hunger that left a strong impression on the Italian-Canadian.

“She was asking us questions. She saw us go over some of my mistakes in my fight … me and my dad were going over some techniques, and she joined in. She was like, ‘Ok, I’m excited, let’s do some training!’ She wanted to learn everything,” he said.

“I think both of us were trying to fix our mistakes after our fights. That’s how we are. We want to learn every time. We’re never satisfied, so after every fight, we always need to keep learning.”

That shared pursuit of perfection has produced two of the finest female strikers on the planet. Di Bella expects the encounter between Rodrigues and Phetjeeja to hinge on range control. He believes Phetjeeja’s flawless boxing could be the decisive factor under the 4-ounce gloves, though he is quick to acknowledge the Brazilian’s Muay Thai threat.

“I really like them both. I know they are both very offensive. It could be like a 50-50 or 60-40 fight for Phetjeeja just because of her technique. Her technique is very flawless, and she has more of a boxing-based style and very good kicks. She’s very slick, and with those 4-ounce gloves, her boxing could be dangerous,” he said.

“Allycia has more of a Muay Thai style, and she is very dangerous, too.”

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For the co-main event, Di Bella has followed Kryklia’s career closely enough to exchange messages with the Ukrainian on social media. When Agdeve snapped Kryklia’s seven-year undefeated streak at ONE Fight Night 37 last November to claim the inaugural ONE Heavyweight Kickboxing World Title, the result shocked the combat sports world. Now Di Bella expects the 6-foot-7 Ukrainian to make significant tactical adjustments in the sequel.

“Those guys are ginormous! I really like Roman. I never met him, but we message each other on Instagram, and he’s a really cool guy,” he said.

“Samet came out of nowhere and upset everybody. He was great. He showed some great kicks, and now Roman has to try to avoid those. It’ll be fun to see.”

The strawweight kickboxing ruler believes Agdeve’s blueprint is straightforward: replicate the formula from the first fight. For Kryklia, survival and revenge depend on movement and output.

“I think Samet has to do almost the same thing as he did in his last fight. It’s one of the only ways to beat Roman because he is so big. And Roman has to do a lot of moving, a lot of in-and-out, and set up a counter-punch or counter-kick, or something. He has to counter Samet, for sure,” he said.

The post Jonathan Di Bella Sizes Up The Inner Circle 19 World Title Doubleheader first appeared on Sidekick Boxing.

Samet Agdeve Carries The Hunter’s Mindset Into His First ONE Heavyweight Kickboxing World Title Defence

One Championship Writer — Wed, 17 Jun 2026 12:13:36 +0000

When Samet Agdeve walked out of Lumpinee Stadium last November as the inaugural ONE Heavyweight Kickboxing World Champion, the world of combat sports had a name to remember. Now, less than a year on, the undefeated Turkish champion is preparing to prove that night was no fluke.

Agdeve will make the first defence of his ONE Heavyweight Kickboxing World Championship against former champion Roman Kryklia in the co-main event of The Inner Circle 19 on Friday, June 19, streaming live in Asia primetime from Bangkok’s historic Lumpinee Stadium. Fans can watch all the action via The Inner Circle.

The 22-year-old’s victory over Kryklia at ONE Fight Night 37 raised eyebrows across the sport. Agdeve had entered as a significant underdog against a fighter carrying one of the most decorated resumes in ONE Championship history — a three-time ONE Light Heavyweight Kickboxing World Champion, two-time ONE Heavyweight Muay Thai World Champion, and ONE Heavyweight Kickboxing World Grand Prix winner. Few gave Agdeve a realistic chance of dethroning him.

“Beating Roman was not a surprise. It was the result of years of hard work, sacrifice, and belief in myself. People may have been surprised by the outcome, but I wasn’t. I knew what I was capable of, and that victory was simply the reward for all the effort I had put in throughout my career,” Agdeve said.

Agdeve’s route to that unanimous decision victory was built on aggression and precision. He forced Kryklia to switch stances after targeting the Ukrainian’s lead leg relentlessly throughout the bout, disrupting the 6-foot-7 fighter’s rhythm and neutralising his formidable reach advantage through sharp boxing combinations and calf kicks.

Ahead of the rematch, the champion shows no interest in adjusting his mental approach. He is dismissive of speculation about what Kryklia may have taken from their first encounter and remains focused entirely on his own preparation.

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“For a long time, people saw me as the bait. But when the opportunity came, they became the prey. That’s the story of my journey and that’s what happened against Roman Kryklia,” Agdeve said.

Kryklia returns to this contest having experienced the only defeat of his ONE career, with a clear motivation to reclaim the title. Agdeve, though, insists none of that changes what he must do on June 19.

“True champions don’t win by surprise. Success at this level comes from years of preparation, discipline, and hard work,” Agdeve said.

“What people call a surprise is often the result of sacrifices they never saw behind the scenes. I earned that victory, and I believe true champions create their own opportunities through dedication and belief in themselves.”

The post Samet Agdeve Carries The Hunter’s Mindset Into His First ONE Heavyweight Kickboxing World Title Defence first appeared on Sidekick Boxing.

Roman Kryklia Returns To Bangkok To Reclaim The ONE Heavyweight Kickboxing World Title From Samet Agdeve

One Championship Writer — Wed, 17 Jun 2026 12:09:45 +0000

Seven months ago, the scorecards delivered a verdict that nobody in kickboxing had seen coming. Roman Kryklia walked out of Lumpinee Stadium without the ONE Heavyweight Kickboxing World Title, his seven-year unbeaten streak erased by a composed and clinical performance from the debuting Samet Agdeve.

On Friday, June 19, Kryklia gets his shot at redemption when he faces Agdeve in a rematch at The Inner Circle 19, live from Bangkok’s legendary Lumpinee Stadium and available exclusively to members through The Inner Circle.

Agdeve arrives at the sequel at 18-0, the ONE Heavyweight Kickboxing World Title around his waist after taking it in his promotional debut last November at ONE Fight Night 37. He executed a game plan that caught even the Ukrainian’s team off-guard, and he did it against a man who had finished seven of his eight ONE Championship victories.

Kryklia, who also holds the ONE Heavyweight Muay Thai World Championship and the ONE Light Heavyweight Kickboxing World Championship, is not a man short of motivation. But this loss has produced something sharper in him.

The 34-year-old Ukrainian has not tried to bury the memory of that defeat. He has taken it apart and used it.

“I’m very grateful to Samet for that clash. Despite losing that last fight, I had the opportunity to look back a lot on myself as a fighter, and it helped me change certain things in my routine,” Kryklia said.

The loss ended a run of seven years without defeat. For most fighters, that kind of setback leaves scars. For Kryklia, it has sharpened the picture. He spent the months after ONE Fight Night 37 working alongside head coach Andrey Gridin at Bangtao Muay Thai and MMA, refining the details that the first fight exposed.

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“I [wasn’t] lacking anything, but sometimes you discover new things about yourself when you lose. This time, I will bring a much better and more dangerous version,” he said.

Kryklia insists that Agdeve’s win at ONE Fight Night 37 was the product of a smart game plan rather than superior ability. He has processed the result with clear eyes and drawn a precise conclusion about the man who beat him.

“I think what makes him good is his strong side. But he had a good game plan from the first fight. He was ready, and his team’s strategy was good. I don’t think that he’s a top-level fighter – but this is not me trying to look down on him,” Kryklia said.

With camp complete, the blueprint locked, and the date circled, Kryklia delivered his message to the champion ahead of Friday night.

“I’m ready for all five rounds, but of course, I’m always looking for a chance to knock out my opponent. This is my skill, and I proved it in my previous fights. I can’t tell you the round. I can’t tell you the prediction. But I can tell you, this will be a war that I will win,” he said.

The post Roman Kryklia Returns To Bangkok To Reclaim The ONE Heavyweight Kickboxing World Title From Samet Agdeve first appeared on Sidekick Boxing.

Masaaki Noiri Carries Takeru’s Torch Into ONE SAMURAI 2 Featherweight Kickboxing Tournament

One Championship Writer — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 16:54:19 +0000

Masaaki Noiri has been thinking about alternating wins and losses since the moment he arrived in ONE Championship. Two steps forward, one step back, repeat. He has identified it, named it, and is done with it.

The former ONE Interim Featherweight Kickboxing World Champion enters the ONE SAMURAI Featherweight Kickboxing Tournament at ONE SAMURAI 2 on Saturday, August 8, at Ebara Wave Arena Ota in Tokyo, Japan. The winner earns a guaranteed shot at ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Champion Superbon. His quarter-final opponent is “Spirit Dragon” Liu Mengyang, the man who handed him a decision loss at ONE Friday Fights 92 in December 2024.

The losses Noiri has absorbed in ONE Championship have been at the highest possible level, and none has arrived without a precise lesson attached. His most recent defeat, a competitive unanimous decision to Superbon in their title unification bout at ONE 173 last November, came after a career peak that saw him knock out ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Champion Tawanchai PK Saenchai in the third round at ONE 172 to claim the interim kickboxing belt. That trajectory, spectacular rise then setback, is the pattern he has decided to end.

“Since I started competing in ONE, it’s been a string of alternating wins and losses,” Noiri said. “But I am not going to lose anymore, so please expect great things from me.”

The Superbon loss came down to a specific technical gap he has since addressed. Noiri’s self-diagnosis is characteristically exact.

“I wasn’t fully securing enough points round by round,” he said. “I am also reflecting on the fact that I wasn’t able to completely break him down, and I want to apply these lessons to my next fight.”

The response to that defeat has not been a dramatic overhaul. He trusts his foundation at Team Vasileus and has returned to what produced the Tawanchai knockout, applying surgical corrections rather than wholesale changes.

“Nothing in particular has changed. I resumed my training right away, and I have just been training as usual,” he said.

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Takeru Segawa’s retirement after his extraordinary ONE SAMURAI 1 win over Rodtang Jitmuangnon in April has added a dimension to Noiri’s motivation that goes beyond his own record. The two have shared space in the broader Japanese martial arts conversation for years, and Takeru’s departure has left a vacancy in terms of who carries the sport’s identity in Japan on the global stage.

“I was simply moved by Takeru’s performance,” Noiri said. “With Takeru now retired, I feel that I must become the fighter to shoulder the responsibility in his place.”

Liu has evolved considerably since their first meeting. A 52-second calf kick knockout of Tawanchai at ONE Friday Fights 137, followed by a dominant performance over Gabriel Pereira at The Inner Circle, have made him one of the most dangerous featherweights in the world. Noiri respects the growth. He has also spotted something in Liu’s emotional tendencies under pressure that he plans to use.

“He has experienced a defeat once, and he has continued to grow since that fight. I think he is a good fighter,” Noiri said. “But he tends to get too emotional when he fights.”

The path back to Superbon runs through Liu, and through whoever survives the other half of the bracket. Noiri has earned the right to be here, knows the cost of falling short again, and arrives at ONE SAMURAI 2 with the clearest purpose of his promotional career.

“It is a great opportunity for me,” he said. “Because I fell short of expectations last time, I believe this is an opportunity to redeem myself.”

The post Masaaki Noiri Carries Takeru’s Torch Into ONE SAMURAI 2 Featherweight Kickboxing Tournament first appeared on Sidekick Boxing.

Ben Woolliss Faces Yuki Yoza In Career-Defining Bantamweight Kickboxing Clash At The Inner Circle 22

One Championship Writer — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 16:49:31 +0000

Ben Woolliss has been moving fast since the moment he arrived in ONE Championship. A first-round stoppage of a former world champion on debut, a competitive three-round battle against another former world champion in his second outing, and now a fight against a man who went the distance in a world title match just two months ago. The escalation has been rapid and deliberate.

The 32-year-old Soma Fight Club representative meets Yuki Yoza in bantamweight kickboxing at The Inner Circle 22 on Friday, July 17, live in Asia primetime from Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Woolliss carries a 30-7 professional record and a two-fight ONE Championship run that has already demonstrated his credentials at the elite level. His calf-kick demolition of John “Hands of Stone” Lineker at ONE Fight Night 41 in March put his name on the map in the most emphatic way available.

The Petchtanong decision loss at ONE Fight Night 43 in May provided a different kind of education. It was a technical three rounds against a former world champion that showed both his ceiling and the gap he needs to close to reach it. He arrives at The Inner Circle 22 with that experience processed and the conviction that the Lineker performance was not an accident.

Yoza, 28, represents the clearest measuring stick Woolliss has faced in ONE Championship. The Team Vasileus representative built a 13-fight winning streak through victories over Elbrus “The Samurai” Osmanov, former ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing World Champion Petchtanong, and reigning ONE Flyweight Kickboxing World Champion Superlek before challenging Jonathan “The General” Haggerty for the ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing World Title at ONE SAMURAI 1 in April.

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He lost a unanimous decision over three rounds to a champion at his peak. But it was a setback, but not a collapse. His karate-based movement, explosive footwork, and devastating low kick arsenal remain among the most technically sophisticated tools in the division.

Both men lost to Petchtanong at different stages of their careers, both are coming off their first ONE defeats, and both understand that another loss at this stage of the season narrows the world title conversation considerably. The stylistic matchup delivers what the division’s ranking structure has been building toward — Woolliss’s pressure and power against Yoza’s precision and footwork.

July 17 at Lumpinee Stadium decides which of them stays in the title hunt.

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The post Ben Woolliss Faces Yuki Yoza In Career-Defining Bantamweight Kickboxing Clash At The Inner Circle 22 first appeared on Sidekick Boxing.

Noiri, Liu, Kaito, And Siasarani Headline Eight-Man Featherweight Kickboxing Tournament At ONE SAMURAI 2

One Championship Writer — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 12:22:04 +0000

The most loaded featherweight kickboxing bracket ONE Championship has ever assembled is taking shape, and the prize waiting at the end of it is a guaranteed world title shot.

An eight-man ONE SAMURAI Featherweight Kickboxing Tournament has been confirmed for ONE SAMURAI 2, broadcasting live and exclusively on live.onefc.com from Ebara Wave Arena Ota in Tokyo, Japan on Saturday, August 8.

The tournament winner earns a guaranteed shot at ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Champion Superbon Singha Mawynn.

The first two quarter-final matchups confirmed are both rematches, each carrying its own unresolved narrative and its own specific score to settle.

Masaaki Noiri and Liu “Spirit Dragon” Mengyang meet for the second time after Liu claimed a dominant unanimous decision over the Japanese striker at ONE Friday Fights 92 in 2024, dropping Noiri with a right cross counter en route to the win.

Noiri has made good on the promise that loss implied he was capable of, stopping Shakir Al-Tekreeti with a calf kick TKO before orchestrating a stunning come-from-behind knockout of ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Champion Tawanchai PK Saenchai at ONE 172 to claim the interim kickboxing crown.

His subsequent title unification loss to Superbon at ONE 173 was a setback, not a conclusion, and the 33-year-old Team Vasileus representative returns to Japan carrying the clearest possible motivation.

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Liu, meanwhile, has spent his time since that first meeting building toward a Superbon title shot by taking down every significant name placed in front of him, most recently dismantling Gabriel Pereira at The Inner Circle after Superbon’s injury withdrawal. The tournament is his most direct route back to the gold he was denied in May.

Kaito and Mohammad Siasarani’s rematch carries a different kind of weight. Siasarani overwhelmed Kaito with forward pressure and volume in their first meeting at ONE Friday Fights 109 in what was a difficult promotional debut for the Japanese striker. Since then, Siasarani earned his six-figure contract with a knockout of Jo “Smokin” Nattawut and defeated Pedro “Guerreiro” Dantas in his main roster debut at ONE Fight Night 39.

Kaito, by contrast, has struggled to find his level, most recently suffering a first-round knockout loss to Marat Grigorian at ONE SAMURAI 1 in April. In front of the Japanese crowd at Ebara Wave Arena on August 8, under tournament pressure that eliminates any margin for error, both of them face the most important performance of their careers.

The remaining four participants in the eight-man bracket are yet to be announced.

The post Noiri, Liu, Kaito, And Siasarani Headline Eight-Man Featherweight Kickboxing Tournament At ONE SAMURAI 2 first appeared on Sidekick Boxing.

Yuan Pengjie Arrives At The Inner Circle With A Message For Jaosuayai And His Eyes On Superlek’s Belt

One Championship Writer — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 06:35:25 +0000

Yuan Pengjie made his ONE Championship debut with doubters in every corner. He left with a unanimous decision win and a point firmly made. Now the 23-year-old Chinese kickboxer is back, and the target in his sights has grown considerably larger.

The Sitsongpeenong product faces contracted Thai star Jaosuayai Mor Krungthepthonburi in the flyweight kickboxing co-main event of The Inner Circle on Friday, June 5, live in Asia primetime from Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Yuan’s March debut win over Lamnamoonlek Torfunfarm did more than start a promotional record. It validated the belief his team had carried into the building despite the outside scepticism, and that vindication has sharpened his confidence for the step up in opposition that Jaosuayai represents.

“A lot of people didn’t believe in me before the fight, but my team and I trusted ourselves,” Yuan said. “We were full of confidence to get the win.”

Jaosuayai carries 60 career wins and eight promotional victories into this co-main event, built on a five-fight winning streak that once made him one of the most dangerous names on the roster. Three consecutive losses since have complicated that narrative, and the return to kickboxing, a rule set he has not fought under in ONE Championship, adds another variable to Friday night. Yuan has studied those variables carefully and arrived at a precise read on both the opportunity and the risk.

“Jaosuayai had a five-fight winning streak in ONE, so I am really excited to compete against someone like him. Even though this is his ONE kickboxing debut, he has fought in kickboxing events in Japan before,” he said. “I don’t think it affects me at all. It only makes me more motivated to fight him.”

The physical matchup favours Yuan on paper. At 5-foot-8 with a reach advantage built into every exchange, he intends to control distance and use his length to manufacture the kind of openings that have produced knockdowns throughout his career.

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“My height, reach, and my experience in kickboxing matches. He’s one of the more agile fighters among Thai fighters,” Yuan said. “If it goes as I expected, knockdowns will appear.”

Jaosuayai’s tendency to fight on emotion rather than structure when the exchanges tighten is the tactical weakness Yuan has identified from the footage, and the one he plans to exploit with the pointed message he has already sent his opponent.

“His weakness is he tends to get emotional during the fight,” Yuan said. “I heard you don’t want four losses in a row. Well, I’m gonna make you feel what four straight losses are like.”

Beyond the result on Friday, Yuan’s destination is already clear. ONE Flyweight Kickboxing World Champion “The Kicking Machine” Superlek holds the belt Yuan has been building toward since long before his ONE debut.

“They’re all top-level, world-class fighters. The one I want to face most is Superlek for sure,” he said. “I want to challenge for his belt.”

The post Yuan Pengjie Arrives At The Inner Circle With A Message For Jaosuayai And His Eyes On Superlek’s Belt first appeared on Sidekick Boxing.

Jaosuayai “Highly Confident” In Return To Kickboxing At The Inner Circle On June 5

One Championship Writer — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 06:34:12 +0000

Jaosuayai Mor Krungthepthonburi has an 8-5 promotional record, a six-figure ONE Championship contract, and three consecutive losses. He also has an answer for all of it, and Friday night is where he delivers it.

The 24-year-old Sor Dechapan representative faces Yuan Pengjie in flyweight kickboxing at The Inner Circle on Friday, June 5, live in Asia primetime from Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. It is his first kickboxing bout in nearly five years and his first appearance under a rule set he has been requesting since his ONE Championship debut.

The three-fight losing streak that precedes this moment has a single root cause in Jaosuayai’s mind. It’s not ability, not form, but the physical toll of bouncing between two weight classes without his body ever fully adjusting to either. His most recent loss to Pompet PongSuphan PK told the story plainly across three rounds.

“Going into the Pompet fight, my game plan was solid. But once we got in there, I was severely disadvantaged in terms of raw impact and strength,” Jaosuayai said. “My body hadn’t properly adjusted yet because I had just moved up from strawweight. As the fight dragged on, I just couldn’t handle his power. By the final round, I was basically fighting on pure heart alone before the referee stepped in and called it a TKO.”

The decision that has followed is permanent rather than tactical. Jaosuayai and his team have drawn a clear line under the division experiment.

“My team and I have finally found our answer: strawweight is just not for me,” he said. “From here on out, I’m planning to focus in the flyweight division for the long haul. I am done with strawweight. Right now, my body has fully recovered, and my weight is completely dialed into the division. I’m highly confident that power and impact won’t be an issue in this fight.”

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The kickboxing rule set adds another dimension to the reset. Before joining ONE Championship, Jaosuayai built a reputation in Japan across six fights, reaching the final of a K-1 tournament by defeating two experienced kickboxers on the same night. That experience has been sitting unused while he competed under Muay Thai rules, and the switch on Friday night unlocks everything he has been waiting to show.

“I am incredibly excited and hyped. This marks my return to kickboxing after five years away. Honestly, I’ve been wanting to fight under this rule set in ONE for a very long time,” he said. “My confidence under this rule set is through the roof. I once beat two elite kickboxers in a single night to secure the K-1 World Grand Prix Championship runner-up spot.”

The emotional version of Jaosuayai who fought on instinct during the losing run has been set aside. The fighter returning on Friday has done the work to understand what went wrong and how the course gets corrected.

“In this fight, you’re going to see a much more composed and patient version of me. I’m going to use my fight IQ rather than letting emotion dictate the pace like I did in my recent losses,” he said. “In my entire career, I have never lost four fights in a row, and I will be damned if I let that happen now. Winning is the only option.”

The post Jaosuayai “Highly Confident” In Return To Kickboxing At The Inner Circle On June 5 first appeared on Sidekick Boxing.

Jacob Smith, Paul Elliott, And Charlie Guest Fly The Flag For Britain At ONE Fight Night 44 On June 27

One Championship Writer — Thu, 21 May 2026 06:44:34 +0000

Three British fighters. Three different disciplines. One night to make their mark on the world’s biggest martial arts stage.

Jacob Smith, Paul Elliott, and Charlie Guest are all in action at ONE Fight Night 44 on Friday, June 27, broadcasting live on Sky Sports from Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Smith’s assignment is the hardest of the three. The Birkenhead Muay Thai veteran moves up to bantamweight to face Nakrob Fairtex, a seasoned ONE Championship operator who has shared the ring with the likes of former ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Champion Nabil Anane, Muangthai PK Saenchai, and Tagir Khalilov.

His credentials at the top of this sport are beyond question. He is one of the few fighters to have taken Rodtang Jitmuangnon the distance twice, most recently going three full rounds with the flyweight Muay Thai legend in a world title fight last November. He lost both decisions, but the durability and heart those performances required have defined his reputation in the sport. A winning return against Nakrob on June 27 begins the next chapter.

Elliott arrives in better form. The Middlesbrough heavyweight stopped Ryogo Takeuchi with thunderous punching in his last MMA outing and now faces American debutant Regan Upshaw, a former Clemson CFB National Championship winner, amateur kickboxing champion, and son of Regan Upshaw Sr., who played in Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002. The family athleticism is genuine, but professional MMA debuts against prepared, in-form opponents rarely go smoothly, and Elliott will be looking to impose that lesson early.

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Guest is the newest name on the card and the one with the most to prove. The ISKA World Champion, WBC European and British Kickboxing Champion makes his ONE Championship debut in featherweight Muay Thai against Frenchman Bampara Kouyate, a long, powerful striker who has knocked out both Luke Lessei and Jo Nattawut and carries concussive finishing power that has already announced him as a serious threat at featherweight. Debut nights on this stage do not come harder than this.

Three fights, three Britons, one card. June 27 belongs to them.

The post Jacob Smith, Paul Elliott, And Charlie Guest Fly The Flag For Britain At ONE Fight Night 44 On June 27 first appeared on Sidekick Boxing.