Liu’s 52-Second Destruction of Tawanchai Puts Superbon’s Kickboxing Crown in His Crosshairs
The fourth calf kick proved catastrophic for Tawanchai PK Saenchai, buckling his leg beneath him while sending shockwaves through Bangkok’s legendary Lumpinee Stadium and announcing Liu Mengyang’s arrival among featherweight kickboxing’s elite threats in just 52 seconds.
The 22-year-old Chinese striker came to ONE Friday Fights 137: Tawanchai vs. Liu on December 19 with a simple mission — to prove he belonged in the world title conversation. What the Shunyuan Fight Club product delivered went far beyond that goal, dismantling the ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Champion with devastating precision that brought the Thai superstar’s night to a heartbreaking premature end.
The main event began with Tawanchai deploying trademark aggression through powerful teeps that briefly sent Liu to the canvas. Yet rather than rattling the Chinese striker, the opening exchange seemed to awaken something inside him as he rose immediately and fired a sharp right hand, driving the PK Saenchai Muaythaigym standout backward toward the ropes.
More importantly, Liu began systematically targeting the same spot on Tawanchai’s lead leg with brutal inside calf kicks. One kick, two kicks, three kicks — each strike finding its mark while the Thai champion continued managing distance with push kicks, never realizing the damage accumulating with each impact. Liu remained patient, waiting for the perfect moment to deliver the decisive blow before swinging that fourth calf kick, which crumpled Tawanchai to the canvas, unable to beat the count.
“I felt a very crisp sound. His legs were too thin. Maybe my feet were too strong,” Liu said. “I feel very happy and very excited, but at the same time, I’m a little worried about Tawanchai. I saw he hurt his leg, and I’m a little worried about him. I hope he can recover soon.”
The victory moving his record to 35-7 wasn’t an accident but rather result of weeks of meticulous preparation at Shunyuan Fight Club. Liu and his coach studied Tawanchai’s fighting style relentlessly, identifying three specific techniques that could potentially end the fight early — the calf kick, body kick, and power punches — drilling them obsessively while convinced at least one weapon would find its mark.
Yet beyond physical preparation, Liu entered ONE Friday Fights 137 with something even more valuable: unshakeable self-confidence and a strong mentality that predicted exactly what would happen.
“I prepared three techniques before the fight. One was a calf kick, the other was a kick to the stomach, and the last one was a punch,” he said. “Before the fight, I was thinking that one of these three techniques would knock him out. I thought I would definitely get a KO because I did a lot of psychological training and a lot of real training. So, I thought I could definitely do a KO. I knew it. I knew this was going to happen.”
His spectacular triumph over Tawanchai — who had defeated current ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Champion Superbon twice in Muay Thai — firmly establishes Liu as top contender following a year that included massive victories over former interim champion Masaaki Noiri and Shadow Singha Mawynn.
While Superbon’s potential showdown with longtime rival Marat Grigorian has been mentioned, nothing has been made official. Liu desperately wants his crack at the gold and believes his shocking knockout earned him that opportunity.
“I think that beating him is very important for my career because this fight will make me closer to the championship and closer to my dream,” Liu said. “For my next match, I want the belt, Superbon. Your belt! It’s time to put it on my shoulder!”
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