A packed weekend of combat sports begins on Friday with another day-night doubleheader from ONE Championship. Following ONE Friday Fights 66 in the morning hours (USA time), primetime brings with it another marquee event. Friday night, while Cage Warriors 173 happens stateside in San Diego, CA (more on that card later on), the eyes of the rest of the world will be on Bangkok, Thailand, where it’ll already be Saturday morning.
ONE 167 originates from Impact Arena in Bangkok. Although ONE 167 is a pay-per-view event for much of the world, it’s not so for North America.
Friday’s card (8 pm ET/ 5 pm PT) is available live and free to subscribers of Amazon Prime Video inside the United States and Canada only as part of the current media rights agreement between the streamer and the promotion. For those of you reading this in Great Britain and Ireland, Sky Sports will carry ONE 167 live Saturday morning at 1 am local time.
Rematch in Muay-Thai Focus of ONE 167 Main Event
All told, barring any late postponements between now and Friday night, the final version of ONE 167 will feature 11 fights across MMA, kickboxing, Muay-Thai, and submission-only grappling. Muay-Thai takes the spotlight in the ONE 167 main event of the evening.
The ONE Featherweight (155 lbs.) Muay-Thai Championship is at stake in the headliner, and there’s a score to settle there, as well. Current ONE Featherweight Muay-Thai Champion Tawanchai PK Saenchai (130-31-2 kickboxing, 8-1 ONE Championship) takes on challenger and No. 3 contender Jo Nattawut (72-11-2 kickboxing, 6-6 ONE Championship.)
Who's going home with the ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Title at ONE 167 on @primevideo – Tawanchai or "Smokin" Jo Nattawut?#ONE167 | Jun 7 at 8PM ET
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🌍 Live TV broadcast in 190+ countries (check local listings) pic.twitter.com/DJhFAetz0I— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) June 3, 2024
As with all ONE Championship kickboxing and Muay-Thai title bouts, the ONE 167 main event is an advertised maximum of five rounds at three minutes per round to close the show. The three-knockdown rule is in effect for this one. Should a fighter knock down his or her adversary three times in a round or four times in a match, that fighter is the winner by TKO.
The Series So Far…
The lifetime series between Tawanchai and Nattawut stands at 1-0 in favor of Tawanchai. Back in October of 2023, he scored a unanimous decision over Nattawut after three rounds in a kickboxing match. How will the Muay-Thai rematch play out?
ONE 167 Main Event Fighter Comparison and Betting Odds
Heading into the ONE 167 main event on Friday night, Tawanchai PK Saenchai is the taller contestant at 5-foot-11, compared to the 5-foot-10 frame of Jo Nattawut. The challenger owns a two-inch reach advantage (72 inches to 70 inches) over the champion.
Currently, the oddsmakers have Tawanchai PK Saenchai installed as a -340 favorite on the money line, with Jo Nattawut countering as a +250 underdog. If you plan on betting on this or any other fight happening this weekend, please wager responsibly.
Tawanchai Ready to Remove All Doubt in ONE 167 Main Event
Champion Tawanchai PK Saenchai enters the ONE 167 main event having posted a mark of 5-0 in his last five fights as part of an ongoing seven-fight winning streak dating back to January of 2022. Last time out, he scored a unanimous decision after five rounds over Superbon Singha Mawynn (115-36 kickboxing, 5-2 ONE Championship) right before Christmas on Dec. 22.
Recently, he was interviewed by the promotion about the rematch, and he reflected on a substandard outing in the original contest.
“I was happy when I knew that I would be defending my Muay-Thai belt against Jo because it will seal the lips of the critics from our first fight,” Tawanchai began. “I received quite a bit of criticism from that fight. He said he only practiced for three days and he could fight me like that. For this fight, I will give him three months to practice. In the last fight, I didn’t have time to prepare and couldn’t make any gameplan for him. But for this fight, I prepared 100 percent. I think I can perform better.”
The time for talk is just about over for Tawanchai PK Saenchai. Will he turn his words into action?
Jo Nattawut Expected Rematch vs. Tawanchai
In the other corner, challenger Jo Nattawut has gone 2-3 in his last five fights. Most recently, he saw a three-fight losing streak snapped thanks to a unanimous decision victory over Luke Lessei (1-1 ONE Championship) on Dec. 8, 2023. Prior to this fight being elevated to main event status due to the postponement of the Stamp Fairtex vs. Denice Zamboanga fight amid the former’s injury, Nattawut spoke on his bout, expecting fireworks.
“There’s going to be a lot of kicks, a lot of hands exchanged,” Nattawut said. “That’s all I can see, but if it’s anything else, we will have to see in the ring. Things always change, things always happen in the moment.”
He wasn’t supposed to be in the headlining bout, but this is where Jo Nattawut finds himself now. How will he handle the added pressure of competing in the main event?
Analysis, Film Study, and Prediction
You can expect another strength vs. strength matchup in the ONE 167 main event. Who will win the day?
Tawanchai Can Chop an Opponent’s Leg Like a Tree
No matter if it’s kickboxing or Muay-Thai, a perfectly-placed kick can spell the end of the fight and a win for the fighter who delivers the blow. Tawanchai stopped Jamal Yusupov in devastating fashion in February of last year. Not long after the command to fight was given, Tawanchai unloaded on a tremendous leg kick that caused Yusupov to limp back to his corner on contact.
All it’ll take Tawanchai to defend the title is one shot square and true.
Jo Nattawut Is Able to Go Deep
In the other corner, Jo Nattawut can knock Tawanchai PK Saenchai off of his gameplan by forcing him into the later rounds of the fight. If he can force Tawanchai to go deep into the main event, he’ll walk away the winner.
Back in December, Nattawut forced Lessei into deep waters. After trading shots in round two, Nattawut effectively counterstruck and pieced him up in round three, fighting back after absorbing a kick to the chest late in the second round.
The brisk pace continued down the stretch, with Nattawut scoring the win by decision after nine minutes. In order to score the win on Friday, Jo Nattawut will have to make Tawanchai PK Saenchai uncomfortable.
Final Thoughts
While the 4th of July is still roughly four weeks away, this ONE 167 main event could be as explosive as the night sky on Independence Day. Don’t miss it.
Prediction: Tawanchai PK Saenchai by First-Round KO.
