ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong has revealed that Superbon could, in fact, snatch “Smokin” Jo Nattawut’s title shot if he’s successful in the ONE Friday Fights 81 main event.
The Thai pair are set to lock horns in a featherweight Muay Thai bout at the September 27 blockbuster, which goes down at the historic Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
While Nattawut is focussed on Superbon for now, the 34-year-old also has a trilogy showdown against ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Champion Tawanchai PK Saenchai booked in for ONE 169: Atlanta on November 8.
At the ONE Friday Fights 81 pre-fight press conference, Sityodtong revealed that this weekend’s headliner was created due to concerns over a Tawanchai injury.
“We made this fight because Tawanchai was still not in 100 percent shape a month ago, I think he just started training, and we weren't sure if he would be able to compete for ONE 169,” Sityodtong said.
“So, that was the thought process of keeping the title contention active, and kudos to Jo [Nattawut] that he accepted the fight. But we were not sure, and we're still not confident that Tawanchai will be ready for Atlanta. I haven't got the latest update, but this was from several weeks ago when we booked the fight for Jo Nattawut and Superbon. At that time, Tawanchai was still recovering from his injuries, so we were not sure.”
Nattawut and Tawanchai have fought out a thrilling series to date, with two fights between the pair going right down to the wire.
On each occasion, Tawanchai has been declared the winner on the razor-close scorecards.
Superbon, for his part, also narrowly came up short against the featherweight Muay Thai king this past April.
At the pre-fight presser, Sityodtong revealed that Superbon will likely become the number one contender to the featherweight Muay Thai crown if the 33-year-old prevails this Friday.
“Again, I was not talking to them. I mean, my team was telling me all this. I haven't talked to Tawanchai. So I don't know exactly what's going on right now, but for now, yeah, I think the winner will take on Tawanchai. I think that's natural,” he said.
Watch ONE Friday Fights 81 live on Friday, September 27, on watch.onefc.com at 8:30 a.m. ET/5:30 a.m. PT