Luke Lessei will be looking to build off of his first ONE Championship win on Friday, July 5, at ONE Fight Night 23.
The American star has already earned notoriety in ONE action, but he hopes to string together wins that will put him in the mix for title consideration. The next roadblock in his way will be Bampara Kouyate.
And Lessei is preparing to send him packing.
“I’m gonna beat the brakes off this dude. I’m gonna go in there and show that there’s absolutely levels to this creativity and this muay femur game that everyone’s talking about,” Lessei told ONE.
Lessei debuted against “Smokin” Jo Nattawut in an instant classic. However, “The Chef” does not want to display that same kind of slugfest in every subsequent bout.
The American wants to show the world his technical acumen as much as his warrior spirit.
“I’m hoping every fight gets a little more technical because then I can show my actual flight IQ and my skills. My last few fights, I’ve kinda been showing my Midwest mentality, my toughness, good stuff here and there,” the American remarked.
“But this guy, Bampara Kouyate, he’s like 6-foot-2, same height as me, a muay femur. So he’s technical. He likes to wait, counter, set up techniques, and that’s the same as me.”
“I love a good chess match.”
As Lessei looks up the mountain, he knows he has to impress to be seen as a legitimate top contender.
At ONE Fight Night 23, he plans to leave no doubt about his status and put forth a highlight-reel effort.
“I always wanna make the decision on who wins and who loses. My decision, not the judges’. So I’m going for the knockout. Every single time, I’m going for the knockout whether I get it or not,” Lessei stated.
“You best believe, even until the very end, I’m trying to set something up. I’m trying to put this dude to sleep for sure. And if not, guess what? It’s probably gonna be another barnburner.”
Lessei’s lifelong work to get to this point has been helped by his father, who has also coached him along his journey. In Bangkok, his father will be in his corner, helping him take the next step forward in a highly competitive featherweight division.
For “The Chef,” having his father there is an important part of ONE Fight Night 23.
“Me and my dad have been working really hard. It’s gonna be a culmination of all the s*** that we’ve been cooking up for years,” Lessei said.
“Me and my dad, it’s just me and him going solo. He’s gonna be cornering me out in Thailand. Father and son, we’re gonna beat this guy’s a**.”
ONE Fight Night 23 airs live on Prime Video at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT to all Amazon Prime subscribers based in the U.S. and Canada on Friday, July 5.