‘Buzzing To Come Back On A Stage Like This’ – Amy Pirnie Excited For Long-Awaited Debut At ONE Fight Night 24
Amy Pirnie has long been considered one of the best women’s strikers on the planet, and she plans to remind everybody when she returns to action in U.S. primetime on Friday, August 2.
The Scottish star will make her ONE Championship debut at ONE Fight Night 24: Brooks vs. Balart on Prime Video following a three-year layoff, and she’s diving straight into the deep end with a difficult atomweight Muay Thai clash against surging Hong Kong phenom Yu Yau Pui.
The 31-year-old is no stranger to elite opposition and big shows across the globe, but ONE’s huge boost to the Muay Thai world has pushed the sport to a bigger audience than ever.
Buoyed by this chance to get back to business at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Pirnie is more motivated than ever.
The three-time UK Muay Thai Fighter of the Year told onefc.com:
“It’s buzzing to come back on a stage like this. Everybody knows ONE Championship, even people who aren’t clued up on Muay Thai. So I do feel like there is a lot of buzz about it, especially on social media.
“And obviously at home, my family, friends, sponsors, and everybody, they’re all so excited as well. It definitely brings that buzz and that bit more fire to start on a really good foot and make a good impression and name for myself.”
Pirnie was thrilled to receive the call from ONE – which gave her the impetus to continue her decorated career – and she admits that any opponent would have kick-started her enthusiasm again.
But getting matched up against Yu was an even bigger boost for the Glasgow native, given her rival’s impressive run of six straight wins in the world’s largest martial arts organization:
“To be honest, I would fight anyone in the division. That’s one thing that I’ve done my whole career. As long as everything is okay with weight and everything, I take any fight that’s put in front of me.
“But it’s exciting to fight someone who is doing so well in ONE. She’s 6-0, and she’s walked through everybody, but if I beat her, that puts me in a very good starting position.
“It’s always good to have a challenge and have a tough, exciting fight.”
Pirnie Thinks She Has The Ideal Style To Counter Yu’s Aggression
Yu Yau Pui has blitzed her way through the opposition since she entered ONE last year, defeating all six of her adversaries in dominant fashion.
The Hong Kong native hasn’t met anyone who can withstand her relentless pressure yet, but Amy Pirnie believes her own approach to Muay Thai is the antidote for her opponent’s intensity.
She explained:
“Yu Yau Pui is super aggressive. She just constantly walks forward. She’s on the front foot all the time, and she’s got a very, very high work rate. She’s obviously very fit and constantly throws hands all the time. I would say those are the main plus points for her.
“I feel like my fighting style will be a big factor. I predominantly like to counter and draw people in, letting them make their mistakes and use that to my advantage for more effective shots to land.
“I think it will play into my hands because she’ll fall onto stuff quite a lot. Her footwork as she’s coming forward is very fast, so she’s traveling forward in a straight line at a pretty fast pace, which is going to give me more power on my shots for her to walk onto.”
Despite her confidence, the Lion Fight Champion has shared the ring with enough world-class strikers to know that it’s not easy to put them away.
While she’ll be aiming to find the finishing shot at ONE Fight Night 24, Pirnie envisions a grueling battle of wills where she will ultimately come out on top:
“A nice early stoppage in spectacular fashion would be awesome – to do that and come in with a big knockout to start my career in ONE. But realistically, I don’t see that happening.
“I think she’s tough, she is aggressive, she has a good engine, and it is only three rounds. So I reckon that I will win the fight, but it will most likely go to a points decision. But anything can happen with these [smaller 4-ounce] gloves.”
