‘Four Straight Losses’ – Yuan Pengjie Plans To Hand Jaosuayai Crushing Defeat At The Inner Circle
Yuan Pengjie arrived in ONE Championship with doubters surrounding him and left his debut with a statement. Now, he is ready to set his sights even higher.
The 23-year-old Chinese striking sensation returns for his sophomore ONE outing against contracted Thai star Jaosuayai Mor Krungthepthonburi in the flyweight kickboxing co-main event of The Inner Circle on Friday, June 5, streaming on live.onefc.com from Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
The Sitsongpeenong product carries a 39-4 career record into this contest and arrives on the back of a unanimous decision victory over Lamnamoonlek Torfunfarm in March, a performance that turned heads and announced his arrival on the global stage. Now, with confidence high and momentum firmly on his side, Yuan is ready to prove that his debut was no one-off.
That March victory meant more than just a win on the record. He answered the questions surrounding his ONE debut with a dominant performance and gained confidence confirmed by results, something that no amount of training can manufacture.
Speaking to onefc.com, he reflected on that night:
“I was really happy to make my ONE debut. A lot of people didn’t believe in me before the fight, but my team and I trusted ourselves. We were full of confidence to get the win.”
The opponent waiting for him in his second appearance raises the stakes considerably. Jaosuayai is a 24-year-old from Sor Dechapan with 60 career wins and eight promotional victories to his name, built on a five-fight winning streak in ONE that established him as one of the most dangerous fighters on the roster before his recent run of three consecutive losses.
His return to kickboxing for this contest adds another dimension to the matchup. While this marks his first fight under kickboxing rules in ONE, Jaosuayai has competed in the sport in Japan, carrying genuine experience into June 5. Yuan has studied his opponent and has a clear appreciation of what he is stepping into.
He said:
“Jaosuayai had a five-fight winning streak in ONE, so I am really excited to compete against someone like him. Even though this is his ONE kickboxing debut, he has fought in kickboxing events in Japan before. He has great big-fight experience.
“I don’t think it affects me at all. It only makes me more motivated to fight him.”
At 5-foot-8, Yuan Pengjie possesses natural physical gifts that he believes will be decisive against a shorter, more compact Thai opponent.
But his advantages stretch beyond the physical. A fighter with deep kickboxing experience across nearly four dozen professional bouts, he has seen every style and situation the sport can present.
He said:
“My height, reach and my experience in kickboxing matches. He’s one of the more agile fighters among Thai fighters. If it goes as I expected, knockdowns will appear. Even though Jaosuayai is a contracted fighter, I want to show that I am as good as him, or even better than him.”
Yuan Pengjie Focuses On Jaosuayai With Superlek’s Belt In Mind
Yuan Pengjie has spent his preparation doing what he always does: studying, planning, and finding the edges.
The Chinese star has broken down Jaosuayai’s game thoroughly and identified the traits that set the Thai apart from the typical fighters he has faced before. Fast, tricky, and unpredictable, Jaosuayai is a genuine stylistic challenge. But Yuan has also found the crack he intends to exploit, and he is not keeping it quiet.
He explained:
“He has a faster pace and uses unexpected, tricky techniques. His weakness is he tends to get emotional during the fight. I heard you don’t want four losses in a row. Well, I’m gonna make you feel what four straight losses are like.”
Beyond June 5, Yuan’s ambitions run all the way to the top of the division.
A roster stacked with world-class strikers is the landscape he intends to navigate, and he already knows whose name sits at the top of his list. Reigning ONE Flyweight Kickboxing World Champion “The Kicking Machine” Superlek is the ultimate target, and the Chinese phenom is making no secret of it.
He offered:
“They’re all top-level, world-class fighters. The one I want to face most is Superlek for sure. I want to challenge for his belt.”
