Muay Thai World Champion Tawanchai Returns To Kickboxing Against Liu Mengyang At ONE Friday Fights 126

ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Champion Tawanchai PK Saenchai‘s road back to a second crack at two-sport glory begins at ONE Friday Fights 126 in Asia primetime on September 26.

That evening, in front of his Thai compatriots at Bangkok’s iconic Lumpinee Stadium, Tawanchai will go head-to-head with 22-year-old Chinese phenom Liu Mengyang in a pivotal featherweight kickboxing battle.

Tawanchai had been mostly invincible throughout his ONE Championship career.

After defeating Petchmorakot Petchyindee via unanimous decision for the ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Title in September 2022 and then successfully defending it by stopping Jamal Yusupov with a single kick five months later, the Pattaya native started testing his skills in the kickboxing realm.

Initially, the switch proved to be a fruitful one. Tawanchai finished the second half of 2023 by stopping Davit Kiria with a bone-breaking kick to the arm and beating “Smokin” Jo Nattawut via unanimous decision in a pair of kickboxing bouts, and then edging out ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Champion Superbon in a Muay Thai World Title defense by majority decision.

Following another pair of Muay Thai World Title defenses, including a knockout victory over Superbon, Tawanchai was granted a shot at the ONE Interim Featherweight Kickboxing World Championship at ONE 172 in Tokyo, Japan, this past March.

However, hometown hero Masaaki Noiri shocked the global fan base by doing what no other man in the world’s largest martial arts organization had been able to do – and that is finish the Thai superstar.

Tawanchai hasn’t competed since that night in the Japanese capital, and even though he has been quiet, it is quite clear that he is determined to kick-start the road back to the kickboxing gold and attain two-sport glory.

To get the 135th victory of his career and inch closer to the ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Title conversation, he’ll need to beat Liu, who has impressed during his short time in ONE.

Liu made his late-notice promotional debut in December 2024, where he courageously defeated the aforementioned Noiri by unanimous decision to put his name on the featherweight kickboxing radar.

Though he fell to Mohammad Siasarani four months later via razor-close split decision, the Chinese phenom has a chance to jump back into the ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Title picture should he hand Tawanchai his second straight loss.

Stay tuned to onefc.com for more news about ONE Friday Fights 126.