Are you wondering who the best ONE Championship fighters in muay Thai are?
In this article, we’ll look at the best ONE Championship fighters in muay Thai by looking at their accomplishments, skills, records, and who they’ve beat.
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5 Best ONE Championship Fighters in Muay Thai
ONE Championship has quickly become one of the top MMA promotions globally, despite being founded just 12 years ago in 2011. A big part of this is the entertainment brought to fans through the various combat sports ONE Championship promote at each event, such as MMA, kickboxing, and muay Thai.
Muay Thai is hugely popular among fans, and in alphabetical order, here are the best 5 ONE Championship fighters in muay Thai who deliver excitement on a regular basis.
1. Nong-O Gaiyanghadao – “Nong-O Hama” (264-54-10)
Height: 5’7” | Reach: 68” | Stance: Orthodox | Weight Class: Bantamweight
Nong-O Gaiyanghadao, or Nong-O Hama, is an absolute muay Thai veteran and is the current ONE Championship muay Thai bantamweight champion with 7 title defenses and an undefeated 10-0 record (March 2023).
Nong-O Hama started training in muay Thai at the age of 8 and had his first fight aged 9. Since then, he’s become one of the most decorated muay Thai fighters of all time with 4 Lumpinee Stadium titles, 1 Rajadamnern Stadium title, and 2 Thailand titles.
Nong-O is one of the best ONE Championship muay Thai fighters of all time and his most outstanding skills are as follows.
- Unpredictable and lightning-fast switch kick
- Insane power in his roundhouse body kicks
- Legit boxing skills for a muay Thai fighter – insane boxing speed and power
- Intelligent ringcraft and control of a fight – he knows when to go all-out aggression and put calculated pressure on his opponent, and when to reset
- Effective clinch and sweeps
- Superb defensive guard for blocking strikes
- High durability and a granite chin – his last TKO loss was 13 years ago in 2010
So far in ONE Championship Nong-O has beaten Saemapetch Fairtex, Alaverdi Ramazanov, Fabio Pinca, and Felipe Lobo. He’s also a three-time Thailand Fighter of the Year and at 36 years old is still performing at an elite level. Nong-O has been fighting out of Evolve MMA in Singapore since 2015.
2. Panpayak Jitmuangnon – “The Angel Warrior” (248-41-3)
Height: 5’9” | Reach: 69” | Stance: Southpaw | Weight Class: Flyweight
Panpayak Jitmuangnon started training muay Thai at the age of 8 and eventually joined the illustrious Jitmuangnon gym in Bangkok aged 14. Panpayak is still the first and only muay Thai fighter in history to win the Sports Writers of Thailand Fighter of the Year three years running (2013-15).
Panpayak is the former Lumpinee Stadium bantamweight champion and the current featherweight champion. He’s also the former Rajadamnern light flyweight and mini flyweight champion with 1 title defense – showing his ability to fight up and down different weight classes.
Panpayak Jitmuangnon’s most outstanding skills are as follows.
- An elite technician with precise and sharp striking
- Accurate and fast lead right teep and a right jab to keep a distance – Panpayak is tall and uses his range to control the tempo of fights
- Fights with great composure, focus, and a beautiful rhythm – this allows him to read his opponent and defend well with checks
- Adaptable to either a counter-striking distance style or an aggressive forward pressure style
- Fantastic lateral movement for evading strikes and setting up counters
Panpayak also scored the ONE Championship 2022 muay Thai knockout of the year against Michael Savvas. Panpayak is currently a full-time instructor at Evolve MMA in Singapore and is a future muay Thai ONE Championship champion.
3. Rodtang Jitmuangnon – “The Iron Man” (270-42-10)
Height: 5’6” | Reach: 67” | Stance: Orthodox | Weight Class: Flyweight
From Thailand, Rodtang is a 25-year-old muay Thai phenomenon who’s the current ONE muay Thai flyweight champion with four successful title defenses. He’s also the former MAX muay Thai flyweight champion and the Omnoi Stadium 130 lbs champion.
Rodtang has been fighting as a way to provide for his family since 10 years old, so his why is much stronger than the majority of opponents he faces.
Rodtang is one of the best ONE championship fighters for the following reasons.
- Explosive hooks to the head, shovel hooks to the liver, and devastating leg kicks thrown in combination – he simply overpowers his opponents
- Unparalleled energy, spirit, and enthusiasm for fighting – he loves what he does and it’s hard for his opponents to match it
- Insane durability and a granite chin
- Exceptional cardiovascular endurance combined with a relentless forward-pressure style of fighting where he cuts his opponents off – most of his opponents can’t keep up and the small 4 oz gloves suit this style
- Vast experience – Rodtang has been fighting since 10 years old and is approaching 350 professional fights
- Expert psychological warfare in the ring – taunts, showboats, intimidates, and complains often about his opponents running – which gets them fighting his style of fight
Since joining ONE Championship in 2018, Rodtang has won all 13 of his muay Thai bouts and only lost once in a pro exhibition match against Demetrious Johnson, which had mixed rounds of muay Thai and MMA. Rodtang has beaten the likes of Petchdam Petchyindee, Joseph Lasiri, and Jonathan Haggerty twice.
4. Superlek Kiatmuu9 – “The Kicking Machine” (131-29-4)
Height: 5’7” | Reach: 71” | Stance: Orthodox | Weight Class: Flyweight
Superlek Kiatmuu9 is the current ONE Championship flyweight kickboxing champion and is a former Lumpinee Stadium champion in the bantamweight (118 lbs) and super flyweight (115 lbs) divisions with one title defense.
He’s also the former WBC muay Thai super featherweight champion and at 27 years old he has plenty more years to excel and achieve titles in ONE Championship. In ONE, Superlek has an 8-1 record and his only loss was to Ilias Ennahachi via a controversial decision.
Superlek’s a ONE Championship muay Thai great with the following skills.
- Great teeps to the body and head with his left lead, and constant lightning-fast roundhouse kicks to any target with his rear right
- Powerful elbows in close and a crisp jab to keep opponents at a distance
- Not the most powerful striker but he throws a lot of volume to win by points – 7 of 8 wins by decision in ONE Championship
- Exceptional fight intelligence and vision allow him to figure out his opponent’s timing, range, and game plan before dismantling them
- Defensive abilities: great defensive timing, footwork, head movement, and a strong tight guard – he’s very durable and has been stopped just once in over 120 fights via doctor stoppage due to a cut
- Seamlessly transitions from defense to offensive with counterattacks (especially kicks) followed up by slick combinations (especially boxing)
Proving his talent further, he’s beaten Daniel Puertas (kickboxing), Taiki Naito, Walter Goncalves, and Panpayak Jitmuangnon twice in ONE Championship bouts. Overall, Superlek is one of the elite muay Thai fighters and he’s likely to become a two-sport champion in the near future.
5. Tawanchai PK Saenchai (129-31-2)
Height: 5’10” | Reach: 70” | Stance: Southpaw | Weight Class: Featherweight
Tawanachai is a generational talent and the current ONE Championship muay Thai featherweight champion with 1 title defense (Feb 2023). He most recently won the 2022 ONE Championship muay Thai Fighter of the Year and was the Lumpinee Stadium Fighter of the Year in 2018.
Tawanchai started training in muay Thai at the age of 8 and at 14 he made his Lumpinee Stadium debut. He beat some of the best fighters in Thailand such as Kulabdam and Sangmanee and was signed by ONE Championship in 2020.
Tawanchai is a generational talent for the following reasons.
- Powerful and snappy left roundhouse kicks and front kicks
- Great flow and fluidity combined with speedy, precise, and powerful striking
- Amazing energy and technique efficiency – flows between powerful and speedy combinations to relaxed and observing
- Elite composure and focus in a fight with full awareness of his opponent’s range
- Timing of strikes with calculated and non-telegraphed striking
At just 23 years old, he’s set up for future greatness and has already beaten the likes of Petchmorakot Petchyindee, Saemapetch Fairtex, and Jamal Yusopov in ONE Championship.