ONE Championship: Phetjeeja shouldering weight of expectation ahead of Morimoto clash

Phetjeeja Lukjaoporongtom said she was honoured to be taking part in ONE 172 in Tokyo on Sunday, when she defends her kickboxing title against Kana Morimoto in one of the biggest fights of her career.

The Japanese icon is a former K-1 champion but has had mixed fortunes since signing with ONE, losing her debut to Anissa Meksen before bouncing back with a win over Sweden’s Moa Carlsson in January.

Thai fighter Phetjeeja, meanwhile, comes into the bout on the back of an impressive 14-fight winning streak, but expects a formidable challenge against the home favourite.

“She’s very fast and also very powerful,” she said. “So, I’ve been working on my speed, and I have done weightlifting so that I can work on my power as well, just to deal with Kana.”

As well as Morimoto, Phetjeeja is dealing with the pressure that comes with being ONE’s atomweight kickboxing champion and from being a 23-year-old, who with 200 wins, is already talked about as being one of the best.

“When I first got the belt, I was very happy,” she said. “Then I realised that it’s actually a lot of pressure. When you go up to get a title shot, that’s already pressure, but it’s even more when you have to defend your title.