KEY POINTS
- Petchmorakot will defend his ONE featherweight Muay Thai belt against Jimmy Vienot
- Petchmorakot is confident that he has the keys to beating Vienot at ONE 157
- Vienot is no stranger to winning titles in both kickboxing and Muay Thai
Thai kickboxing superstar Petchmorakot Petchyindee Academy has been the undisputed king of the ONE Championship featherweight Muay Thai division, being the only man to hold the title since it was inaugurated in February 2020.
However, he faces his next massive challenge when he takes on French phenom Jimmy Vienot.
Vienot has been tearing it up on the international scene to the tune of 51 wins and 14 knockouts ever since he started fighting professionally in 2013, even winning the prestigious Lumpinee Stadium title six years later.
He has also won the Superkombat Fighting Championship 70-kilogram title in 2021, the 2018 and 2021 World Muay Thai Council championships, and the 2019 Arena Fight K-1 75-kilogram crown.
While it is not entirely unheard of for a fighter to get a title shot immediately after entering the promotion, the pedigree of fighters that he has already faced cannot be denied.
Fighting against the likes of ONE veterans Sorgraw Petchyindee Academy, Rafi Bohic and Bobo Sacko outside of the organization, Vienot is no stranger to facing top-tier competition.
However, Petchmorakot is the same way after facing the widely-recognized “greatest of all-time” and "The Michael Jordan of Kickboxing" in Giorgio Petrosyan twice in his career.
The first time they met saw Petchmorakot came out on top of Petrosyan, but a review later saw the result be turned into a no contest after the former was deemed to have been illegally clinching during the bout.
Petrosyan would exact revenge on Petchmorakot in their rematch thanks to a unanimous decision.
Since losing to Petrosyan, Petchmorakot has never been defeated and is currently riding a four-fight win streak within ONE Championship.
But for the reigning featherweight Muay Thai king, he fully believes that he has the keys to defeating Vienot.
“He is a tall fighter with all kinds of weapons from punches, kicks, elbows, everything. His outstanding weapons would be his knees and his kicks, and his tall build,” said Petchmorakot.
“My solution will be striking as much as I can, with extra punches to add strength and power, switching with some elbows and also close-range knees.”
Petchmorakot is a fighting champion through and through, and Vienot’s blend of skills will be his biggest challenge yet to his title reign.
He will face Vienot in the main event of ONE 157 on May 20.
