Puric vs. Mahmoudi, Di Bella vs. Botelho, Thongpoon vs. Williams Confirmed For ONE Fight Night 26
A trio of all-striking matchups have been added to ONE Fight Night 26: Lee vs. Rasulov on Prime Video, which goes down in U.S. primetime on Friday, December 6, live from the iconic Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
In a pivotal flyweight Muay Thai battle between top contenders, #2-ranked Denis “The Bosnian Menace” Puric will square off with #5-ranked Elias “The Sniper” Mahmoudi.
It’s a return to “the art of limbs” for Puric, who most recently squared off with ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Champion Rodtang Jitmuangnon under kickboxing rules and pushed the Thai megastar to the limit in a chaotic brawl.
Despite that loss, the Bosnian-Canadian brawler is riding a two-fight winning streak in Muay Thai – with key victories over Jacob Smith and Nguyen Nhat – and hopes to make his case for a World Title shot.
In the other corner, Mahmoudi is coming off a pair of highlight-reel finishes over Edgar Tabares and Taiki Naito as he continues to establish himself as one of the most exciting strikers on the planet.
The Algerian sensation is top-five ranked in both the flyweight kickboxing and flyweight Muay Thai divisions, and he’s eager to move closer to a shot at gold with another memorable victory.
In strawweight kickboxing action, former divisional king Jonathan Di Bella will look to kick-start another golden run against the red-hot Rui Botelho.
Until now, Di Bella has competed exclusively in World Title fights since joining ONE Championship, winning the inaugural belt against Zhang Peimian and then successfully defending it against “Mini T” Danial Williams.
The Italian-Canadian phenom most recently suffered the only loss of his amateur and professional careers, dropping the strap in a razor-close decision to Thai superstar Prajanchai PK Saenchai, and he would love to earn a rematch with a victory on December 6.
On the other side, Botelho is entering this contest following a pair of sensational upset victories.
The Portuguese veteran had suffered a string of tough losses against top-flight competition, but he bounced back to stun former ONE World Title challenger Zhang and then Thai fan favorite Thongpoon PK Saenchai.
The 29-year-old will now look for the biggest victory of his career – and make his own case for a World Title opportunity – when he squares off with Di Bella in Bangkok.
In the third announced matchup, the aforementioned “Mini T” Danial Williams and Thongpoon PK Saenchai will throw down in a strawweight Muay Thai battle.
“Mini T” has competed across the striking arts and MMA since entering ONE Championship, making a name for himself as a high-octane, aggressive fighter while consistently facing elite opponents and even challenging Superlek Kiatmoo9 for the ONE Flyweight Kickboxing World Title in 2022.
The former WMC Muay Thai World Champion now aims to keep himself in the upper echelon with an impressive showing at ONE Fight Night 26 – and he has the ideal foe to produce a barnburner.
Thongpoon initially stormed into ONE Championship with a string of victories, emerging as an all-action knockout artist at the ONE Friday Fights event series.
Since earning a six-figure contract to compete on the organization’s global roster, the 27-year-old Thai has stumbled and will come into this encounter on a two-bout losing skid.
However, the PK Saenchai representative has an opportunity to right the ship against Williams and prove that he belongs among the very best strikers on the planet.
Stay tuned to onefc.com for all the news and announcements about ONE Fight Night 26: Lee vs. Rasulov on December 6.
