‘The Best In North America’ – Cody Jerome And Luke Lessei Preview Muay Thai Clash At ONE Fight Night 27
This Friday in U.S. primetime, the historic Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, will play host to a Muay Thai contest between two of North America’s top strikers.
At ONE Fight Night 27: Tang vs. Abdullaev on Prime Video, #5-ranked featherweight Muay Thai contender Luke “The Chef” Lessei will square off with highly touted promotional newcomer Cody Jerome in a matchup designed to produce action.
A Road to ONE: Canada tournament winner, Jerome largely dominated the Canadian Muay Thai circuit before getting his shot on the global stage.
He knows that facing a top-five ranked opponent in his ONE debut represents a massive opportunity. He’s also aware that Lessei is one of the finest Muay Thai fighters to ever come out of America – so their showdown in Bangkok will determine regional bragging rights.
The 28-year-old told onefc.com:
“I think this will decide who is the best in North America.
“All the respect to Luke. He’s had some amazing fights in ONE. I like his style. He’s very unorthodox. But yeah, we got a good game plan for him.”
Jerome admits that Lessei’s creative and unique brand of striking, along with his 6-foot-2 frame, represents a difficult puzzle to solve.
Still, the Canadian is confident that he and his coaches have identified some holes in the Iowa native, and he plans to exploit those in their fight:
“He’s very unorthodox. He’s very hard to mimic, right? So I’d say that’s where his strengths lie. He’s tall, lanky, and very, very unorthodox. He’s not traditional at all. Very, very awkward.
“His weaknesses – I don’t want to give too much away. My coaches have watched him quite a bit, and they’ve assessed his weaknesses, and we’re definitely going to exploit them. You will see his weaknesses on January 10.”
Jerome understands that if he wants to make waves in his much-anticipated ONE debut, he’ll need to not only defeat “The Chef” but do so in electrifying fashion.
He plans to do just that and said that viewers can expect to see a surprising buzzsaw of activity and aggression at ONE Fight Night 27:
“The fans are gonna see a very high-paced output from me. I have extremely good cardio. I don’t stop. I think I will drown him. Honestly, I think he will buckle like most of my opponents do. I think fans are gonna be very shocked by my output.”
Lessei Opens Up On Change Of Scenery, Mindset Shift
For his part, Luke Lessei has done plenty over the course of his three-fight tenure in ONE to cement himself as one of Muay Thai’s most captivating strikers.
But while his trio of epic battles against “Smokin” Jo Nattawut, Eddie Abasolo, and Bampara Kouyate were each wildly entertaining wars, the American went 1-2 over that stretch.
As a result, he’s placed a greater emphasis on strategy and game planning this time around:
“These last three fights have been bangers, so my mindset going into this one is hopefully to not to continue with, like, the Fight of the Nights and the wars.
“Of course, whatever happens happens, and we’re ready for whatever. But, the mindset is a little more – not that it wasn’t strategic – but just really making sure I’m dialed in on a little bit more of a game plan, instead of just worrying about the talent and the skills that brought me to the dance.”
After a decorated amateur career and hot start to his professional career, Lessei came to the world’s largest martial arts organization with loads of hype. His trial by fire against the planet’s most dangerous strikers has been an important learning lesson.
He stated that Jerome can try to apply all the relentless pressure he wants but that one clean punch in the 4-ounce gloves can change the fight in an instant:
“He’s not a brawler, but he’s an aggressive pressure fighter. I think that’s his main strength, his pace, and his pressure, but I don’t know.
“One thing I’ve learned is once you get up in these small gloves, it really doesn’t matter if you’re just a volume fighter. You could just get caught with one shot and go to sleep.”
Hungry to find his footing in ONE and put together a winning streak, “The Chef” has made significant changes to his training and preparation. Last August, he relocated from Iowa to New Jersey, where he now trains under respected coach Bob Peach at Beacon MMA.
The change in environment has reinvigorated Lessei, who is now more focused than ever on his mental game and controlling his emotions.
That’s why he’s not particularly concerned about Jerome’s high-pressure, high-output style. Any fears or negative thoughts, Lessei added, are gone from his mind the moment they appear:
“If you’ve been fighting for your whole life, you’ve dealt with people that go crazy and put a lot of pressure on you. So, if I’m thinking negative about that, that just leaves my mind ASAP.
“I gotta think about the positives and the things I wanna land and the things I’ve been practicing because I wanna put the pressure on him. I wanna put the volume on him. I wanna be moving, and juking, and jabbing, and keeping him at range. So, it’s not even like I’m focusing on what he does as a fighter.”
