Former ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing World Champion Petchtanong Petchfergus and Ben “The Problem” Woolliss are both on the hunt for a defining victory when they collide at ONE Fight Night 43: Tang vs. Gasanov on Prime Video.
The duo meet in a bantamweight kickboxing battle, which airs live in U.S. primetime on Friday, May 15, from Bangkok’s iconic Lumpinee Stadium.
A win rebuilds Petchtanong’s path back to the sport’s most coveted gold. For the Englishman, getting his hand raised against the Thai veteran will prove his promotional debut was no fluke.
They are ready to trade leather inside the mecca of Muay Thai, and the message from each side has been loud and clear.
The Thai Legend Who Refuses To Slow Down
Petchtanong Petchfergus is not underestimating a single thing his opponent brings to the ring on fight night.
The multi-time World Champion is coming off a defeat to Yuki Yoza that snapped his three-fight winning streak in ONE. The setback sent him straight back to the drawing board, where he has left nothing to chance heading into this assignment.
He said:
“From what I’ve seen, he’s very smooth, strong, and has great explosive power. In his last fight, his timing was sharp, and his calf kicks were heavy.
“For this fight, I’m checking my ego at the door. I’m not going to just stand there and take leg kicks as I did against Yuki. I’ll be using more movement, teeps, and active defense. His most dangerous weapons are definitely those leg kicks and his hooks.”
The depth of that preparation has been the trademark of his entire fight career.
Petchtanong holds a bachelor’s degree in Sports Science. He has spent years putting that academic knowledge to use in daily practice. The result is a 40-year-old who continues to move, recover, and compete with the explosiveness of his prime years.
Every ounce of confidence the Superbon Training Camp representative carries into fight week is rooted in that same foundation. It is also what has him believing the 360th win of his career will arrive in highlight-reel fashion:
“My mentality is just grittier. I’ve been in this game so long that my endurance and mental toughness are on another level. I’m confident that my fight IQ and timing are a step ahead of his.
“It might be over a lot faster than you think. I’m confident in my timing. If he slips up even once, I’m going for the knockout. Get ready for some beautiful striking.”
There is a much bigger prize sitting just beyond ONE Fight Night 43 for the former divisional king. A decisive win would put him back in the conversation for a shot at ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing World Champion Jonathan Haggerty.
Petchtanong, however, refuses to let that goal distract him from the present. He is keeping the bigger picture on the back burner until the work in front of him is done.
The Thai shared:
“If I win this next one decisively and my body still feels good, then a title shot is definitely on the cards. I’m taking it one fight at a time and listening to my body.”
The Surging Brit With Bigger Names In His Sights
Ben “The Problem” Woolliss is buzzing with the kind of energy that only a fighter who has waited his entire career for these moments can carry.
The 32-year-old announced his arrival on the global stage in a little under two minutes with a sequence of calf kicks that dropped former ONE Bantamweight MMA World Champion John “Hands of Stone” Lineker.
He returns this time with a full training camp behind him against another former divisional king. None of it shakes him, though:
“I feel like as these moments get bigger, I only rise to the occasion more and more. I’m even more excited for that – to fight on the big stage against another big name who’s a former champion.
“I’m excited to get in there and compete with someone of his caliber and show the world my abilities.”
Excitement alone does not win fights. The Englishman knows this better than most, and he has poured every ounce of himself throughout his preparation at SOMA Fight Club.
A man who has spent more than a decade battling Crohn’s Disease – an incurable autoimmune condition that almost ended his career – does not arrive on a card like this one without first leaving every last piece of himself on the gym mats.
Woolliss has brought that same discipline into this fight, fully assessing where he’ll have the edge over the former ONE Bantamweight Kickboxing World Champion:
“He’s had over 400 fights. So the composure and the time in the ring are probably one of his biggest strengths. But I also feel, if you have that many fights, it’s going to be very difficult to unwire your usual patterns, and I’m looking to exploit those patterns.
“His strengths are obviously his left kick, his left knee, his ability to be evasive, and his ability to be tricky. He also has a good fight IQ. That said, I feel like I’m very educationally aware of everything, and I see some great opportunities that I can exploit there.”
As such, Woolliss intends to drag the Thai veteran into dark waters in this bantamweight kickboxing matchup.
The Grimsby native predicts he’ll leave Lumpinee Stadium with his hand raised one way or another to continue his rise in the world’s largest martial arts organization.
“The Problem” concluded:
“I can see this fight ending in a few different ways. I’m prepared for every avenue. I’m explosive enough to put pressure out there, and I’m also in amazing condition to be able to put a pace on for three rounds.
“Of course, he’s an incredible athlete with a resume to back that up. But he’s never been to the depth of darkness that I’ve been to. It doesn’t faze me. I just feel like this is my time.”
