ONE Championship: A New Breed III Preview and Predictions

Bangkok will be set ablaze one more time on Friday for the third installment of ONE Championship’s A New Breed series. The highlight of the evening is the ONE Muay Thai featherweight title bout between reigning champion Petchmorakot Petchyindee Academy and challenger Magnus Andersson.

Petchmorakot is looking to defend his title for the second time. He became ONE’s inaugural Muay Thai featherweight champion when he beat Pongsiri PK.Saenchaimuaythaigym in February. He was successful in his first defense of the crown in a close win over the legendary “Boxing Computer” Yodsanklai Iwe Fairtex at ONE’s No Surrender event in July.

The challenger, Magnus “Crazy Viking” Andersson, is not going to make it an easy defense for Petchmorakot. Andersson is an accomplished Muay Thai fighter in his own right. He could match the champion skill for skill while also enjoying a significant height advantage. His achievements include a title reign as the Lion Fight super welterweight champion in 2019. Andersson now has a chance to win the biggest prize of his career against Petchmorakot.

In the co-headliner, fans will be treated to a can’t-miss kickboxing battle between ONE newcomers Capitan Petchyindee Academy and Petchtanong Petchfergus. This is a fight between two highly skilled, decorated, and experienced Muay Thai warriors who are also seasoned kickboxers. They have won a combined nine world titles and have nearly 600 fights between them.

To complete the card, there are two more Muay Thai bouts and a single MMA match. Yodpanumrong Kitmuangnon of Thailand, a six-time Muay Thai world champion, will fight Felipe Lob of Brazil in bantamweight Muay Thai action. The other Muay Thai match features Bangpleenoi Petchyindee Academy of Thailand against Yurik Davtyan in a featherweight pairing.

In the lone MMA match, Rika “Tinydoll” Ishige attempts to redeem her career after consecutive losses to Nou Srey Pov and Itsuki Hirata. Both defeats came in 2019. She wants to get back on track in her first fight of 2020. Ishige’s opponent, fellow Thai Sunisa “Thunderstorm” Srisen, also wants to get back on the winning track after a loss in her last fight against ONE superstar Stamp Fairtex.

ONE Championship: A New Breed III takes place at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday, September 18, with a start time of 8:30 a.m. ET. The show can be seen in its entirety for free via B/R Live in the United States and through pay-per-view on the ONE app worldwide.

How big of a threat is Magnus Andersson to dethrone Petchmorakot Petchyindee Academy as the Muay Thai featherweight champion?

Andersson poses a considerable threat to Petchmorakot’s reign. The hard-hitting and skilled native of Sweden trains out of the famed Revolution Gym in Phuket, Thailand, and is raring to go at the defending champ to prove his worth and add to his growing list of accomplishments. Aside from the aforementioned Lion Fight title, the Crazy Viking has also won the MX Muay Extreme strap and has faced his share of Muay Thai heavy hitters, including Sudsakorn Sor Klimnee and Yodwicha Khemmuaythai.

One reason why experts expect a war is the fact that Petchmorakot is itching for a convincing victory. There were some who believed that he lost his last fight, a defense of his ONE title against Muay Thai icon Yodsanklai. Some observers thought the “Boxing Computer” did enough to earn a close nod. So expect Petchmorakot to score a more decisive victory this time around.

What’s likely to happen is a tremendous back-and-forth between these two determined combatants. Each man will have their moments in the fight, but eventually Petchmorakot’s hand will again be raised in a close-but-convincing decision win.

The lone MMA contest on this card is a women’s atomweight affair that pits Rika Ishige against Sunisa Srisen. Who emerges with the victory?

Ishige’s theme for this fight will be redemption. She is determined to get back in the ring and earn another W after two consecutive losses. The “Tiny Doll” lost in her last bout via armbar against rising star Itsuki Hirata. Prior to that setback, she dropped a close decision against Kun Khmer World titlist Nou Srey Pov. She’ll be motivated to taste victory once more on ONE’s big stage.

Srisen is almost in the same boat as her opponent. “Thunderstorm” is coming off a loss in her latest match when she was stopped via TKO by Stamp Fairtex in July. She’ll no doubt be motivated to taste victory once more at the expense of a big name such as Ishige. However, Srisen is still not likely to have overcome the extended three-year layoff she had from fighting and the rust is still likely to be there, allowing Ishige to escape with the decision victory.

The lineup is heavy on talent from Petchyindee Academy. Will Petchmorakot’s teammates earn victories this weekend?

Petchmorakot’s teammates are featured prominently on this card.

Let’s start with Capitan, who is fighting Petchtanong Petchfergus. Capitan, who holds a 140-40-1 career mark, has been on a roll and hasn’t lost in over two years. He fought seven times in 2019 and is now fighting for the third time this year. Petchtanong, on the other hand, is coming off a loss in China, but it was in the final of the Wu Lin Feng World Cup 2020. He’s been quite active as well and will also be fighting for the third time in 2020. It should be a great display of skills in a back-and-forth battle, but the mere experience of Petchtanong, who is 356-55-1 in his extensive career, should carry him to a hard-fought victory over Capitan.

Bangpleenooi fights Yurik Davtyan, a veteran of over 50 professional bouts whose nickname, “Mee Khao Jomhot,” translates to “Strong White Bear.” Davtyan, an Armenian-Russian, is set to make his ONE debut. He’s an aggressive, strong fighter who has faced some of the world’s best Muay Thai fighters. He’s sure to take the fight to Bangpleenoi, who holds a 122-50-10 career mark. However, the Thai’s slick Muay Femur should be enough to hold off Davtyan en route to a clear decision win.

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