The rush to acquire prime real estate near the top of the One Championship welterweight division creates an environment conducive to conflict.
As Thani and Tetsuka move ever closer to their confrontation, a look at some of the numbers that have accompanied them to this point:
26: Years of age for Thani, who was born on Aug. 18, 1995 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
5: Thani wins by submission, accounting for 45% of his career total (11). His methods of choice: four rear-naked chokes and one kimura. Thani owns three other wins by knockout or technical knockout and three more by decision.
80: Seconds needed for Thani to punch out Reant Febriza Rainir at One Championship “Age of Champions” on March 13, 2015. Having occurred in his second professional assignment, it remains the fastest finish of his 16-fight career.
4: Countries in which Thani has fought as a mixed martial artist. He has gone 9-2 in his native Malaysia, 1-2 in Singapore, 1-0 in China and 0-1 in Japan.
.785: Cumulative winning percentage between the five men—McGuire, Yushin Okami, Kiamrian Abbasov, Zebaztian Kadestam and Ben Askren—who have beaten Thani. They boast a combined record of 102-28.
31: Years of age for Tetsuka, who was born in Tochigi, Japan, on Feb. 15, 1990.
6: Tetsuka victories by knockout or technical knockout, accounting for 67% of his career total (nine). His list of victims: Gunther Kalunda, Toshikazu Suzuki, Sergei Kulik, Yuta Nakamura, Makoto Kawawa and Shotaro Yabe. Tetsuka holds one other victory by submission—he put away Kenta Takagi with a rear-naked choke at Pancrase 306 in 2019—and two more by decision.
3: Promotions in which Tetsuka has competed as a mixed martial artist. He has gone 7-3 in Pancrase, 1-1 in One Championship and 1-0 in Shooto.
13: Welterweight champions in Pancrase history, Tetsuka included. Kiuma Kunioku, Daizo Ishige, Katsuya Inoue, Takuya Wada, Kengo Ura, Takenori Sato, Gota Yamashita, Shingo Suzuki, Akihiro Murayama, Hiromitsu Miura, Daichi Abe and Glaico Franca are the others.
61: Combined wins between the four men—Ramazonov, Takagi, Franca and Luiz Jorge Dutra Jr.—who have defeated Tetsuka. They sport a cumulative record of 61-33-1 (.642).