Top Reasons to Catch ONE 167

ONE Championship has found its home away from home in The Land of Smiles.

The Chatri Sityodtong-led company will drive its roots ever deeper into Bangkok, Thailand, soil this Friday when it visits Impact Arena with ONE 167. The 11-bout smorgasbord features matches in mixed martial arts, muay thai, kickboxing and submission grappling, as the promotion once again shines its light on a number of talented and charismatic combat sports competitors. Showstopping fireworks are a virtual guarantee.

Here are three reasons to catch ONE 167:

All That Glitters

Tawanchai P.K. Saenchai puts his ONE muay thai featherweight championship on the line when he rematches Nattawut Somkhun in the hotly anticipated headliner at 155 pounds. The two men fought once previously, as Tawanchai emerged with a three-round unanimous decision over his fellow Thai in October. He steps back into view on the strength of a seven-fight winning streak. The 25-year-old Tawanchai (132-31-2, 8-1 ONE) last competed at ONE Friday Fights 46, where he retained his title with a five-round majority decision over Superbon Singha Mawynn. Tawanchai has not tasted defeat in nearly three years. On the other side of the equation, Somkhun (72-11, 6-5) enters the cage having lost three of his past four bouts. The former two-division Lion Fight titleholder last suited up at ONE on Prime Video 17 in December, when he closed the book on a troubling three-fight losing streak and took a three-round unanimous decision from Luke Lessei.

A Sequel to Surpass the Original

Multiple-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion Mikey Musumeci sets aside his ONE submission grappling flyweight title to move up to 145 pounds for a rematch with Gabriel Sousa as part of the main card. The last man to defeat the American wunderkind, Sousa executed a successful north-south choke against him in their first meeting back in September 2021. Musumeci has since emerged as a promotional lynchpin, with a perfect 6-0 record under the ONE Championship banner. The 27-year-old Marlboro, New Jersey, native last competed at ONE on Prime Video 15, where he disposed of Shinya Aoki with a heel hook in a little more than three minutes on Oct. 6. Meanwhile, Sousa, 27, holds the rank of black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Lucas Rocha and boasts some 120 victories to his name.

Change of Scenery

One of the most celebrated and accomplished submission grapplers of his generation, Kade Ruotolo makes his long-awaited crossover to mixed martial arts under the ONE Championship banner. The 21-year-old Andre Galvao disciple was a gold medalist at the 2022 Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Fighting World Championships and later captured the inaugural ONE submission grappling lightweight title. Once the fists start flying for the first time, intrigue figures to be in high supply. On the other side of the ledger, Cooper went 3-0 as an amateur and owns a 2-1 record as a pro. The younger brother of former Professional Fighters League champion Ray Cooper III, he last fought at ONE on Prime Video 14, where a first-round elbow strike and follow-up punches from Maurice Abevi spoiled his Sept. 29 organizational debut and resulted in his first defeat.