ONE Championship: Muay Thai veterans Liam Harrison, Seksan Or Kwanmuang to face off in catchweight bout in Denver
- Englishman declared in December that Seksan was the only fight he was interested in, with the Thai saying OK ‘at 140 pounds’
- Their meeting on September 6, booked for the 18,000-capacity Ball Arena, will be ONE Championship’s second event in the US
Muay Thai legends Liam Harrison and Seksan Or Kwanmuang will face off at ONE 168 in Denver, in a catchweight bout that both fighters have been calling for on social media.
Englishman Harrison, who has been out of action since injuring his knee in 2022 and appears to be coming towards the end of his career, declared in December that Seksan was the only fight he was interested in.
While Harrison has been sidelined, Thai veteran Seksan has been making a name for himself with ONE Championship, winning eight fights out of eight for the promotion last year.
He, too, had made it clear he would be interested in a fight with Harrison declaring on Instagram that “I’m ready to meet you at 140 pounds”.
Seksan lost recently to Yutaro Asahi, his first since 2022, but the 35-year-old will have five months to prepare for Harrison.
By contrast, Harrison, who did not compete at all last year, will have two bouts booked in four months, as he has already been matched with Katsuni Kikuno at ONE 167 in June.
Fans will be hoping the English fighter comes through that match unscathed.
Harrison is a former WBC welterweight, WMC lightweight and WPMF light welterweight champion who has been in with some of the best Thai fighters during the course of his career.
Seksan’s list of titles is even more impressive. He was a two-time Rajadamnern lightweight champion, WBC super-lightweight champion, Omnoi super-lightweight champion and Channel 7 super-bantamweight champion.
The veterans’ meeting in Denver on September 6, booked for the 18,000-capacity Ball Arena, will be ONE Championship’s second event in the US and is part of the promotion’s international expansion in 2024. There have already been fight cards in Qatar and Japan this year as well as the shows in Thailand that take place every weekend.
Seksan and Harrison are not the only decorated martial artists added to the One 168 card this week.
Four-time IBJJF world champion Mikey Musumeci will be moving up in weight to take on Kade Ruotolo in a submission grappling match that will have the latter’s lightweight title on the line.
Musumeci also holds the ONE Championship flyweight title, while Ruotolo is an ADCC world champion who also has a fight booked at ONE 167 in June, when he will make his MMA debut against Blake Cooper.
As previously announced, mixed martial artist Stamp Fairtex is moving up to strawweight to challenge champion Xiong Jing Nan in the ONE 168 headliner. In the co-main event, Jonathan Haggerty will put his bantamweight Muay Thai title on the line when he faces Superlek Kiatmoo9.
