ONE Championship

Most fighters ease back from a lengthy layoff with a safe opponent. Prajanchai Pongsuphan PK chose the opposite path.

The two-sport ONE World Champion returns from injury to face former title challenger Wang Junguang in a three-round strawweight kickboxing bout at The Inner Circle 35. The event streams live from Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday, October 16.

The comeback arrives nearly a year after Prajanchai lost the kickboxing crown to Jonathan Di Bella and subsequently underwent surgery. The grueling process sidelined the Thai superstar as he worked his way back to full physical health. Instead of a tune-up fight, the 31-year-old chose a dangerous veteran who once came within a whisker of becoming the promotion’s first strawweight kickboxing king.

Prajanchai’s resume already reads like a highlight reel of Thai combat sports dominance. He debuted in 2021 by dethroning Sam-A Gaiyanghadao for the strawweight Muay Thai title. Then he lost the belt to Joseph Lasiri in 2022. After, he avenged that loss in under 90 seconds to become undisputed champion. In 2024, he added the kickboxing crown against Di Bella to achieve two-sport supremacy, later defending his Muay Thai title against Ellis Badr Barboza in 2025.

Wang Junguang brings Shaolin roots into comeback test

Wang’s own path to this moment carries plenty of intrigue. His martial arts journey began at the Shaolin Temple, where his father sent him to study traditional kung fu, before he became a former Enfusion Kickboxing Champion competing on the world stage.

The 31-year-old earned a shot at the inaugural ONE Strawweight Kickboxing World Title in 2019 after demolishing Federico Roma via first-round TKO, falling to Sam-A Gaiyanghadao in a five-round war, then dropped a razor-thin split decision to Aslanbek Zikreev in 2020 before stepping away from the promotion for an extended period.

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM