ONE Championship returns June 15th with another strong lineup spread across multiple rulesets. The night’s headliner sees Thai superstar Stamp Fairtex attempt to defend her atomweight Muay Thai world title against fast rising Australian Alma Juniku. Elsewhere on the card Yoshihiro “Sexyama” Akiyama returns to MMA to face Agilan Thani and a host of well known Muay Thai and Kickboxing talent bolsters the show,

Opening the main card is a sure fire fight of the night candidate as fan favourite Liam “Hitman” Harrison takes on the debuting Rotlek P.K. Saenchai in what is sure to be a fan friendly affair.

Probably the less internationally known of the two fighters is the Thai, who is better remembered on the elite stadium scene as Rotlek Jaotalaytong. The former WMC and Channel 7 Stadium champion has done stints out of Bangkok’s Sitsongpeenong gym and now calls P.K Saenchai home, where he trains alongside some of the sport’s very best in Tawanchay, Gaonar, Pakorn and Suakim.

Harrison is one of the sport’s most recognisable figures, the U.K. native is known worldwide for his forward, high pace style and devastating leg kicks. Thanks to a strong promotional backing from Yokkao, Harrison has developed a worldwide fan base and after a shaky start to his ONE Career, a knockout loss to Petchmorakot Petchyindee, he will be eager to return to form against Rotlek.

Rodlek P.K. Saenchai

Since a successful early career that saw him take the prestigious Channel 7 Stadium title, Rodlek has had an up and down run against some of Bangkok’s elite such as Seksan, Panpayak, Rodtang and Kaimukkao. What makes Rodlek dangerous is at times also what makes him predictable, a caution to the wind walk forward fighter who likes to work behind his right hand and left hook, Rodlek can be stifled by a fighter who jars his entry with centreline attacks, below is an example of Kaimukkao disrupting Rodlek’s rhythm behind his jab, back peddles to a safe outside range to calmly evade the retaliation right hand and scores with his lead kick as Rodlek attempts to cover distance.

Rotlek vs Kaimukkao via Muayties



Rodlek’s tendency to throw short, round strikes from an outside range can leave him susceptible to counters, a Panpayak Jitmuangnon also exposed by sitting his back on the ropes and firing a left over the top of his guard when he would attempt to rush in.

Rodlek vs Panpayak via Muayties

What makes this match so interesting, though, is how Rodlek fares against fighters with similar styles who are more inclined to meet him in the middle, which Harrison likely will be. While Rodlek can be frustrated by a backward moving fighter who is content to stifle him while moving backwards, he has a number of tactical go-tos that make engaging him in a mid to short range a high stakes encounter. While not a typically clinch-oriented fighter, note how Rodlek explosively capitalises on Seksan’s attempt to engage by firing an upward elbow down the centre. Rodlek successfully used the same play multiple times in the match,

Rodlek vs Seksan via Muayties

What will be interesting about the match is the way Rodlek adapts to the ONE Championship 4oz gloves, his preference for using his hands, forward pressure and affinity for firing through opponents’ guards suggests the switch-up is a plus for him provided he has the defensive capability to keep the fast hands of Harrison at bay.

Liam Harrison

No stranger to mixing it up with elite level Thai opposition, Harrison has shared the ring with Saenchai on three separate occasions, as well as taking on icons Anuwat Kaewsamrit, Singdam Kiatmuu9 and Pakorn P.K. Saenchai. In his last ONE start the Englishman took a short notice step up in weight to fight Petchmorrakot Petchyindee and despite early success with fast hand combinations, fell victim to a dramatic elbow knockout in the second round.

Petchmorrakot spoils Harrison’s ONE debut via ONE Championship

Liam Harrison is a fighter who brings to the ring a series of signature moves, his combination work is explosive and many of finest victories have come on the back of his left hook, heavy low kicks and an educated sweep game.

When Harrison does his best work he sits at range, marking his opponents hands and awaiting their advance, which he meets with a pull back and low kick counter.

Liam Harrison’s signature counter low kick via Yokkao

Having tools to slow an advancing opponent will be critical against Rotlek, and the power of the kicks will be a factor as the oft-undersized Harrison will likely be the bigger man against Rotlek, who even in his later stadium career competed at 131lbs. Harrison’s clearest path to victory is most likely striking the legs and body of the advancing Rodlek and exiting laterally to avoid getting pinned against the fence and running onto a right hand or upward elbow.



Harrison lands the low kick and exits outside his opponent’s lead leg via Yokkao

Mid-range battleground

We can see that both fighters like to do their work at middle range, Rotlek coming forward behind his hands is a safe bet and Harrison will be eager use his centreline control to catch Rotlek coming in with low kicks and work his boxing as he exits laterally. The risk for Harrison in this type of match is that if he fails to time his counter as he pulls backward he runs the risk of backing himself up to where he has nowhere to exit and being on the end of a Rodlek right hand without his feet under him (similar to the above exchange with Petchmorrakot).

When the two exchange at it will be a battle of precision vs power, if Harrison can set his preferred pace and use his lower body attacks to warn off the pressuring Rodlek while consistently moving his feet away from the power side, openings will emerge for his boxing arsenal as he forces Rotlek to reset and follow. From Rodlek’s side, if he can disrupt Harrison’s timing enough to land his hands, following through with his elbows and forcing Harrison to panic and try to exit in a hurry may set him up for a fight ending blow.

Both men have demonstrated they are not afraid of a war of attrition, on the night we will see whether the immovable pressure of the Thai is enough to fend off Harrison’s combination tactics of if the slick exits and high work rate are enough to keep Rodlek guessing and fend off his power.