Nadaka – Japan’s Muay Thai Prodigy Arrives in ONE Championship
One of the greatest Japanese Muay Thai fighters in the nation’s history, Nadaka Yoshinari, Will make his official debut in ONE Championship. He will be facing off against a similarly young fighter from Thailand in Rak Erawan, a former Lumpinee Stadium champion.
Nadaka Yoshinari vs. Rak Erawan
However, despite this being a matchup between two very high-level Muay Thai fighters, Nadaka Yoshinari has stolen the spotlight from his opponent Rak Erawan. This isn’t just because ONE 172 is taking place in Japan, where Nadaka will have the hometown advantage, but also due to Nadaka’s incredible list of accomplishments.
Nadaka Yoshinari is most known for his time in ONE Championship’s rival Muay Thai promotion, the Rajadamnern World Series, or RWS for short. This promotion hosts one of the two oldest and most prestigious belts in Muay Thai, the Rajadamnern Stadium title. This is the most important traditional Muay Thai title a fighter can win today since the promotion is geared towards Muay Thai purists. This is in contrast to ONE Championship, which is attempting to modernize and make Muay Thai as appealing as possible to a worldwide audience.
Nadaka Yoshinari has made his legacy in RWS, where he has been a staggering 3-division Rajadamnern stadium champion, the only foreigner in Muay Thai history to achieve such a feat. Not only that, but Nadaka has also won a Lumpinee stadium title and WBC, IBF, and WMC world titles in Muay Thai. With all of these titles, Nadaka is a 7-time world champion and has won titles across five divisions, a legendary list of accomplishments at only 24 years old at the time of this writing.
However, his opponent, Rak Erwan, is no easy task. He is also a young fighter, at 23 years old at the time of this writing. He has a very accomplished background, being a Lumpinee stadium champion and a Channel 7 stadium champion. On top of that, he is a very experienced fighter within ONE Championship’s Muay Thai rules. In 4 OZ gloves, he has five wins, most of them via knockout, despite also having three decision losses. Still, Rak Erawan is no joke, and an upset is a real possibility.
Nadaka Yoshinari in 4oz gloves: A new world for the prodigy
Despite everything laid out previously, the most significant factor that may come into play in this fight for Nadaka will be his inexperience in ONE Championships 4oz gloves. This contrasts Rak Erawan, who is experienced in the 4oz gloves. Also, given the fast pace, ONE Championship Muay Thai has compared to stadium Muay Thai.
So, despite Nadaka being the notable favorite against Rak Erawan. The change in the atmosphere may be too much for the Japanese star, so an upset is very much a possibility. So, this fight against two high-level champions has excitement all over it, and the fact that it’s early on the ONE 172 card shows how exciting this card truly is.
