A blockbuster main event has been announced for ONE's first "Fight Night" event of 2024.
ONE flyweight kickboxing world champion Superlek Kiatmoo9 of Thailand defends his title against Elias Mahmoudi from Algeria in the ONE Fight Night 18 headliner.
The event takes place at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok on Jan 13.
"The Kicking Machine" looks to pick up where he left off after a stellar 2023 campaign that saw him reel off five straight wins and claim the flyweight kickboxing strap.
After starting the year with a hard-fought kickboxing world title win over Daniel Puertas in January, followed by a successful defence against Danial Williams, Superlek has also solidified his place at the top of the Muay Thai rankings with three victories in his native discipline.
The most recent of which was a 2023 "fight of the year" candidate against fellow Thai megastar Rodtang Jitmuangnon in September.
While the 28-year-old came out on top when the scorecards were read, he was ineligible to win the ONE flyweight Muay Thai world title due to missing weight.
Nevertheless, the memorable victory extended Superlek's overall win streak to 10.
Now, in his return to the kickboxing realm, he will have to turn away a young and hungry challenger to keep his run going.
Mahmoudi came close to winning the gold in 2019, when he came out on the wrong end of an ultra-close technical decision against then-flyweight kickboxing king Petchdam Petchyindee.
"The Sniper" then rebounded with a dominant victory over Thai legend Lerdsila Phuket Top Team later that year.
The explosive Algerian was last in action this past August, when he dispatched former ONE flyweight Muay Thai world title challenger Edgar Tabares with three knockdowns inside the first round.