Ricardo Bravo is one of the most intriguing prospects strutting his stuff on the ONE Lumpinee platform.
The Argentinian knockout artist has started his promotional tenure impressively, and he looks to record another thrilling finish when he faces the undefeated Kenan Bayramov in a 161-pound catchweight Muay Thai contest at ONE Lumpinee 50.
The action goes down on Friday at the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium.
With 21 knockouts among his 26 professional victories, Bravo appears a perfect fit for the promotion that boasts a near 70 percent finish rate.
Bravo was born in Buenos Aires, and like many kids in the Argentinian capital he had a modest upbringing.
He found a passion for martial arts early in life and made the brave decision to relocate to Tokyo, Japan, at age 17 to pursue his dream of becoming a professional kickboxer.
A teenager travelling to the other side of the planet alone is an incredibly risky proposition, but the sacrifice has certainly paid off for Bravo.
Along the way he has worked as a car and house cleaner, construction worker, fitness trainer, and even as a model to support his fighting dream.
Bravo now plies his trade at Tokyo's Weerasackreck Fairtex Gym, and he has found that his skills translated well into Thailand's national sport.
The 24-year-old has amassed an impressive professional record of 26-2 since moving to Japan, including a Japanese kickboxing championship.
Bravo's destructive run on the Japanese fight scene caught the attention of ONE Championship in 2023, and his form continued at ONE Lumpinee.
He was handed a stiff test on debut in Thai standout Denpanom Pran26, but he was not overawed by the occasion.
Bravo showed off his razor-sharp punches on his way to silencing Denpanom's local fans with a crushing second-round knockout.
The Argentinian repeated the dose in his sophomore appearance in November, when his hands were once again too much to handle for 20-year-old Norwegian prodigy Oliver Hansen. This time, the end came in the third round.
With two knockouts from two starts under the ONE banner, Bravo could well be within striking distance of one of the 3.5-million-baht contracts on offer at Lumpinee.
A deal with the world's largest martial arts organisation would also bring the deeply family-oriented fighter ever closer to his ultimate dream of buying his mother a house and taking her to Japan.