Kongthoranee Sor Sommai is back in action at ONE Fight Night 25: Nicolas v Eersel II.
The Thai star faces Russian veteran Tagir Khalilov in a flyweight Muay Thai contest on the blockbuster card that goes down at Lumpinee Stadium on Oct 5.
Kongthoranee is hoping to kick off another run towards the top of the talent-rich division after he saw a seven-fight win streak snapped by ONE flyweight kickboxing world champion Superlek Kiatmoo9 in his most recent outing in June.
The 27-year-old stormed onto the ONE roster via the ONE Lumpinee platform, where his unbeaten run secured him a life-changing 3.5-million-baht contract with the promotion in April.
Among his victims on the way up were long-time contender Taiki Naito and fellow top prospect Jaosuayai.
To score his first win as a fully-fledged member of the ONE roster, however, Kongthoranee will have to overcome a man with vast experience on the global stage.
The hard-hitting Khalilov has been a staple of ONE's flyweight striking divisions since 2021, during which time he has faced a slew of top stars such as Rodtang Jitmuangnon, Superlek Kiatmoo9, and Denis Puric.
The 31-year-old has a series of highlight-reel knockouts among his seven fights, and he'll be chasing another one to reclaim his own place in the flyweight Muay Thai top five.
Also announced for ONE Fight Night 25 is a pivotal strawweight MMA showdown between ranked contenders Bokang Masunyane and Mansur Malachiev.
Masunyane has won four of his last five fights against some of his division's best.
Most recently, "Little Giant" reaffirmed his No.2 ranking with a unanimous decision victory over Japan's Keito Yamakita in January.
Malachiev has enjoyed a meteoric rise into the divisional rankings, where he currently rates fifth.
The Dagestani wrestling standout holds an impressive 12-1 professional record, with his only blemish to date being a razor-thin decision loss to current ONE strawweight MMA world champion Joshua Pacio.
