Kongchai targets knockout of Mehrdad Khanzadeh at ONE Friday Fights 148: “Want the finish”

Kongchai Chanaidonmueang has been one of the most consistent performers in the ONE Friday Fights series. On Friday, March 27, the former Rajadamnern Stadium Muay Thai World Champion wants to back that consistency with something more emphatic when he meets Iranian slugger Mehrdad Khanzadeh in the main event of ONE Friday Fights 148, airing live in Asia primetime from Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

The 23-year-old southpaw carries a 76-16 career record and 10 victories in the Friday Fights series into this rescheduled strawweight Muay Thai clash, which was postponed from ONE Friday Fights 146 after Khanzadeh fell ill.

He enters on a two-fight winning streak but left his most recent main-event performance — a decision over Thway Lin Htet — feeling he had left something behind.

“Everything went according to plan and I didn’t rush it, but I wasn’t entirely happy with my performance. Since I’d been out of the ring for three months, my strikes felt a bit sluggish,” Kongchai said.

“It’s a shame I couldn’t close the show. There were two or three clear openings where he was visibly rocked, especially in the third round where he was hurting bad, but I just couldn’t put him away.”

Kongchai has added his hands to the equation for Khanzadeh

Khanzadeh is no pushover. The Sor Dechapan fighter from Ardabil, Iran, rallied from a knockdown to earn a split-decision victory at ONE Friday Fights 125 in his most recent outing. It was a performance that established him as a heavy-handed, hard-to-stop opponent with serious finishing ambitions of his own.

Kongchai has done the homework, identified the threat, and made a specific adjustment: more boxing. The extra camp time from the postponement has sharpened his hands to complement the kicks that built his reputation.

“Mehrdad is in great form. He just beat Kritpet, who’s a former opponent of mine, and he looked really sharp in that fight. His hands are dangerous, so I’ve been training hard to stay alert and keep my guard up,” he said.

“I can’t just rely on my kicks; I need to fire back with my own punches too. I’ve been working a lot on my boxing to match him, kicks and punches together.”

Watching teammate Suriyanlek Por Yenying win recently added fuel to the fire. Kongchai wants to follow suit with a performance that punches through to the six-figure contract he has been chasing throughout his series tenure.

“I want to keep racking up wins and hunt for the contract again. I want to put on exciting fights. His victory gave me a huge boost,” Kongchai said.

“He’s a puncher, and I’m a kicker, but I’ve added more boxing to my game. If he wants to trade, I want him to know I’ve got hands too, not just kicks. I’ll be looking for my openings on the fly. I really want the finish this time, using everything in my arsenal.”