“Smokin” Jo Nattawut Credits ONE Championship for Massive Boom Behind Muay Thai’s Popularity in Adopted Home of Atlanta

Muay Thai veteran Jo Nattawut may live many miles away from his homeland of Thailand, but he’s happy to see its national sport thriving globally. 

The Thai star is set to compete for his first taste of ONE Championship gold when he challenges Tawanchai PK Saenchai for the ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Title at ONE 167 on Friday, June 7, inside the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.

Jo Nattawut is confident of making Muay Thai a big sport in ten years

Nattawut has been based in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States since 2013. He has continued practicing and teaching Muay Thai there and has been delighted to see its popularity grow, thanks, in part, to ONE’s promotion of the sport. 

“Muay Thai is growing here in Atlanta. It keeps growing every single month. Obviously, because of ONE Championship, it’s making it bigger. Everybody watches it, and then they train Muay Thai even more,” he said.

“Thinking about Muay Thai, overall, in the next 10 years, it can be as big as [MMA] or even bigger because it’s so exciting and people love watching it. I think if ONE keeps going like this for the next five to ten years, we can reach the highest level.” 

In May 2023, ONE Championship made its way to American soil for the first time when it put on ONE Fight Night 10 in Denver. The show featured a slew of combat sports, and it exposed many fans to Muay Thai for the first time.

Nattawut reflects on his future plans

The promotion’s weekly ONE Friday Fights events have also provided an avenue for up-and-coming fighters to showcase their striking talents to a wider audience, which has also helped more people to get excited about the “art of eight limbs.” 

Nattawut is ecstatic about the growth of his country’s national sport, and he hopes to teach its true, authentic beauty to the people of his adopted city. 

“Atlanta is home. I live here. I have all my friends, my work, everything is here. This is home for me, so it’s easier for me to open a gym here,” he said. 

“You have to build a good foundation, right? The whole system. If I own the gym, I already have an idea to create a full system. Everybody follows the system and the way we teach authentic Muay Thai.” 

Success for “Smokin” in his upcoming World Title tilt will only attract more interest from American enthusiasts, so fans can expect him to pull out all the stops when he clashes with Tawanchai at ONE 167 on June 7.