Joseph Lasiri Believes One Championship Made Him a 'Better Man' ahead of Rodtang Clash

Ahead of the biggest fight of his career, Joseph Lasiri feels very grateful to his promotion for the opportunity he has been given.

Lasiri shocked the world in May when he upset Prajanchai to capture the strawweight muay thai championship at ONE 157. On that occasion, the Moroccan-Italian striker put on a surgical performance en route to forcing his adversary to retire at the end of Round 3. The outcome is even more impressive in light of Lasiri’s first ONE outings, which resulted in a four-bout skid. Now, those consecutive losses feel like a bad memory, and Lasiri is prepared to return to One’s 135-pound flyweight division. If everything goes according to plan, Lasiri will become a two-division champion after defeating divisional kingpin Rodtang Jitmuangnon in the upcoming One on Prime Video 4 co-headliner.

“One Championship for me is something very special because they gave me the opportunity to improve myself. This improvement is not only about muay thai, I also improved like a man. What is One Championship for me? One Championship made me a better man. I [overcame] my fear and many things in my mind. I improve myself. Now, I can go to the gym and think about my fight with the other teammates. I'm very glad about this. For me, coming back to the flyweight division against the best fighter in One Championship is the best challenge. It is the best opportunity I have.”

(00:00) Intro
(00:35) Preparing for Rodtang
(01:13) His sparring partners
(01:54) Moving up a division
(04:01) His first losses in ONE
(05:30) Becoming one of the few Italian world champions
(07:01) Focusing on Rodtang
(07:49) English greetings
(08:29) The message for his Italian fans
(08:54) Outro