Panpayak Jitmuangnon’s cardio is “getting better” says coach Leo Elias, with their return to ONE Championship action confirmed.
“The Angel Warrior” will step back in the ring at ONE Friday Fights 92, as reported by the Bangkok Post last month.
ONE officially confirmed on Thursday the Thai will face Egor Bikrev at the quarterly “tentpole” PPV event inside Bangkok’s Lumpinee Stadium on December 20.
“Let’s keep working hard,” said the 28-year-old, who now trains at the Phuket Fight Club gym, with head coach Leo Elias set to be in his corner again.
Panpayak came back from a near two-year layoff to defeat Silviu Vitez on October 18 by unanimous decision at the same venue, but admitted he struggled with his conditioning in the third round.
“Everything is going well and his cardio is better. His body is getting stronger too,” Elias told the Bangkok Post.
“The main thing is fighting better and better every fight. This is what we focus on and what comes with that comes. A win on points or a KO will come from us performing well, so that is the goal.”
Fan favourite Panpayak notably holds multiple wins outside of ONE over Superlek Kiatmookao, who now possesses the Asia-based martial arts promotion’s flyweight kickboxing and bantamweight Muay Thai titles.
Russian 22-year-old Bikrev is a relative unknown factor, however, having only made his ONE Lumpinee debut earlier this month – getting a first round TKO against Thailand’s Gingsanglek Wor Kumchamnarn.
“I saw a bit of him,” Elias added. “He is a good opponent and strong. We know he has good hands so we expect a hard fight. We will be ready in every area and we think it will be a good fight for the fans.”
