“Smokin” Jo Nattawut looks sharper than ever, and he has 26 pounds of gold on his mind.

After an electrifying performance against Luke Lessei at ONE Fight Night 17 on Prime Video last Friday, December 8, the Thai veteran still believes he has what it takes to compete against ONE Championship’s best featherweight Muay Thai fighters.

In fact, his mind is fixated on a particular name — ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Champion Tawanchai PK Saenchai.

“That’s the dream,” Nattawut said backstage in his post-victory interview.

Both men first crossed paths under kickboxing rules last October, with Tawanchai emerging victorious by unanimous decision.

Despite the loss, Nattawut showcased his resilience and toughness, going the distance with a man regarded as one of the best pound-for-pound strikers in the world today. Even more impressive, he did it on two weeks’ notice.

With a renewed sense of purpose, the Thai Top Team representative yearns for a chance to run it back in his natural sport.

However, Nattawut – ONE’s #4-ranked featherweight Muay Thai contender – must exercise a little bit of patience. Currently, Tawanchai will defend his belt against top-ranked Superbon Singha Mawynn at ONE Friday Fights 46 on December 22.

“He (Tawanchai) is up there. and I need to go up to him,” Nattawut stated.

Aware that he may be approaching the twilight of his storied career, Nattawut acknowledged before ONE Fight Night 17 that this could be his last push toward ONE World Title contention.

“I just turned 34, and I’m at my last gas tank right now. Any fight can be my last fight. So my ultimate goal, the goal is I want to fight — I really want to fight for the title before I retire,” he mentioned.

“Because I’m not the guy saying, ‘Oh, I’m gonna fight until 40, until 38.’ No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Me? Maybe like one year, maybe another half year. Who knows?”

Jo Nattawut thrilled with ‘fight of the year’ performance against Luke Lessei

For now, Jo Nattawut is savoring the sweet taste of success, a win that snapped his three-fight losing skid.

His breathless three-round battle against Luke Lessei was nothing short of spectacular, with both fighters exchanging their best offense from bell to bell. In the end, the Thai prevailed by unanimous decision.

Nattawut believes their action-packed encounter deserves recognition as the greatest Muay Thai battle of 2023.

“Yeah, I’d say it was the ‘Fight of the Year,’” he quipped.