Yutaro Asahi returns vs former champ Petchtanong at ONE SAMURAI 5 in Tokyo

ONE Championship announced on November 1 that Japanese striker Yutaro Asahi will face former ONE bantamweight kickboxing world champion Petchtanong Petchfergus in a featherweight kickboxing bout (145–155 lb) at ONE SAMURAI 5 on Wednesday, November 18, at EBARA WAVE Arena Ota in Tokyo. The promotion's Thai news desk detailed the booking; the English SAMURAI 5 event page lists Asahi vs Petchtanong among the confirmed featherweight kickboxing matches. ONE's official X account also teased Petchtanong's next opponent on November 3.

The pairing is not a title fight. Petchtanong, 40, moves up from the bantamweight division where he once held ONE gold, while Asahi, 27, returns to the promotion after a long stretch of fights in Japan.

Asahi's ONE debut and Japan run

Asahi first made ONE headlines in April 2024 at ONE Lumpinee 58 (Superbon vs Marat Grigorian), when he became the first fighter in the promotion to beat Thai veteran Seksan Or Kwanmuang by unanimous decision under Muay Thai rules. ONE Thailand said he then returned home and stacked wins on the domestic circuit, citing a professional mark of 16 victories in 24 bouts heading into this rematch with the ONE banner. The Tokyo date gives him a hometown stage against a former world champion.

Petchtanong's path back

Petchtanong, out of Superbon Training Camp, captured the ONE bantamweight kickboxing world title by beating Japan's Hiroki Akimoto via split decision in a five-round fight at ONE 163 in November 2022. He later vacated the belt. On his ONE athlete page he is 4-2 under the promotion in kickboxing, with recent results including a second-round TKO of Alaverdi Ramazanov, a unanimous-decision loss to Yuki Yoza at ONE Friday Fights 116, and a unanimous-decision win over Britain's Ben Woolliss at ONE Fight Night 43 on May 16, 2026.

ONE framed the SAMURAI 5 assignment as a chance for Petchtanong to use experience against a fresher opponent on Japanese soil and keep late-career title talk alive. Asahi is billed as the sharper, home-advantage striker trying to prove he belongs against championship-level kickboxing again.

SAMURAI 5 context

ONE SAMURAI 5 is headlined by ONE strawweight MMA world champion Joshua Pacio defending against Keito Yamakita. Other listed names include Ryujin Nasukawa, Jarred Brooks, Masashi Kumura, and Tatsumitsu Wada. The event page header and Thai announcement both place the show at EBARA WAVE Arena Ota in Tokyo; an older English synopsis on the same page still references Yokohama Buntai, so venue wording may still be catching up on the English side.

Tickets are on sale via ONEFC.com. Asahi vs Petchtanong adds a Japan-vs-Thailand kickboxing feature to a card already built around Pacio's title defense and several Japanese local favorites.