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Every champion has an origin story, but few began as humbly as Mongkoldetlek Por Pim-on’s life journey. This week, he steps back into the ring, where he’ll face Utkirzhon Khamidov in the co-main event of ONE Friday Fights 163. There, he will attempt to claim the 126th win of his career and get closer to rejoining ONE Championship’s global roster. But before his bantamweight Muay Thai showdown commences, here are three things you need to know about the former Lumpinee Stadium World Champion.

#1 He Trained In The Dirt

Mongkoldetlek learned his craft in the humblest of settings.

Growing up in Thailand's Isaan region – one of the country's poorest areas, but also the one that produces more Muay Thai talent than anywhere else in the nation – he took his first steps in the sport at the front of his family's wooden stilt house.

There was no ring and no proper equipment to speak of. In fact, all he had was an old bag and the bare ground beneath his feet. His uncle, a former fighter, held pads for him and his older brother.

Those raw, makeshift sessions were a world away from the elite facilities he would later call home, but they forged the toughness and discipline that carried him through more than a decade in the sport – and, eventually, all the way to a World Title.

#2 A Name Passed Down Through The Family

Mongkoldetlek's path into the sport was a family affair from the very beginning.

Like so many Thai athletes, he was first drawn to Muay Thai by watching his older brother compete, and he began his journey alongside his brother, father, and uncle.

That uncle – an ex-fighter himself – played a defining role early on, holding pads outside the family's stilt house and bestowing the young boy with his original ring name ahead of his very first competition at just 10 years old.

That name, Mongkolpetch, was a tribute, carried over from the uncle's own days in the ring, and it stuck with him for years as he made his mark in the sport. From the name he first competed under to the corner that raised him, family has been at the heart of his story every step of the way.

#3 Redemption And The Road To The Top

Mongkoldetlek's climb was anything but smooth. After leaving home to test himself against Thailand's best in Bangkok, he encountered the toughest training of his life – and away from his family's guidance, he lost his way.

The Isaan native drifted from the sport, stopped training, and was eventually kicked out of his gym. It was a low point that could have ended his career before it truly began. But reflecting on his difficult childhood in Roi Et and the sacrifices his parents had made pulled him back to the discipline that had given him everything.

With his focus restored, Mongkoldetlek went on to become a Lumpinee Stadium Muay Thai World Champion, adding "Fight of the Year" honors at Channel 7 Stadium in 2017.

The veteran also tested his skills in ONE Championship beginning in 2019, where he won four straight bouts and nearly broke into the ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Title picture. Now, he has a chance to rejoin the global roster and continue his run at World Championship gold.

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