Most fighters are happy to pose for photos with fans. But it is unusual for them to be asked by someone who is far more famous for than they will ever be.
But that is exactly what happened to Tawanchai PKSaenchaigym at ONE Friday Fights 34. Japanese porn star Rae Lil Black is a huge fan of his and the two met for the first time.
Tawanchai is the reigning ONE Championship featherweight Muay Thai champion. With 361,000 Instagram followers he is one of the more popular Thai fighters although he has a little way to go to catch up with global superstars like Rodtang, Buakaw Banchamek and Saenchai PKSaenchaigym.
But with 1.5 million followers Rae Lil Black is clearly the most popular porn star in Thailand. Last year she announced she was a big Tawanchai fan and she finally got to meet the fighter in person:
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Replacement opponent
Tawanchai clearly knows exactly who the porn star is and declared that he was a big fan of hers. He certainly seemed happy to pose for a photo with the adult movie actor turned social media influencer.
Long term followers of Rae Lil Black will see that her Instagram feed consists exclusively of photos of her. She rarely features anyone else but appears to have made an exception for Tawanchai.
Tawanchai potentially has a bit of time on his hands at the moment because Superbon Banchamek has pulled out of their upcoming title fight at ONE Fight Night 15. It is not clear whether the promotion will be able to find a replacement opponent for the bout which was supposed to headline the event on October 7th.
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Big night
Although Rae Lil Black is Japanese her fanbase is primarily Thai. She will be well aware of how much hype there was surrounding ONE Fight Night 34.
The Thai language live broadcast on YouTube had 1.5 million viewers while a video of the main event uploaded yesterday already has 1mn views. Lumpinee Stadium was completely sold out although Rae Lil Black got her tickets well in advance.
It will be interesting to see whether ONE Championship is able to find a replacement opponent for Tawanchai on October 7th. If they do Rae Lil Black is sure to be ringside to see her favourite fighter in action.
