“I started smelling blood” – Luke Lessei says overeagerness to put Eddie Abasolo away almost cost him 

Rising Muay Thai star Luke Lessei almost let his eagerness get the better of him when he fought Eddie Abasolo last Friday.

The Iowa native braced himself for a tough and bloody fight against fellow American Muay Thai striker Eddie ‘Silky Smooth’ Abasolo before heading into ONE Fight Night 19.

The San Francisco stalwart, after all, is a highly regarded athlete in the United States due to his promotional success in both domestic and international scenes.

Therefore, when ‘The Chef’ Lessei dropped Abasolo with some powerful shots mid-round, after being dropped by Abasolo in the first round, he almost believed he could finish the fight right then and there. But Abasolo returned fire with fire after beating the count.

In hindsight, that probably wasn’t the best strategy, as he explained to ONE at the OFN19 post-fight interview:

“I think just naturally with the way the fight was playing out, because I had dropped him first and then I started smelling blood. I wanted to get the finish, sometimes when that happens you get caught.”

Lessei and Abasolo poured their heart and soul into this fight. With less than a minute left in the final round, ‘The Chef’ produced a powerful combination at the end to edge the victory via split decision.

The replay of ONE Fight Night 19 is available free of charge for existing Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.

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Win over Eddie Abasolo means Luke Lessei is the No.1 striker of his weight class in the U.S.

Luke Lessei is honored to have shared the ring with American veteran Eddie Abasolo at OFN19.

The pair put on a thrilling three-round war filled with technique, skill, and mental toughness. Those aspiring Muay Thai fighters in the U.S. who feel like their place in the sports world is undervalued can always look back at Abasolo vs. Lessei with a sense of pride.

This matchup certainly stands the test of time, especially for Luke Lessei. He told ONE:

“Not only does it make me the number one USA fighter in this weight class right now, but Eddie is also a fighter that I’ve looked up to for years, and it was my first win in ONE.”