Muay Thai’s Rocky Balboa

Luke Lessei’s ears rang like church bells throughout his slugfest against Jo Nattawut in December, although it was not the most shocking sound the American thai boxer heard that night in Bangkok, Thailand. Unfazed by the boos and jeers directed his way before his ONE Championship debut, Lessei expected the Thai fanbase to exalt their hero and vilify the 27-year-old former Fed-Ex driver from Iowa. After preparing for a hostile welcome, however, Lessei was in disbelief when the same crowd changed its tone nine thrilling minutes later.

Lessei lost a unanimous decision to Nattawut but won the fans’ hearts with every punch, elbow and kick. He endured punishment he had never felt with a sick smile on his face, and by the end of it all, he wanted more. So did the fans.

“Everybody was cheering for Jo because he’s f------ awesome, but by the end of the fight, the Thais were cheering for the elbows I was landing,” Lessei told Sherdog.com. “Walking out of the fight, I was like, ‘Wait, are they cheering for me right now?’”

Despite the decision, thousands embraced “The Chef” on his way back to the locker room. After a loss, Lessei usually lets his emotions pour out in the shower. However, after witnessing a foreigner perform like a warrior, the Thai crowd could not let the American leave with his head down.

“I was leaving the stadium, and a guy in the stands said to me, ‘Wow, this is a real Rocky moment for you,’” Lessei said. “To walk out with their acceptance was a blessing. As a little dude from Iowa who dreams of being a muay thai fighter, going into Lumpinee Stadium and having the Thai people cheer for you was straight out of a movie.”

Lessei has become muay thai’s million-dollar baby since his “street fight” with Nattawut at ONE Fight Night 17. His exposure and following have grown exponentially, and he expects to be welcomed back to Lumpinee Boxing Stadium like a legend on Feb. 16, when he faces fellow American Eddie Abasolo at ONE on Prime Video 19.

“I’ve been drowning in positivity,” Lessei said. “I’ve had no chance to be negative. I’m getting seminars lined up and finding other ways to live my dreams and be financially successful with muay thai, so I had no time to be sad because everything’s happened so fast. I’ve never had a loss that has lowkey felt like a win.”

In the months since his debut, Lessei has traveled across the United States teaching muay thai seminars at local gyms while meeting fighters who wish to follow in his footsteps. His defeat to Nattawut was anything but a setback, as he used the performance as a springboard into another primetime opportunity. This is a dream come true for the former prodigy. Growing up in Dubuque, Iowa, Lessei yearned to live up to the standard set by his father—former fighter Dean “Lethal Legs” Lessei—who first put the gloves on his son at 4 years old.

Many sacrifices were made to mold the young boy into a 13-time national champion. Midwestern roots combined with a love for Thai culture were a unique social experiment at best. At first, Lessei enjoyed sharing their bond and bragging to the kids on the schoolyard that he and his dad could beat up any father-son duo in town. As he grew up, Lessei started to recognize the many childhood memories he ceded without guaranteeing a financial payoff.

“You definitely feel like the black sheep of the entire town,” Lessei said. “Everyone around here wrestles. The culture is wrestling, so being a muay thai fighter, people were like, ‘what is that?’ and I felt like an outsider.”

Lessei was the best amateur prospect in the country when he turned pro in 2020, but the checks did not tell the same story. He could have made more money had he switched to boxing or MMA. Instead, he stayed true to the culture. Despite being a 6-foot Caucasian from the cornfields, Lessei never tried to Americanize his true love.

“I happen to love the tradition, religion and spirituality of muay thai,” Lessei said. “I’ve always felt confident saying that I was doing something different. I had to balance people thinking that I’m doing MMA and getting them to understand that, no, this is muay thai.”

Lessei’s faith in the sport required leaving the man who introduced him to it. After parting from his dad to train outside of Iowa, Lessei developed the slick, twitchy style that has made him popular today. Growing up, fans wanted to call him “Lil’ Lethal Legs,” but Lessei was not his father and he had to build an identity of his own. “The Chef” is now on his way to becoming one of the sport’s biggest American stars, but he will have to take down California’s own Abasolo to stay on track. The 37-year-old vet has been around a decade longer, and Lessei admits that “Silky Smooth” was one of his favorite fighters growing up. With that said, at this stage of his career, Lessei is not convinced that Abasolo can crack with the best.

“I’ve been laying people out for years, and I have not seen him do that,” he said. “I have so much love for Eddie, I consider him a friend and inspiration, but he doesn’t have power like I have. He doesn’t crack like me.”

Lessei did not expect to open his ONE Championship run against two established stars, but he would not have it any other way. He admits to some trepidation in fighting Nattawut but felt he had to prove to himself that he deserved to be on muay thai’s biggest stage. Nattawut welcomed Lessei by trying to remove his head from the jump. Being rocked by a fighter who did not fear him was a fish-out-of-water experience for the Iowan. If he could not stand up to an aging star like Nattawut, did he even deserve to be a fighter?

“I had never been in a street fight,” Lessei said. “That fight was a big awakening because I didn’t know if I was tough like that. I didn’t know if I was just good at punches and kicks or if I could actually fight.”

Lessei proved to himself, Nattawut and the world that he was a force to be reckoned with, and he now believes he has what it takes to win the ONE featherweight title. Still, becoming a champion is not his primary motivation. At the end of the day, all Lessei wants is to prove he belongs every time he steps through the ropes.

“Like I said, I had never been in that life-or-death situation,” he said, “so it’s cool that I have this understanding now that it’s not that I thought I was a bitch, but I know for sure I’m not a pussy.”