LukeLessei’s ears rang like church bells throughout his slugfestagainst Jo Nattawut in December, although it was not the mostshocking sound the American thai boxer heard that night in Bangkok,Thailand. Unfazed by the boos and jeers directed his way before hisONEChampionship debut, Lessei expected the Thai fanbase to exalttheir hero and vilify the 27-year-old former Fed-Ex driver fromIowa. After preparing for a hostile welcome, however, Lessei was indisbelief when the same crowd changed its tone nine thrillingminutes later.
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Lessei lost a unanimous decision to Nattawut but won the fans’hearts with every punch, elbow and kick. He endured punishment hehad never felt with a sick smile on his face, and by the end of itall, he wanted more. So did the fans.
“Everybody was cheering for Jo because he’s f------ awesome, but bythe end of the fight, the Thais were cheering for the elbows I waslanding,” Lessei told Sherdog.com. “Walking out of the fight, I waslike, ‘Wait, are they cheering for me right now?’”
Despite the decision, thousands embraced “The Chef” on his way backto the locker room. After a loss, Lessei usually lets his emotionspour out in the shower. However, after witnessing a foreignerperform like a warrior, the Thai crowd could not let the Americanleave 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 walkout with their acceptance was a blessing. As a little dude fromIowa who dreams of being a muay thai fighter, going into LumpineeStadium and having the Thai people cheer for you was straight outof a movie.”
Lessei has become muay thai’s million-dollar baby since his “streetfight” with Nattawut at ONE Fight Night 17. His exposure andfollowing have grown exponentially, and he expects to be welcomedback to Lumpinee Boxing Stadium like a legend on Feb. 16, when hefaces fellow American EddieAbasolo at ONE on Prime Video 19.
“I’ve been drowning in positivity,” Lessei said. “I’ve had nochance to be negative. I’m getting seminars lined up and findingother ways to live my dreams and be financially successful withmuay thai, so I had no time to be sad because everything’s happenedso fast. I’ve never had a loss that has lowkey felt like awin.”
In the months since his debut, Lessei has traveled across theUnited States teaching muay thai seminars at local gyms whilemeeting fighters who wish to follow in his footsteps. His defeat toNattawut was anything but a setback, as he used the performance asa springboard into another primetime opportunity. This is a dreamcome true for the former prodigy. Growing up in Dubuque, Iowa,Lessei yearned to live up to the standard set by his father—formerfighter Dean “Lethal Legs” Lessei—who first put the gloves on hisson at 4 years old.
Many sacrifices were made to mold the young boy into a 13-timenational champion. Midwestern roots combined with a love for Thaiculture were a unique social experiment at best. At first, Lesseienjoyed sharing their bond and bragging to the kids on theschoolyard that he and his dad could beat up any father-son duo intown. As he grew up, Lessei started to recognize the many childhoodmemories 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 iswrestling, so being a muay thai fighter, people were like, ‘what isthat?’ and I felt like an outsider.”
Lessei was the best amateur prospect in the country when he turnedpro in 2020, but the checks did not tell the same story. He couldhave made more money had he switched to boxing or MMA. Instead, hestayed true to the culture. Despite being a 6-foot Caucasian fromthe cornfields, Lessei never tried to Americanize his truelove.
“I happen to love the tradition, religion and spirituality of muaythai,” Lessei said. “I’ve always felt confident saying that I wasdoing something different. I had to balance people thinking thatI’m doing MMA and getting them to understand that, no, this is muaythai.”
Lessei’s faith in the sport required leaving the man who introducedhim to it. After parting from his dad to train outside of Iowa,Lessei developed the slick, twitchy style that has made him populartoday. Growing up, fans wanted to call him “Lil’ Lethal Legs,” butLessei was not his father and he had to build an identity of hisown. “The Chef” is now on his way to becoming one of the sport’sbiggest American stars, but he will have to take down California’sown Abasolo to stay on track. The 37-year-old vet has been around adecade longer, and Lessei admits that “Silky Smooth” was one of hisfavorite fighters growing up. With that said, at this stage of hiscareer, Lessei is not convinced that Abasolo can crack with thebest.
“I’ve been laying people out for years, and I have not seen him dothat,” he said. “I have so much love for Eddie, I consider him afriend and inspiration, but he doesn’t have power like I have. Hedoesn’t crack like me.”
Lessei did not expect to open his ONE Championship run against twoestablished stars, but he would not have it any other way. Headmits to some trepidation in fighting Nattawut but felt he had toprove to himself that he deserved to be on muay thai’s biggeststage. Nattawut welcomed Lessei by trying to remove his head fromthe jump. Being rocked by a fighter who did not fear him was afish-out-of-water experience for the Iowan. If he could not standup to an aging star like Nattawut, did he even deserve to be afighter?
“I had never been in a street fight,” Lessei said. “That fight wasa big awakening because I didn’t know if I was tough like that. Ididn’t know if I was just good at punches and kicks or if I couldactually fight.”
Lessei proved to himself, Nattawut and the world that he was aforce to be reckoned with, and he now believes he has what it takesto win the ONE featherweight title. Still, becoming a champion isnot his primary motivation. At the end of the day, all Lessei wantsis to prove he belongs every time he steps through the ropes.
“Like I said, I had never been in that life-or-death situation,” hesaid, “so it’s cool that I have this understanding now that it’snot that I thought I was a bitch, but I know for sure I’m not apussy.”
