Like 'Olympic gold': Josh Tonna eyes One Muay Thai strawweight world title against Sam-A Gaiyanghadao

Friday night's card dubbed 'One: Reign of Dynasties' in Singapore is headlined by a strawweight Muay Thai championship showdown fans have craved for months - and Canberra's Tonna is the challenger looking to win the belt. So how big is it?

"This is the equivalent to the Olympic gold medal, NBA finals, rugby league grand final, AFL grand final. It's the biggest opportunity I can get in Muay Thai, for sure," Tonna said.

So what to make of Sam-A Gaiyanghadao, the Thai superstar who remains something of an unknown to the casual fight fan in Australia?

"He's exceptional, he's a legend, he's like the Michael Jordan of Muay Thai in my division," Tonna said.

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"He has a lot of skill and experience, but man, I want it so bad. I'll get it. I've been wanting to fight him for more than a year. I knew it would come sooner or later, we've been training and we've got in two fights. He hasn't been training like I have."

Make no mistake about it, the enigma best known simply as Sam-A's standing in Muay Thai makes Tonna's long-awaited title shot something of a real life Rocky story.

Tonna will look to strip the dominant 36-year-old Buriram native of his championship in a closed off Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Biosecurity measures designed to combat a potential coronavirus outbreak meant Tonna, his trainer and cameraman were restricted to individual hotel rooms for days upon arrival.

But as Tonna took a moment to meditate in his room and picture himself with gold around his waist, he knew the sacrifices along the way will all have been worth it.

"It's starting to feel pretty real, man," Tonna said.

"It was a shortish notice, it was about six weeks. It felt like only yesterday we just got asked to take the fight, it feels like it has gone super quick. In that time I have put in so much work, busted my arse for it.

"I was keeping fit [during lockdown]. I had a good base level. I was strong. As soon as they asked, we said yes. There was no worry I was too heavy or I was out of shape.

"We just said yes. I had a little bit of weight on me but it fell off really quickly. I've been pretty fit the whole time.

"It's all excitement, nerves, anxiety all mixed together. I enjoyed the process of training. I'm a bit sad because it's going to come to an end because it has been a fun journey, but I'm really excited to get in there and test myself."

ONE: REIGN OF DYNASTIES

Friday: One Championship - One: Reign of Dynasties - Sam-A Gaiyanghadao v Josh Tonna for the Muay Thai strawweight world championship at Singapore Indoor Stadium. Event starts at 11.30pm AEDT. The full event stream will be available on ONE's YouTube channel and the ONE Super App (some regions excluded).

Full card:

Sam-A Gaiyanghadao vs. Josh Tonna (One strawweight Muay Thai world title)

Aleksi Toivonen vs. Reece McLaren (mixed martial arts - flyweight)

Amir Khan vs. Rahul Raju (mixed martial arts - lightweight)

Eko Roni Saputra vs. Murugan Silvarajoo (mixed martial arts - catch weight of 63.5 kgs)

Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke vs. Hexigetu (mixed martial arts - strawweight)

Roshan Mainam vs. Liu Peng Shuai (mixed martial arts - flyweight)