From FedEx To ONE Championship, Luke Lessei On The Cusp Of Breakout Moment

“This is my chance to shoot my shot.”

Aug 26, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Luke Lessei (blue corner) defeats Ian Greer (red corner) at Cabooze. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn Images / Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

“The Chef” is coming to cook tonight.

Luke Lessei, a largely unknown fighter from the cornfields of Iowa, makes his promotional debut later this evening for ONE Championship. He matches up against “Smokin” Jo Nattawut in a featherweight Muay Thai contest at ONE Fight Night 17 where the pressure is entirely on his opponent.

“I know I’m the underdog,” said Lessei, who has a cornfield in his background. “This is my chance to shoot my shot.”

The 27-year-old learned he would be fighting for ONE as he awoke at two in the morning to prepare for his job at FedEx loading trucks. That position fit his schedule well, as he worked until nine in the morning–and then was still afforded time to train before spending his happiest moments with his wife and two children.

On this particular morning, he checked his phone to see a message from ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong, who was offering him a chance to fight at the famed Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok.

“I was about to go to work, feeding the baby, and I said, ‘Holy sh--’ when I saw that message,” said Lessei. “It’s a day I’m never going to forget.

“Every Muay Thai wants to be signed here. Now I have the chance to fight at the OG stadium.”

A lifelong Muay Thai practitioner, Lessei possesses a style that is both unpredictable and unorthodox. After training in the sport for the past 23 years, he brings an approach that is perfectly suited to his nickname–“The Chef”.

“In this fight, I’m going to be serving that sh-- up,” said Lessei. “My style is slow, methodical, but it has seasoning and a lot of taste. A good chef can make a great meal with whatever ingredients he has. That’s what I do. And now Nattawut is on the chopping block.”

Though Nattawut is far more established in ONE, Lessei intends to rewrite his narrative at ONE Fight Night 17.

“I’ve trained in the cold, I’ve trained in the heat,” said Lessei. “I’ve worked my entire life. That’s my superpower. I never had the time to dedicate all my time to train. I had to find the time. So I’m representing blue-collar America, and this is going to be my breakout performance.”