He beat Christian Lee for the belt, lost it in the rematch, then fell short again for the interim title against Alibeg Rasulov. Ok Rae Yoon has been close to gold on two more occasions but come away empty both times. A win over Lucas Gabriel on June 26 keeps the path alive.

Ok faces the 26-year-old Brazilian in a lightweight MMA bout at ONE Fight Night 44 on Prime Video, broadcasting live in U.S. primetime from Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand on Friday, June 26.

The 35-year-old South Korean is one of the division’s most technically complete fighters, a former ONE Lightweight MMA World Champion who topped Lee via split decision in September 2021 before losing the title in their August 2022 rematch by second-round TKO.

Gabriel enters with an 11-1 career record and a five-fight unbeaten promotional run, most recently coming through a three-round battle with Magomed Akaev. His ground game is the central threat, with submission instincts that have produced finishes at every level.

Two further MMA matchups complete the card. Armenian knockout specialist Karen Ghazaryan faces undefeated Japanese debutant Hisashi Ezaki in strawweight MMA, and British heavyweight Paul “King of the North” Elliott meets American newcomer Regan Upshaw, with every win on Elliott’s record coming by stoppage.

Karen Ghazaryan and Paul Elliott added to supporting ONE Fight Night 44 MMA card

Karen Ghazaryan returns to ONE Fight Night 44 seeking his first promotional win after dropping a first-round submission to Hiroba Minowa at ONE Fight Night 42 in April.

The 24-year-old Armenian carries a 100 percent finishing rate into every bout. He represents Shahmuradyan Fight Club with a style built around knockout power at strawweight.

Ezaki, 38, makes his promotional debut unbeaten with four submissions already on his record. He brings a grappling-heavy approach that sets up a genuine clash of finishing styles.

Paul Elliott brings five stoppage wins into his heavyweight matchup with Regan Upshaw. The latter is an American debutant with heavy hands looking for a performance to define his career standing.

Elliott stopped Ryugo Takeuchi in three rounds in his last outing. In doing so, he became the first fighter to hand the Japanese knockout artist a loss.