Vero “The Kayan Leopard” has already conquered two combat sports in Myanmar. Now, she is hunting the biggest scalp of her career on the global stage.

The Tiger Muay Thai representative squares off against former K-1 Champion Kana “Krusher Queen” in a high-stakes atomweight kickboxing showdown at The Inner Circle on Friday, May 22, streaming exclusively in Asia primetime via live.onefc.com from the iconic Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Carrying a 30-4 professional record, the 29-year-old built her reputation long before arriving in ONE Championship. Vero dominated Myanmar’s boxing scene as a national champion and later became one of the country’s standout lethwei competitors, carving through opposition in the nation’s notoriously unforgiving striking sport.

After exhausting nearly every challenge available at home, “The Kayan Leopard” shifted toward Muay Thai and eventually made her way into the world’s largest martial arts organization. Though her promotional debut ended in disappointment in February 2025, she responded like elite fighters tend to do, rattling off three straight wins in the “art of eight limbs.”

Her latest outing may have been the most important yet. At ONE Friday Fights 143 this past February, Vero outlasted dangerous Israeli contender Shir Cohen in a frantic firefight that elevated her stock considerably heading into this matchup.

Now competing in kickboxing for the first time professionally, she faces a different test altogether.

Vero said:

“For me, if we talk about my original style, I’ve always preferred kickboxing. In my early fights, I debuted in Muay Thai, but honestly my style was never pure Muay Thai. I tried to learn and adapt to Muay Thai, but after seriously training kickboxing this time, I feel even more connected to it now. I like both sports, but right now I feel really good about kickboxing.”

Standing across from her will be one of the most decorated female strikers ever produced by Japan.

The 33-year-old Kana cemented herself as one of kickboxing’s pound-for-pound elite after capturing the K-1 Women’s Flyweight Championship and defending it three times during a dominant run under the Japanese banner.

After conquering the domestic scene, the Team Aftermath representative brought her talents to ONE Championship in pursuit of global greatness. Although she fell short against reigning ONE Women’s Atomweight Kickboxing World Champion “The Queen” Phetjeeja, Kana rebounded emphatically by defeating former three-sport ruler Stamp Fairtex in her most recent appearance.

That resume is exactly why this fight carries enormous stakes for Vero.

A convincing win over a name of Kana’s caliber could catapult the Myanmar striker directly into the thick of the atomweight World Title race across multiple disciplines.

She declared:

“I want the knockout. In this fight, I’m definitely aiming for a knockout. Especially because this is my first kickboxing fight. If I can knock out Kana, it will completely change my life. I really want to do it. I want the knockout, and I believe I can do it. We’ll find out in the ring.”

Vero Eyes Winner Of Rodrigues Vs. Phetjeeja ONE World Title Fight

The atomweight landscape could look dramatically different over the next two months, and Vero knows it.

Reigning ONE Women’s Atomweight Muay Thai World Champion Allycia Hellen Rodrigues is scheduled to defend her crown against atomweight kickboxing queen Phetjeeja at The Inner Circle on June 19 in a clash between two of the best female strikers on the planet.

Depending on how things unfold, the winner of Vero versus Kana could find herself sitting just one big performance away from a ONE World Title opportunity.

Still, “The Kayan Leopard” is keeping her focus narrow for now.

She said:

“Right now the [ONE Atomweight Kickboxing] World Champion is Phetjeeja. So if I can get past Kana, I want to look straight toward a World Title shot immediately. My goal is to win the World Championship belt and test myself against the best fighters in the division.”

Phetjeeja has rapidly established herself as a pound-for-pound great across striking disciplines. The Thai superstar remains unbeaten in ONE Championship, defeating Anissa “C18” Meksen to claim the ONE Interim Women’s Atomweight Kickboxing World Title before unifying the belt against Janet “JT” Todd and defending it against Kana at ONE 172 last year.

Meanwhile, Rodrigues has built one of the strongest reigns in women’s Muay Thai. Since dethroning Stamp to capture the ONE Women’s Atomweight Muay Thai World Title in 2020, the Brazilian mom-champ has defended her belt four times.

Vero offered:

“That’s a very difficult fight to predict. They’re both very strong in different ways. Honestly, I’m very excited to watch that fight too. I think it’s going to be a very intense and exciting matchup that fans shouldn’t miss. But if you ask me who wins, I really can’t say right now because they’re both top-level fighters.”

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