Dutch Tessa de Kom ready for major test in ONE Championship debut

That usually tells you enough.

The Dutch standout finally makes her long-awaited ONE Championship debut on April 24 at ONE Friday Fights 151: The Inner Circle, where she faces Italy’s Giorgia Pieropan in the atomweight division. For De Kom, this isn’t just another fight abroad. This is the opportunity she has chased for years.

Bangkok finally gives her the stage she wanted

Tessa de Kom has quietly built one of the strongest résumés in European kickboxing over the last few years.

The 25-year-old from Maassluis already captured titles in Enfusion, RISE and ICO competition at 52 kilograms, but ONE Championship was always the target. Fighters around her camp have talked about this move for a long time.

Now it’s happening inside Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok — one of the most intimidating venues in combat sports.

That matters.

The crowd there reacts differently than European audiences. They don’t scream constantly. They study every exchange carefully, then explode once someone lands clean. Fighters either freeze under that pressure or thrive in it.

De Kom believes she belongs in the second category.

Training camp shifted completely toward this moment

Since January, De Kom has based herself in Thailand to prepare for the jump.

She trained out of Revolution Gym, fought locally to stay active, and extended her stay specifically for this ONE debut. According to people around the camp, the focus in recent weeks became far more tactical once opponent Giorgia Pieropan was confirmed.

Trainer Ernst Moerkerken also travelled to Thailand for the final phase of camp.

Watching clips from sparring sessions, De Kom looked sharper than usual with her counters. More patient too. Instead of forcing combinations, she sat back and waited for mistakes before exploding forward.

That style could become important against Pieropan.

According to the latest Beyond Kick pound-for-pound rankings, De Kom already sits among the best female kickboxers in the world. ONE now gives her access to a global audience far bigger than anything she experienced before.

Dutch women returning to ONE’s spotlight

The fight also carries extra meaning for Dutch kickboxing.

Since Jorina Baars competed under the ONE banner years ago, Dutch female fighters haven’t had much visibility on the promotion’s major cards. De Kom now steps into that gap at a time when women’s striking divisions are receiving more attention than ever.

FSI247 recently covered the rise of Dutch women in international kickboxing, and De Kom has become one of the central names in that conversation.

ONE itself has aggressively expanded its female roster recently, especially in lighter divisions, as highlighted on the official ONE Championship athlete rankings.

De Kom sounds fully aware of the opportunity in front of her.

“I want to go all out immediately.”

That mindset usually creates action.

And in Bangkok, action gets noticed fast.