Nong-O Hama turned back the clock to defeat Rodtang “The Iron Man” Jitmuangnon by unanimous decision in a ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Grand Prix quarterfinal at The Inner Circle 38, which went down on Friday, November 13, live from Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, and streamed on live.onefc.com.
The long-awaited clash was nearly a year in the making. The two former champions were first booked to fight for the vacant ONE Flyweight Muay Thai World Title at ONE 173 last year, but Rodtang withdrew after feeling unwell and Nong-O failed hydration.
Advertisement
With both Thai icons at the peak of their games, they finally met in what was an instant classic. Round one was dead even, with Rodtang working the body early and Nong-O firing left and right kicks as both men teased low kicks and the tension inside Lumpinee thickened.
Photo Credit: ONE Championship
Rodtang came out hard and fast in round two, hunting with body punches, but Nong-O pierced his guard with an elbow and racked up damage points. Then a high left kick sailed over the Jitmuangnon Gym star’s guard, and he dropped where he stood. Rodtang beat the eight-count but trailed on the scorecards.
He spent the third hunting for the finish he needed. But the 40-year-old used his experience to keep Rodtang tied up inside the clinch and see out the round.
Advertisement
The win sent Nong-O into the Grand Prix semifinals, handing Rodtang a rare defeat and giving the Evolve MMA and Superbon Training Camp veteran a victory over the most popular star in Muay Thai today. After vowing to put brotherhood aside and insisting he was not done yet, he improved to 269-59.
Photo Credit: ONE Championship
PTT, Blasi, Songpandin, And Banluelok Score Big In Bangkok
PTT Apichart Farm survived an early scare and knocked out Hamza Rachid at 2:37 of round one in a bantamweight Muay Thai bout. A high kick from the 27-year-old Moroccan wobbled the Thai, but he regrouped and sent his opponent crashing to the canvas for the finish. The knockout returned the Venum Training Camp product to the win column, improving him to 115-25.
Advertisement
A left hook to the body that forced an eight-count in round one set the tone as Lenny Blasi defeated Adam Benwarwar by unanimous decision in a bantamweight Muay Thai bout. The 22-year-old Italian kept putting his hands all over his Moroccan opponent the rest of the way, and the Fairtex Training Center product improved to 33-8.
A hard-fought flyweight Muay Thai battle ended with Songpandin Chor Kaewwiset earning a split decision over Petubon Jitmuangnon. The 19-year-old Laotian’s right hand proved too much for the Thai, giving him his fourth win in a row and lifting the Chor Kaewwiset product to 44-13.
Banluelok Sitwatcharachai knocked out Mya Lone Chaw with a counter left punch at 1:04 of round two in an atomweight Muay Thai bout. The two traded knockdowns in a wild first round, but the 29-year-old exploded in the second, and the Burmese debutant could not recover. The fourth straight win lifted the Watcharachai Muay Thai Gym product to 92-22.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
