After yet another successful World Title defense, Nong-O Gaiyanghadao is by far the bantamweight king of ONE Super Series Muay Thai.
The Thai warrior proved why he deserves that epithet at ONE: IMMORTAL TRIUMPH in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam on Friday, 6 September.
He went toe-to-toe with Algerian phenom Brice “The Truck” Delval for five rounds and retained the ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Title.
Nong-O ran his gamut of weapons – elbows, kicks, and pinpoint strikes to slow down “The Truck” and seal the victory. But the win was hard-earned.
The Algerian youngster battled fearlessly against the icon of the sport and although Nong-O has a knack for exploiting weaknesses, Delval showed few in the opening rounds.
But Nong-O patiently let Delval wear himself out, and then the Thai used well-executed counters to unsettle the Parisian. “The Truck” began to run out of gas, and Nong-O capitalized by shifting gears on his wearied opponent.
Delval – like Fabio Pinca and Han Zi Hao – looked like the prime candidate to defeat the legend and break out in ONE Super Series. But once again he was denied entrance by the Muay Thai mastery of Nong-O.
Nong-O, who is also a four-time Lumpinee Stadium Muay Thai World Champion, is one of the sport’s best athletes.
He can adjust to attacks on the fly, he can stand and trade with bruising hitters, and he can sweep out any of his opponents almost effortlessly. But it is his powerful kicks that should concern any would-be challengers – as Delval himself experienced.
Nong-O also possesses a shot selection that is both accurate and varied, which allowed him to break through the stout defense of ISKA and WBC World Champion Mehdi Zatout in October 2018.
After more than two decades in the sport and over 300 professional matches, Nong-O has vigorously tested his skills against emboldened young challengers.
Though he has conquered all that has been thrown at him thus far, Nong-O welcomes any new opponents to the fold.
One man that could make an impact and test the Thai native is Alaverdi “Babyface Killer” Ramazanov. At just 24-years-old, he has something Nong-O does not have – youth.
The ferocious Russian made quite the name for himself after his debut win over Petchmorakot Petchyindee Academy. “Babyface Killer” showed little fear in his bout against the Thai veteran who had more than double the experience.
Most recently, Ramazanov registered a stunning win over Serbian-American Ognjen Topic in August.
Perhaps Nong-O’s next match-up could pit his crafty experience against the Russian’s bold youthfulness.
Looking for more action? Check out ONE Championship’s next event, ONE: CENTURY, at the famous Ryogoku Kokugikan on 13 October in Tokyo, Japan.
This will be the biggest World Championship martial arts event in history. No organization has ever promoted two full-scale World Championship events in one day.
But The Home Of Martial Arts breaks new ground as it features 28 World Champions, four World Title bouts, three World Grand Prix Championship Finals, and four World Champion versus World Champion matches.
Download the ONE Super App to catch all the action.
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