"I did my duty to the fullest" - Nong-O on hard-earned win over resilient Kulabdam at ONE Friday Fights 58
Nong-O Hama came into ONE Friday Fights 58 with a lot riding on his return to the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium on April 5.
The former ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world champion had found himself coming into this fight off the back of two devastating knockout losses.
What he hoped would be his bounce-back fight came against another knockout artist in the form of Kulabdam, who looked to add the legendary Thai striker's name to his winning streak.
In the end, it was the veteran who got his hand raised, and to do it, he fought far more strategically than in his previous fights. The 37-year-old leaned on his years of elite level experience to secure the victory without putting himself in danger too often.
He also revealed after the fight in an interview with ONE Championship, that the knockout losses took something away from him. Fighting more reserved on April 5 allowed him to gain some of that confidence back:
"Those two fights had some effect on my confidence. But I practiced hard, I did my duty to the fullest, to develop myself."
Nong-O needed a solid and stable win at ONE Friday Fights 58
Even a demolition job against Kulabdam in a crazy fight would have left some big answers for Nong-O to answer in his coming fights.
If he is going to continue competing at the highest level, his recent losses have shown that he cannot expect to blow any and all opponents away early on.
Jonathan Haggerty stopped him in the opening round at ONE Fight Night 9 to bring his dominant title run to an end.
At ONE Friday Fights 46, he started the fight against Nico Carrillo well before 'The King of the North' was able to find the finish in the second round.
Gaining his confidence back and winning without needing to try and put his opponent away as fast as possible was a successful night for Nong-O inside the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.