“I am still good enough to compete” - 41-year-old Sam-A ready for another title run after statement performance at ONE 169

Sam-A Gaiyanghadao may be 41 years old, but he's as dangerous as ever.

The Thai legend and former multi-sport ONE world champion proved that much at ONE 169, putting on yet another brilliant performance and bagging his 375th career win against 'Fighting Rooster' Zhang Peimian.

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With back-to-back wins in 2024, Sam-A is feeling as confident as ever and believes he's still capable of competing with the best of the best on martial arts' biggest global stage.

“This victory gives me a lot of confidence. I have proven to everyone around the world that at 41 years old, I am still good enough to compete in ONE.”

Dating back to 2019, Sam-A has only lost to one man inside the Circle. It just so happens to be the same man who holds both the ONE strawweight Muay Thai and kickboxing world titles—Prajanchai PK Saenchai.

Sam-A has come up short against Prajanchai twice, but his recent string of success has the Thai hoping he'll one day get an opportunity to close out his trilogy with Prajanchai and get that ever-elusive win over the two-sport king.

Sam-A has eyes on once again becoming a ONE world champion

What's next for Sam-A inside the Circle remains to be seen, but there's only one thing on his mind right now.

"For the next fight, if I'm not fighting for the belt, sure I can fight other people," he told Nick Atkins. "But for sure, I want to fight for the belt."

Prajanchai is currently sitting on a five-fight win streak, including wins over Sam-A, Joseph Lasiri, and Jonathan Di Bella—all former ONE world champions. He is without a doubt one of the hottest fighters in the art of eight limbs right now

Do you think it's time we see a trilogy bout between Sam-A and Prajanchai, or does the Thai legend have to do a bit more work to earn his threequel with the champ-champ?

If you missed any of the action, ONE Championship fans in the United States and Canada can watch the ONE 169: Malykhin vs. Reug Reug replay on demand via Amazon Prime Video.