Nong-O Hama has been lighting up ONE Championship since 2018, and the muay Thai legend is not done yet.
The longtime ONE bantamweight muay Thai world champion will attempt to make the eighth defense of his strap when he takes on the sport’s former flyweight king, Jonathan Haggerty, in the ONE Fight Night 9 headliner on Friday, April 21. And fans can watch live and for free with an Amazon Prime membership.
It’s hard to argue that the 36-year-old isn’t the most dominant fighter in the striking arts today, as he has been absolutely flawless since coming out of his three-year competitive hiatus in 2018.
Before he makes the walk at the historic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, once again, here is a timely reminder as to why Nong-O is the man to beat in the striking world.
1. He’s on a 10-fight winning streak
Nong-O holds a perfect 10-0 record since signing with ONE. Incredibly, eight of those wins have been in world title bouts.
The Evolve MMA representative captured the inaugural ONE bantamweight muay Thai world championship with a dominant unanimous decision victory over Han Zi Hao back in 2019 and hasn’t skipped a beat since.
In that time, Nong-O has reeled off seven title defenses, with the last five coming by way of knockout.
If his knockout streak is anything to go by, then the bantamweight king is only getting better.
2. No body part is safe
A scary detail in his string of KOs is the way they have come about.
In his last three performances, Nong-O has stopped his opponents with strikes to different areas of the body.
The living legend was at his blistering best this past January, when he crushed former ONE bantamweight kickboxing world champion Alaverdi Ramazanov with a relentless body attack. The Russian eventually succumbed in the third round of the contest.
Prior to that showing, Nong-O stopped British superstar Liam Harrison with a devastating leg kick last August. The end came just over two minutes into the blockbuster showdown. And in March 2022, the Thai powerhouse turned off Felipe Lobo‘s lights with a crushing uppercut that sent the Brazilian challenger crashing to the canvas.
Nong-O can truly end a fight any which way he wants, which is bad news for Haggerty.
3. He has nearly cleaned out his division
Incredibly, when you assess the bantamweight muay Thai landscape, No. 5-ranked contender Haggerty is the last man in the rankings that has yet to be felled by Nong-O.
The top four of Ramazanov, Harrison, Saemapetch Fairtex, and Rodlek PK Saenchai have all fallen victim to the muay Thai icon during his reign at the top of the division.
Few World Champions have created as much distance between themselves and the chasing pack in the way that Nong-O has.
At ONE Fight Night 9, it will take a truly special performance from “The General” to topple the divisional king.
