Biggest takeaways from ONE Fight Night 8

Several modern-day heroes made statements at ONE Fight Night 8: Superlek vs. Williams on Prime Video over the weekend following impressive performances in their respective matches.

ONE flyweight kickboxing world champion Superlek Kiatmoo9 and ONE atomweight Muay Thai queen Allycia Hellen Rodrigues successfully defended their thrones from formidable invaders.

Ham Seo Hee, meanwhile, put an end to her bad blood with Itsuki Hirata with a flawless performance.

With that said, here are our three biggest realizations in the aftermath of ONE Championship’s third marquee card of the year.

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#3. It’s time to give Ham Seo Hee her long-overdue world title shot

After a decorated fighting career across multiple promotions, it seemed that Ham Seo Hee was always destined for gold when she joined ONE Championship in 2021.

However, the South Korean’s path to a world title was delayed after a controversial split decision win over Denice Zamboanga in her promotional debut. ‘Hamzzang’ had to prove herself anew in the rematch, where she completely outclassed the Filipino for 15 minutes.

After those two wins, Ham rose to the second spot in the women’s atomweight rankings, but still did not get the call she was hoping for. Instead, she got paired up with the unranked Itsuki Hirata, who was eager to make her a stepping stone on her way to the top five.

The Team Mad product proved ‘Android 18’ had no business being in the circle with her with a dominant unanimous decision victory.

Ham has been a terrific soldier so far, passing each test with flying colors. No one is more deserving of a world title shot at 115 pounds.

Even ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong thinks so and guaranteed the 37-year-old an interim world title shot, given Angela Lee’s current situation.

For now, Ham must await the winner of the Stamp Fairtex-Alyse Anderson clash at ONE Fight Night 10 to determine her next opponent. ONE Fight Night 10 is ONE Championship’s first on-site event in the United States and is set for May 5 at 1stBank Center in Colorado.

The entire card will be available live and for free to North American television via Prime Video.

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#2. Allycia Hellen Rodrigues could become the face of women’s Muay Thai

There were a lot of questions surrounding Allycia Hellen Rodrigues’ much-awaited return after an almost three-year hiatus. After all, coming back to fighting after such a long amount of time is a daunting task for anyone, especially at the highest level.

Her phenomenal win against Stamp Fairtex back in 2020 made her one of the most must-watch female fighters in all of combat sports. Pundits, however, were curious if she could regain the same form against Janet Todd.

Unbeknownst to many, the 24-year-old put in a lot of work behind closed doors, juggling her time as a mother and a professional fighter during her time away from the circle.

Not only did she display her earlier prowess, Rodrigues looked better, sharper, and much more lethal than ever before.

As expected, The Phuket Fight Club standout dealt with some ring rust early on, as Todd got the better of her in the first two rounds. But once Rodrigues shook off the cobwebs, the world once again saw the fearsome berserker we all know and love.

The aggressive headhunter displayed her chaotically-beautiful brand of Muay Thai by beating up ‘JT’ in the final three rounds. She literally punched, kicked, elbowed, and kneed her way to victory to unify the ONE atomweight Muay Thai world titles.

Stamp, of course, was initially the promotion’s pound-for-pound best female striker not too long ago. When her reign ended, it was Todd who took her place at the top of the totem pole.

Now, it appears that the Allycia Hellen Rodrigues era has officially begun, especially if she gets her desire to rematch Todd for her atomweight kickboxing throne.

Let’s not forget that Rodrigues is only 24 years old and has a whole lot of room to grow. As great as she is already right now, imagine just how outstanding she’s going to be once she reaches her full ceiling.

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#1. Superlek may actually be better than Rodtang

As great as ONE Fight Night 8 turned out to be, it was supposed to serve as the battleground between two of the fiercest Thai warriors on the planet right now.

The injury bug ultimately derailed the much-awaited Superlek Kiatmoo9 versus Rodtang Jitmuangnon clash. Danial Williams eventually stepped in as a late replacement challenger for ‘The Kicking Machine’s flyweight kickboxing world title.

Superlek cruised to an easy victory by viciously knocking out ‘Mini T’ in round three. Still, for some reason, most fans and pundits alike believe Rodtang would have gotten his hand raised if their match pushed through.

‘The Iron Man’, of course, is one of the most recognizable figures in Muay Thai today. He is flashy, violent, and highly durable, with a reckless “devil may care” style that fans love to see.

Plus, his penchant for eating hard punches and kicks with his chin is truly the perfect recipe for infamy.

Superlek, on the other hand, has employed a more methodical approach to destroying his opponents over the years. He is also reserved and soft-spoken outside the circle, a complete contrast to the outgoing Rodtang.

The 27-year-old Thai destroyer, though, prefers to let his skills do the talking. In reality, Superlek’s patient yet extremely deadly style might just be Rodtang’s kryptonite.

We all know the ‘The Kicking Machine’ won’t be goaded into a slugfest, where the ONE flyweight Muay Thai king thrives the most. If he does, Superlek has the technical mastery of the striking arts to give Rodtang a run for his money.

Then again, talk is cheap and the only way to find out is for these two to finally share the circle. Let’s hope the fighting gods hear our plea and make this a reality sometime this year.