Sam-A Gaiyanghadao knows he may not have much time left in the fight game. But he's ready to make another march towards 26 pounds of gold when he returns to the Circle at ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang.
That evening, the Thai icon, a former two-sport, two-division world champion in ONE Championship, collides against Canadian-Italian striker Jonathan Di Bella for the ONE interim strawweight kickboxing crown.
Their five-round fixture is one of many exciting matchups locked in for ONE's stacked return to Japan inside the Saitama Super Arena on Sunday, March 23.
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With a win on fight night also guaranteeing him a chance to unify the belt and a rubber match against divisional king Prajanchai PK Saenchai, the Thai veteran knows there's no better time for him to be firing on all cylinders.
Reflecting on what this moment means to him, Sam-A told ONE Championship:
"It would be an honor in my career. For me to retire and still come back to be a world champion would be a great legacy for me."
While age may not be on his side, the Evolve MMA representative turns 42 in October, he has plenty he can rely on to cruise to the 376th victory of his glorious career.
Find out if he can complete his redemption arc by tuning in to ONE 172, which will be available for free at watch.onefc.com on March 23.
Sam-A confident his enormous knockout power will spell danger for Jonathan Di Bella
Though he expects to be up against a tough assignment in Jonathan Di Bella, Sam-A is confident he can beat the latter's technicality with his potent weapons.
In the same interview with the promotion, the 41-year-old singled out his biggest advantage against the Team Di Bella Kickboxing star, offering:
"What I have as an advantage over him is probably more powerful strikes."