Could Nong-O Gaiyanghadao’s laserlike precision be key to beating Liam Harrison?

Nong-O Gaiyanghadao steps back into the ONE circle to defend his bantamweight Muay Thai world championship against No.5-ranked contender Liam Harrison in the co-main event of ONE Championship’s debut on Amazon Prime Video on August 26th.

The highly anticipated rematch between flyweight world champion Adriano Moraes and all-time great Demetrious Johnson will be the main event on the night. Before ‘Mighty Mouse’ and ‘Mikinho’ square off, Nong-O will try to keep both his world title and undefeated record intact against a ‘punch first and ask questions later’ type of challenger in ‘Hitman’ Harrison.

ONE Championship took a moment on the promotion’s Instagram to highlight Nong-O’s laser-like precision striking ahead of his ONE on Prime Video 1 co-main event clash.

With eight straight wins inside the ONE circle, including consecutive knockouts in his last 3 outings, Nong-O Gaiyanghadao has looked nearly unstoppable. The Thai fighter will face perhaps his toughest test yet when he meets British striker Liam Harrison, who earned his title shot with his jaw-dropping comeback against Muangthai PK.Saenchai at ONE 156.

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Liam Harrison’s high pressure style may be his downfall against Nong-O Gaiyanghadao

Liam Harrison is known to be a fast, in-your-face type of fighter who typically pushes the pace and swarms his opponents with an endless flurry of attacks. That style has served him well in his last two outings, scoring wins against Mohammed Bin Mahmoud and Muangthai PK.Saenchai. However, utilizing that style against a striker like Nong-O Gaiyanghadao could be his downfall.

Nong-O has been accused of being a slow starter on more than one occasion. In his eight bouts with ONE Championship, the first five went to a decision. While his last three have been via knockout, they all came in the third or fourth round. Knowing this about his opponent, Harrison may attempt to charge early, taking out the Thai world champion before he can get warmed up.

This could very well be a mistake.

Nong-O is one of Muay Thai’s best precision strikers. Cold and calculated in his approach, Nong-O will likely expect Harrison to try and take charge in the opening moments and has adjusted his own training in anticipation. Harrison has already gone on record stating that he has no intentions of changing his style once inside the cage with Nong-O, but rushing in on one of combat sport’s best Muay Thai strikers could be certain doom for the Brit.

Check out Nong-O's highlight reel below: