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There was controversy regarding the big win that Mohamed Younes Rabah pulled off at ONE Fight Night 17, but there’s no denying that he capitalized on his opportunity.
With just a week out from fight night, Felipe Lobo withdrew from his pivotal contest with Saemapetch Fairtex in the upper echelons of the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai division.
Rabah took the Brazilian’s place and made the most of the chance that had landed on his table. A win over Saemapetch immediately announced him as one to watch going forward.
Despite the odds being stacked against him, Rabah said during his post-fight interview that he knew he could get the job done on late notice:
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“Yeah, 100 percent. You know, even when I took the fight with Saemapetch, I knew he is the number three [athlete in the division]. But I knew I could beat him very easily since the first day.”
Mohamed Younes Rabah continued, speaking about the difference in preparation between him and his opponent:
“I got this fight in one week short notice and he was preparing for his rematch. So he trained very hard for his rematch with the Brazilian guy. Imagine, I just had one week short notice and I beat him in the first round.”
Watch the full interview below:
The fans at Lumpinee weren’t so congratulatory towards Mohamed Younes Rabah
A win over Saemapetch on late notice is a massive achievement for Mohamed Younes Rabah, but it’s fair to say that the fans weren’t ready to shower him with praise.
The late-notice replacement missed weight ahead of the contest, and while he did have to take the bout with little time to prepare, it was clearly a factor in the fight.
His superior size was too much for the former title challenger, but what really left the fans disgruntled was the knee that he landed once his opponent was already downed.
Rabah may have made a big impact on his debut, but it appears he will have some work to do to win the fans over.
North American viewers with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription can rewatch all the action from ONE Fight Night 17 via the free event replay.
