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Nong-O Hama knew about Kongthoranee Sor Sommai's reputation as a finesse striker with a beautiful Muay Femur style. The former ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world champion was prepared to deal with his 28-year-old's slick counterstriking and high fight IQ in their initial meeting at ONE Fight Night 28 last February.
While Nong-O experienced firsthand Kongthoranee's tactical brilliance, he didn't account for his compatriot's underrated physicality, especially when forced into a slugfest. The 38-year-old legend did his best to push the pace and incite Kongthoranee into a brawl for three rounds.
Much to Nong-O's surprise, the Sor Sommai product wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty and showed he also has brawn to match. The Evolve MMA affiliate told ONE Championship in an exclusive interview:
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"But what surprised me was his strength. Of course, because he was younger than me. In this fight, I saw significant improvement in him."
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Nong-O's inability to gauge Kongthoranee's physical prowess likely played a factor in his close split-decision loss.
Armed with the lessons he learned, the decorated Muay Thai warrior will seek revenge in the main event of ONE Fight Night 31 on Prime Video on Friday, May 2, inside 'The Mecca of Muay Thai' Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
Nong-O says Lumpinee will always be his second home
Nong-O Hama will always hold a special place in his heart for Lumpinee Stadium. After all, it's the legendary arena that hosted some of his greatest professional triumphs.
At ONE Fight Night 31, the former bantamweight Muay Thai world champion hopes to notch another impressive performance on the same hallowed grounds that shaped his legacy:
"I started fighting at Lumpinee a really long time ago, now I came back right, the first fight there I fought Alaverdi Ramazanov, I was really excited. Now, Lumpinee is big already, the world knows it. Now I get very excited to fight again," he told ONE.
ONE Fight Night 31 will air live in US Primetime, free for Prime Video subscribers in North America
