“This will be a great opportunity” - Nong-O relishes chance to showcase Muay Thai to American audience

ONE Championship houses some of the best Muay Thai fighters in the world, including Nong-O Gaiyanghadao, who will defend his ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world championship on August 26.

On that night, the promotion will make its highly anticipated debut on Amazon Prime Video. Muay Thai will shine under the co-main event spotlight when the Thai legend goes head-to-head against high-octane British striker Liam Harrison.

The night presents an incredible opportunity for ONE Championship and the sport of Muay Thai to properly introduce itself to North America’s combat sports fans and the Thai legend is ready to seize the moment.

In an interview with ONE ahead of the fight Nong-O Gaiyanghadao promised a “bloody war.” The reigning world champion shared his excitement to help bring the promotion and Muay Thai closer to more than 200 million Amazon Prime Video subscribers throughout the United States and Canada:

“This will be a great opportunity for Westerners to get to know Muay Thai better and to promote Muay Thai more widely around the world. I would like to show them that Muay Thai is one of the most dangerous [styles] compared to other combat sports.”

Nong-O is ready to put on a show by knocking out Liam Harrison in the promotion’s big debut:

“I want to win by knockout in front of the American combat sports fans. I’ll try to knock Liam Harrison out and stay at the top.”

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With the help of Nong-O, can ONE Championship make Muay Thai a mainstream success in the United States?

When ONE debuts on Amazon Prime Video, it will be more than just another player in MMA joining the party. ONE boasts some of the world's best athletes across multiple combat sports, including Muay Thai. The United States has largely been on the outside, looking in on Muay Thai, with its biggest exposure to it likely coming from the 1989 Jean Claude Van-Damme film ‘Kickboxer’.

Forgetting for a moment that the film was ironically titled ‘Kickboxer,’ the film gave young martial arts fans an overly dramatic look at the brutally beautiful form of ‘The Art of Eight Limbs’. However, ONE Championship boasts a more exciting version of the sport, opting to showcase Muay Thai strikers in 4oz MMA gloves rather than the traditional 16oz gloves.

This simple change makes ONE’s Muay Thai division arguably the promotion’s most exciting combat sport on the planet. With fighters like Nong-O Gaiyanghadao, Liam Harrison, Rodtang, and Jonathan Haggerty ready to introduce millions of fans to the sport, there is no doubt that America will fall in love with the world of Muay Thai.