ONE Fight Night 7 results and recap: Saemapetch Fairtex vs. Zhang Chenglong

No. 1 ranked bantamweight Muay Thai contender Saemapetch Fairtex returned to the ring at the legendary Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok on Friday night for ONE Fight Night 7 on Prime Video. Coming off a second-round knockout of Rittewada Petchyindee in August, Saemapetch looked to make it two in a row against Chinese striker Zhang Chenglong in a bantamweight kickboxing clash.

Coming out for his kickboxing debut, Saemapetch was fairly hesitant in the early going with Zhang firing heavy strikes early and working the leg kicks. Halfway through the first, Saemapetch began to open up, firing back at Zhang as the Chinese striker continued to move forward and switch stances.

Saemapetch Fairtex came out for the second round looking a bit more comfortable, throwing a heavy leg kick. Standing toe-to-toe, Zhang landed a solid high kick, but Saemapetch brushed it off and continued to intelligently pick his shots as Zhang began swinging wildly. As the second round wrapped up, Saemapetch ripped a combination to the body. Zhang was unable to respond.

Stepping on the gas pedal in the second, Saemapetch Fairtex didn’t let up in the third round, picking Zhang Chenglong apart throughout the final three minutes. The Chinese striker still posed a threat with his power, but he was unable to hit the mark as Saemapetch smartly stayed out of range and quickly swooped in and out after landing his own shots. After nine entertaining minutes, we went to the judge's scorecards for the final result.

Official Result: Saemapetch Fairtex def. Zhang Chenglong via unanimous decision

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Saemapetch Fairtex would like to compete in both Muay Thai and kickboxing

After scoring a victory in his first foray into kickboxing, Saemapetch Fairtex spoke with Mitch Chilson inside the ring to share his elation over scoring a win in front of his home country:

“I felt very happy. I’m super excited because this is my first time that I do kickboxing and not only that, this is the first time that I’ve fought here in my hometown Thailand.”

Saemapetch admitted that he was nervous going into the bout, hence his hesitation in the first round. Competing in the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium added to the pressure he felt, but the Thai star was more than capable of handling the pressure of the moment on Friday night:

“This is my first time that I do kickboxing so I’m a little bit nervous because I’ve never done this before and especially to be fighting here in Lumpinee Stadium, it put a lot of pressure on me.”

As far as what comes next, Saemapetch revealed that he would like to continue competing in both kickboxing and Muay Thai going forward:

“I want to do a combination of both. Do both Muay Thai and kickboxing.”