Thai legend Nong-O Hama admits he “never thought” of fighting once more at 135 pounds until getting offered Kongthoranee slugfest

Nong-O Hama was confident he left the 135-pound division behind. That was until he got the call for his next matchup.

The Thai legend dropped down from bantamweight to flyweight to take on rising star Kongthoranee Sor Sommai at ONE Fight Night 28 this Friday, US primetime, at the historic Lumpinee Stadium.

In an interview snippet he shared on his Instagram page, Nong-O admitted that he never thought off returning to a lower weight class since bantamweight became his domain in ONE Championship.

Nong-O was the inaugural ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world champion and he successfully defended his throne seven times.

He said:

"At that time, I never thought I would drop back down to 135 pounds again. When I first joined ONE Championship, I fought at 145 pounds and felt I matched up well with fighters in the division."

Nong-O Hama said in the same interview that the last fight he had at 135 pounds was in 2015 when he faced off against Chamuaktong Sor.Yupinda at Rajadamnern Stadium.

He then took a brief hiatus three-year hiatus to coach Muay Thai in Singapore before returning to competition in 2018 when he made his debut at ONE Championship.

The 38-year-old then built one of the greatest world title reigns when he held the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world championship from 2019 to 2023.

Nong-O now heads to a new chapter in his legendary career when he takes on Kongthoranee in his flyweight ONE Championship debut on Friday.

ONE Fight Night 28 is available live and free to all Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.

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Nong-O Hama says he's not concerned with the flyweight Muay Thai world title, yet

Nong-O Hama could've gotten a straight shot at the vacant ONE flyweight Muay Thai world title, but the Muay Thai icon isn't one to cut in line.

In an interview with ONE Championship, the former bantamweight Muay Thai king said he's focused solely on Kongthoranee and not on any future shots at the division's gold:

"Every fighter's goal is become a champion. But I want to focus on this fight first. If I can get through this fight, then we can talk about the next one."