“He had difficulty moving” - Prajanchai says Kongthoranee’s injured foot prevented him from finishing Nong-O

Reigning ONE strawweight Muay Thai and kickboxing world champion Prajanchai PK Saenchai believes Kongthoranee Sor Sommai would have finished Nong-O Hama in their rematch at ONE Fight Night 31 earlier this month.

However, a compromised foot greatly hindered his ability to move and put more weight on his shots, allowing the 38-year-old to survive a near-knockout scare.

Nong-O was in control of their flyweight Muay Thai re-do up until a left straight counter from Kongthoranee rattled him in round two.

The former ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world champion was in full defense mode and was on the retreat, as Kongthoranee tried to finish him off.

However, the 28-year-old didn't have the usual spring in his step and missed a golden opportunity. Kongthoranee eventually lost the match via unanimous decision.

Prajanchai, who was in Kongthoranee's corner that night, said the match would have been totally different if not for his teammate's foot injury.

"Yeah, at that moment, his foot was already injured. So that already happened, so he had difficulty moving," the two-sport king told Sportskeeda MMA.

"And not just him, I would not say disappointed, just saying like that, it's just a feeling of like, oh, it's kind of like a little bit of regret that he didn't get the win, and he didn't get the bonus. Yeah, but it is what it is."

---

Prajanchai says Kongthoranee still performed admirably despite injury

Kongthoranee initially beat Nong-O via split decision at ONE Fight Night 28 last February. Unfortunately, he couldn't replicate the feat in their do-over.

Prajanchai, who welcomed Kongthoranee at PK Saenchai for this training camp, still lauded the Thai star for toughing it out against one of the true legends of 'The Art of Eight Limbs'. Prajanchai told Sportskeeda MMA:

"Well, personally, I think he did a really good job during the fight. His foot was injured, so he had a bit of difficulty moving. So I think that's one of the factors."

The full replay of ONE Fight Night 31 is on demand for Prime Video subscribers in North America