OFN 31: “I’d try to meditate” - Muay Thai legend Nong-O shares how he composes himself after setbacks and frustrations

Fights don’t always go your way. Nong-O Hama knows that as well as anyone.

Ahead of ONE Fight Night 31, Nong-O, through the official ONE Championship account, opened a Reddit AMA (ask me anything) where fans could directly ask him questions. One user asked him what he does when things start to slip mid-fight, when the frustration builds, or the momentum’s off.

Q: Do you have any grounding techniques, for when you're anxious/frustrated, and things aren't going your way?

Nong-O's answer was simple: when in doubt, go back to the drawing board.

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A: "I'd try to meditate a bit, channel my focus onto the game plans. Go over the plans again to make sure I got everything correctly."

It’s about re-centering, remembering what the game plan was, and trying to find the rhythm again. After decades in the sport, the former ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world champion has learned that the ability to reset mid-fight matters just as much as any weapon in your arsenal.

“I train in the morning and evening” - Nong-O offers a glimpse of his training routine ahead of rematch with Kongthoranee

Routine has always been part of Nong-O’s edge. No big changes this time—just the kind of structure that’s carried him through hundreds of fights.

"My training routine: I train in the morning and evening," he shared. "Every week, I have a different training schedule. Some days I do boxing, and some days I focus on weight training. There will be Sundays when I reduce the intensity of my training. I will just run and shadowbox, no sparring."

Rather than doing more, it's about doing enough and doing it right, balancing his time, energy, and physical recovery to optimize his training camp.

This is how it's been since, and this proven-and-tested method is also how he prepared going into ONE Fight Night 31, where he'll rematch Kongthoranee to prove he's the better striker.

ONE Fight Night 31 takes place at 9 PM ET on May 2. Stream it live on Prime Video with an active subscription.

About the author

Charlene is a MMA writer with 5 years of experience writing content in various formats. She inadvertently fell into the rabbit hole of MMA after she (begrudgingly) joined her friend for a class and ended up enjoying it far beyond her expectations. She has a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and once dreamed of becoming a sports doctor before she found her true calling in writing.

She has ghostwritten for various health, fitness, and martial arts businesses. Despite the busyness of her day-to-day, she occasionally finds the time to practice Boxing and Muay Thai at home with her coach/husband and their many cats as their rapt audience.

She has organized a few local MMA events and aspires to establish her own little gym someday.

Outside of work, Charlene enjoys books, video games, and anime.

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Edited by Tejas Rathi