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ONE rising star Mohamed Younes Rabah’s promotional debut couldn’t have gotten any better after he took out fourth-ranked bantamweight Muay Thai contender Saemapetch Fairtex on short notice.
However, his near-perfect performance at ONE Fight Night 17 last year was laced with controversy following an unfortunate incident during his finishing sequence.
After surviving a knockdown early in the bout, Younes Raba responded with his own venom and cornered the Thai striker near the ring ropes.
‘The Buraq’ drilled Saemapetch with a flying knee, followed by a burst of five unanswered shots to the head that sent his opponent crashing to the canvas.
Fans and pundits, however, cried foul when Younes Raba threw another knee that connected with Saemapetch’s face while he was clearly knocked down.
Saemapetch was deemed unfit to continue after the hit, resulting in a first-round KO victory for ONE newcomer.
Given the controversial nature of their first encounter, these two will run it back at ONE Fight Night 19 to settle the score.
Younes Rabah, though, is confident that the outcome will remain the same this coming Friday at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok.
In an interview with ONE, the lanky Algerian said he already had the win in the bag even before the accidental knee strike.
“I’ve already apologized for that knee incident. It wasn’t intentional. It just happened in the heat of the moment. However, if you watch the entire fight, you’ll see that I had already dropped him once.”
He continued:
“Honestly, even if that knee incident hadn’t occurred, I don’t think it would have changed the outcome of the fight.”
Saemapetch vows to return the favor at ONE Fight Night 19
Needless to say, Saemapetch is not happy with how things ended between him and Mohamed Younes Rabah.
The 29-year-old veteran told ONE in his own interview:
“Mohamed, I’m gonna pay you back on that day. This time I won't make the same mistake twice.”
ONE Fight Night 19 will air live on US Primetime on February 16, free of charge for existing Prime Video subscribers in North America
