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In 2019, Saemapetch fought living legend and ONE Championship bantamweight Muay Thai champion Nong-O in an instant classic.
After some feeling-out in the first half of the first round, the action escalated as both fighters upped the ante. Saemapetch answered Nong-O's surgical strikes with wild, aggressive counters. Neither fighter was giving the other any chance to gain momentum.
The second round saw why Nong-O is the champion. The Muay Thai legend's otherworldly precision striking and Matrix-like defense were are a sight to behold. In the last minute of the round, Nong-O dropped Saemapetch with a devastating punch combo. Never to be deterred, the brave Fairtex fighter tried to fight back only to be dropped again at the end of the round.
Beating with the heart of a lion, however, Saemapetch came back strong in the third round. Seemingly having been woken up by the knockdowns, he went after the champion. The round was a back-and-forth affair, with Saemapetch arguably edging out the champ.
The fourth round was a continuation of the third. Saemapetch was as aggressive as ever, while Nong-O picked his shots like a sniper. With a little over a minute left in the round, the champion landed a right cross down the pipe that knocked out the challenger. It was one of the best Muay Thai bouts in ONE Championship history.
Watch the full fight below:
Saemapetch looks to get another win to secure another shot at ONE Championship gold
Saemapetch Fairtex aims to get rid of his next opponent Rittewada in dominant fashion to get another shot at Nong-O. His fight with Rittewada will be the main event of ONE: NEXTGEN II, which will take place on Friday, November 12. The Muay Thai bout will serve as the main event of a stacked card that features kickboxing and MMA as well.
The streaking bantamweight Muay Thai fighter knows the stakes are high with this bout against Rittewada. In a preview video by ONE Championship, the Fairtex fighter explains what this fight means to him:
"I am scared? Of course I am. If I screw up, I lose my rematch with Nong-O... this is a risky fight. If I lose this fight, I lose my number one spot. And I'll have to climb my way back up. But if I win, I'll get my rematch with Nong-O."
With a third straight win via a devastating body punch-knockout of Kulabdam, the Fairtex fighter understands he's poised for another title shot. He just needs to go through the highly credentialed ONE Championship newcomer Rittewada first.
On Friday, Saemapetch will be looking to extend his winning streak to four, securing him another shot at the belt. ONE: NEXTGEN II will stream on ONE’s YouTube channel and the ONE Super App beginning at 8:30 p.m. Singapore Standard Time (SGT) on Friday, November 12.
