Nong-O ONE Fight Night 31: WATCH: Thai legend Nong-O Hama overcomes adversity, outshines Kongthoranee in second Bangkok duel

Muay Thai great Nong-O Hama viewed his flyweight Muay Thai rematch with Kongthoranee Sor Sommai in the main event of ONE Fight Night 31 last Friday, May 2, as an opportunity to rewrite history. He did that and more with arguably his best showing ever under the ONE Championship banner.

Believing he deserved to have won their first meeting in February, Nong-O promised that fans would see his best version yet in their rematch.

The former ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world champion made good on his words in the opening round. He rattled Kongthoranee's confidence with vicious kick-based attacks and supplemented it with hand combos as the 28-year-old struggled to respond.

Though the Sor Sommai product showed signs of life by nearly dropping Nong-O in the second round, the living legend secured the unanimous decision win in the third round with a terrifying display of offensive prowess.

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Watch the highlights of their fight below, which ONE posted on YouTube:

Putting on a show for the fans while also leveling his head-to-head series with Kongthoranee earned the Evolve MMA affiliate a $50,000 performance bonus from ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong.

Fans in the United States and Canada with an active Prime Video subscription can rewatch ONE Fight Night 31 on demand.

Nong-O predicted how Kongthoranee rematch would go

Days before he went to war with Kongthoranee for a second time, Nong-O made it public that he would only throw power shots and focus on defending himself from Kongthoranee, which was precisely how their bout played out.

The 38-year-old megastar told the world's largest martial arts promotion:

"To fight with him, I have to focus on heavy blows and defending myself well. Don't trade with him. If I block well enough, he can't do anything to me."

About the author

Karl has been an MMA writer at Sportskeeda since 2023. He holds a Bachelor of Arts major in history, which helps him pay attention to the finer details while writing, and also has first-hand experience in boxing. He has a total experience of 5 years, and has worked for the International Business Times.

Karl turned into an MMA fan back in 2011 after watching Tito Ortiz defeat Ryan Bader via first-round submission at UFC 132. He has interviewed ONE world champions like Eduard Folayang, Joshua Pacio, Stamp Fairtex, and Tawanchai in his career so far.

On the non-MMA side of things, he interviewed WWE superstar Matt Riddle in 2021 and his question about Roman Reigns elicited an interesting answer which was widely covered by outlets like Sportskeeda and Cultaholic Wrestling's YouTube channel. He has also interviewed NBA stars Dwight Howard, Nick Young, Andre Roberson, Shabazz Muhammad, Jason Williams and Brian Scalabrine plus Filipino women's volleyball star Alyssa Valdez.

Karl ensures to double-check facts before using them in articles, and reads up on potential topics for pieces a day before. In his off time, he likes to play video games, and keep up with basketball and pro wrestling.

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Edited by Tejas Rathi