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Nong-O Hama is looking like a terror ahead of his next fight.
At 36 years old, the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world champion is looking as good as ever. He’s currently six weeks out from the next world title defense, set for the main event of ONE Fight Night 9 on April 21st.
Ahead of his next showdown, he posted a video of a recent training session with former Rajadamnern Stadium champion Diesellek Muaythai. This was not “light” padwork:
Fans and fellow fighters shared their dismay at the intensity of Hama:
@liambadco (Liam Harrison):
“Call the cops”
@artifex_joinery:
As much as I admire The Generals skills I would be s****** my pants at the prospect of facing Nong-O
@mikeydee53:
“Jesus Christ, it’s Jason Bourne”
The ferocity of Nong-O in the gym matches his performances in the ring: he’s undefeated through ten fights in ONE Championship with his past five ending by knockout.
The opponent on the receiving end of his training with Diesellek is England’s Jonathan Haggerty, a former flyweight Muay Thai world champion with ONE Championship. Haggerty is ten years younger than Hama and only recently made the move up to bantamweight.
The fight will be Haggerty's first foray into Lumpinee Boxing Stadium, but far from the Thai legend’s first, even this year. Apart from countless bouts in the famed stadium, Hama also made a return to Lumpinee by stopping Russian Alaverdi Ramazanov with body punches in January for his fifth world title defense.
WATCH: Nong-O Hama plays in the snow in Vancouver where he conducted a Muay Thai seminar
Until recently, the Canadian snow had never felt the sting of a Nong-O head kick.
Conversely, it’s possible the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world champion may have never experienced thick snow like he had the chance to play with during a trip to Vancouver this year. Fortunately, he seemed to have the proper warm clothes that are seldom seen in his native Thailand.
Take a look at this slo-mo video of Nong-O’s picture-perfect kick to a snowball, even in heavy clothing:
“Happy time in Vancouver Canada. Thank you @muaythaiacademy_ @kierankeddle @adrian_fairtex @dayton.zhao”
Nong-O was in town for a seminar at Vancouver’s Muay Thai Academy, among other activities. This is a bold move from anyone to come from the southern hemisphere to Canada in the dead of winter, but then again, Hama seems to be unfazed by pain.
He is back in Thailand training for the big fight with Haggerty, which is about six weeks out.
Hama has nearly cleaned out his division over the past four years. If he beats Haggerty, there may be a need for some fresh faces to come up the ranks. However, there's also the possibility of competing with other athletes from another division in ONE’s vast domain of martial arts.
