‘I’ll Come Back Greater Than Ever’ – Nong-O Brushes Off Retirement, Plans To Take Out Kulabdam
Former longtime ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Champion Nong-O Hama isn’t ready to hang up the 4-ounce gloves yet.
The 37-year-old legend will look to snap a surprising two-fight losing skid when he takes on surging knockout artist Kulabdam “Left Meteorite” Sor Jor Piek Uthai in Asia primetime on April 5 at ONE Friday Fights 58: Superbon vs. Grigorian II.
That pivotal clash between Thai fan favorites will go down at the “Mecca of Muay Thai” – Bangkok’s legendary Lumpinee Boxing Stadium.
After racking up 10 straight victories to begin his ONE tenure and establishing himself as a true pound-for-pound striking great, Nong-O has suffered knockout losses to current bantamweight Muay Thai titleholder Jonathan “The General” Haggerty and #1-ranked contender Nico “King of the North” Carrillo.
Naturally, fans and pundits have wondered if the veteran is ready to call it quits – a notion that Nong-O disputes:
“In my opinion, my setbacks are something that can happen to any athlete. But my heart is still fighting. My body is still able to do it. Let me say it again: This fight is not going to be my last fight.”
During his incredible unbeaten streak from 2018 until 2023, Nong-O became accustomed to winning with relative ease against the best fighters in Muay Thai.
He admits the recent losses have bothered him, but he’s not about to wallow in defeat:
“I accept that I cannot avoid having a negative attitude. Anyone feels bad when they lose, but I try not to dwell on negative feelings too much.”
After losing his bantamweight Muay Thai crown to Haggerty last April at ONE Fight Night 9, Nong-O wanted revenge and a chance to reclaim the World Title. However, that immediate rematch never came to fruition.
The Evolve MMA representative is okay with that, as he’s ready to fight his way back toward the divisional throne – and ideally, ride off into the sunset with 26 pounds of gold:
“I was a champion before, and I lost my belt. I will say that I thought about coming back to take my belt back as soon as I lost to Jonathan Haggerty. Now, I’m trying to earn a title shot, and I believe that I’ll come back greater than ever.
“My goal before retiring is to become the World Champion again.”
Nong-O Feels Ready For Kulabdam’s Power
While his long-term goal is to recapture the belt he held for so many years, Nong-O Hama must first get past Kulabdam Sor Jor Piek Uthai and his show-stopping punching power.
With that in mind, the former titleholder has devised a plan to deal with his foe’s famed “Left Meteorite”:
“I change my training and game plan for every fight because each of my opponents has a different style.
“For this fight, I know my opponent has a good punch. So I focused on protecting myself from his punches.”
Indeed, Kulabdam will come into this contest riding a three-fight knockout winning streak, displaying ruthless finishing instincts in each appearance.
Given his opponent’s penchant for fearlessly trading blows, Nong-O expects an all-out war at ONE Friday Fights 58:
“This fight going to be explosive. I’m ready to go toe-to-toe with him, and I’ll never back down.”
Nong-O rates Kulabdam’s winning streak highly, but as a veteran of well over 300 career fights, he’s not intimidated in the least.
He added:
“I give Kulabdam 10 out of 10. This man is in top form right now. But he doesn’t dare think that he’s going to beat me easily.”
