ONE Championship: Alain Ngalani targets ‘one more run at the top’ after training at Sanford MMA
- Hong Kong fighter feels like ‘kid in the candy shop’ following eye-opening spell in Florida, and will return to the ONE cage this year
- Ngalani receives win bonus despite no contest for groin shot against Thomas Narmo, and is confident he would’ve knocked Norwegian out
It may have been a second no contest caused by groin strikes in his career, but Alain Ngalani has brushed off the controversy of his fight against Thomas Narmo and targeted one last run at the ONE Championship heavyweight title.
Hong Kong’s Ngalani looked on track to pick up a victory in his Singapore clash with “The Last Viking” (4-0, one no contest) at Battleground II, which aired last Friday, before an accidental low blow in the second round brought a premature end to the fight.
But the 46-year-old revealed to the Post he still received a win bonus from ONE CEO and chairman Chatri Sityodtong.
“I was frustrated, there was confusion when I was in the ring,” he said. “We argue a bit with the referee and the judge. The referee assured me I won the fight. He told me if he [Narmo] doesn’t continue, you win the fight.
“The judge announced it was a no contest, so I was very confused and not OK with the decision, but later on I spoke to the big boss himself and he was very satisfied with my performance.
“On the other side, I left it to the public, to my fans, to judge. I received thousands of messages around the world, everybody said I’m the winner, so I’m the people’s champion. So I don’t mind, I’m OK with that.”
Narmo had received a yellow card after delivering three groin shots himself in the first round, but Ngalani was only upset that he did not get the chance to finish the fight.
“Of course, I thought he could continue,” Ngalani said. “He hit me three times in the groin and I came back and carried on. If he couldn’t continue and was that hurt, they would’ve carried him out of the cage. If you can stand up and walk out, you can continue.
“He was getting beaten up and there was no way he could’ve done anything different. He saved himself a lot of trouble. If he would’ve got up from there, I would’ve knocked him out. I was done playing and I was done cruising. I was following the game plan, being very calm and composed, not rushing. The plan was to pick him apart step by step.”
Ngalani was also able to shrug off the disappointment by heading out after the fight for a promotional trip to Florida, where he was able to train at the world-class Sanford MMA gym, which is home to former ONE double champ Aung La N Sang.
“They invited me, they didn’t even want to let me go back to Hong Kong,” he said. “They’ve been very nice and very welcoming and they are very excited to have me back there very soon.
“It’s really an eye-opener. It was expected, because they have such a huge variety of fighters, very talented whether standing or on the ground. With so many professional athletes, you can only profit from that as a professional fighter. I felt very excited, I was like a kid in the candy shop. I just wanted it all.”
Ngalani is now quarantining in a hotel in Hong Kong but hopes to head back to Sanford as soon as he can, with a rough plan to fight again later this year.
“I’m not trying to call anyone out, it’s not my style,” he said. “But the heavyweight division is really packed at the moment. I have my eyes on a few people but I let the company decide.
“I feel like I’m in the best shape of my life right now, physically and mentally. I’m 46 years old, but I feel like I’m 30 years old or something.
“I’m learning a lot, having the best time of my life doing what I do and loving it. I’m tempted to go for one more run. I feel good and I feel committed, so I’m gonna go for one more run to the top, this time seriously.”
