ONE Championship: veteran Nong-O Gaiyanghadao storms past rising star Kulabdam and declares that ‘the king is back’
- Victory came off the back of successive defeats and the 37-year-old took the opportunity to hit back at critics
- He hopes win will open the door to potential title fight against winner of Superlek Kiatmoo9 v Jonathan Haggerty
Nong-O Gaiyanghadao beat rising star Kulabdam Sor Jor Piek Uthai in a decision at ONE Friday Fights 58 – with a performance that silenced the critics who had been telling the 37-year-old it was time to retire.
Having lost his previous two fights, the former champion was under pressure and he responded in the best possible way: by winning for the first time in a year.
“I would like to let everyone know that age is not a problem and the king is back,” he said after his triumph.
Kulabdam is 12 years younger than Nong-O and was coming off four impressive victories, but he faded from the fight and the veteran former champion took advantage to finish strongly and claim the win by a decision.
Nong-O had been stopped by his previous two opponents and seemed to suggest that Kulabdam might have taken him lightly.
“I feel like other fighters underestimate me because of my age, but I don’t think they realise that I am still powerful, my body is still good, my physical strength is still good, and I can still fight, of course,” he said. “I also have a lot of experience that they should be careful of.”