Kulabdam Sor Jor Piek U-Thai is headlining ONE: ‘Full Blast’ on Friday night. He faces compatriot Saemapetch Fairtex in a previously recorded bantamweight bout at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Kulabdam is very confident coming into this contest and believes he is capable of hurting Saemapetch,
“Even though Saemapetch is quick and tricky, he has a glass chin, so we’ll see if he can take my punch.”
Powerful kicks
He does acknowledge that his opponent is fast and admits he will need to be prepared for Saemapetch’s speed,
“Saemapetch is a technical fighter. He has powerful kicks and punches. They’re fast coming in and fast going out,” he said.
Kulabdam is currently at #3 in the bantamweight Muay Thai rankings while Saemapetch is #1. That makes this a potential title eliminator and a good opportunity for the 22 year old to bounce back from a disappointing defeat to Rodlek PKSaenchaigym last time out.
He expects Saemapetch to fight on the front foot and thinks this should make for an entertaining contest,
“If he plans to walk forward to fight with me, that would be good for the fans. It’s going to be fun, and this is the way I want to fight.”
Proving a point
While he lost to Rodlek in the final of ONE Championship’s bantamweight Grand Prix he did much better in the opening round. Kulabdam knocked out Sangmanee Sor Tienpo and it is a performance he is particularly proud of,
“I had very good feedback after I knocked out Sangmanee in the first round. Most people predicted that I would not have a chance to defeat him. So after I won, I was so happy to have proven myself and tell those people they were wrong about me.”
Having fared so much worse against Rodlek he is looking to set the record straight at ONE: ‘Full Blast’,
“I’m happy that I can come back to ONE’s ring because it’s an opportunity for me to correct my mistakes after the last fight with Rodlek.”
Speed and footwork
Both fighters are southpaws but for Kulabdam this isn’t exactly a step into the unknown,
“I am still young and fresh, and I have a lot of experience fighting southpaws. Many people think fighting a southpaw is quite difficult, but for me, I think it’s easier,” Kulabdam says.
Kulabdam has been working on his speed and footwork and says he feels ‘very confident’ heading into Friday’s fight,
“For this fight, I am focusing my training on my kicks and punches, which are my strongest weapons. I am also working on my speed and footwork more than before, which makes me feel very confident in this fight.”
