Nong-O Gaiyanghadao is all set to shine in the ‘ONE: Immortal Triumph’ headliner tomorrow night. He defends his bantamweight belt for the second time in a Muay Thai bout against Algerian warrior Brice Delval.
This will be Nong-O’s fifth fight for ONE Championship. He was one of the first fighters to compete in a Muay Thai bout on one of the promotion’s cards and is a multiple time Lumpinee and Rajadamnern champion.
Nong-O put in a dominant performance in his last title defense, outscoring Hiroaki Suzuki at ONE: ‘Warriors of Light’. The Thai veteran believes he will need to be at his best to beat Brice,
“He is naturally bigger and taller than me and will have sharp boxing, due to his experience in kickboxing as well as Muay Thai. I cannot get careless and need to concentrate on my defense as well as attack.”
Vast experience
Nong-O brings a wealth of experience into the fight with over 200 fights to his name, over six times as many as his opponent. He has won four Lumpinee titles, one Rajadamnern title and one Thailand title as well as the prestigious Sports Writer’s ‘Fighter of the Year’ award.
Nong-O feels this experience is what will give him the edge over his younger opponent,
“I have much more experience than him, this brings an ability to solve problems fast during the fight and the lack of experience and this ability for him is his weakness in this match,” he said.
Nong-O, at the age of 32, still feels he has plenty left to give the sport both as a fighter and as a trainer at Evolve MMA in Singapore,
“I am in great shape for this fight and feel very confident. I always try and finish the fight inside the distance, it is not easy to find the openings for a knockout against high level opponents but I always try my best. I always want to show my students as well that what I teach them works during the fight. I want to keep my reputation as one of the very best in the sport and show I am not too old or too slow yet.”
Young lion
Standing opposite him tomorrow night though will be a young, hungry lion in Delval who is also desperate to prove he can compete at the highest level. He relocated from his native Reunion Island at a young age to pursue his fighting dreams in Paruis.
He now trains and fights out of the famed Mahmoudi gym alongside fellow ONE Super Series star Elias Mahmoudi. The Algerian has already developed a solid reputation around and knows what to expect from Nong-O,
“He has had a huge career in Thailand and I have watched many of his fights from the past on the internet. He is the champion of the organisation and undefeated in the promotion and a huge name. It is hard to find any weaknesses in his game. I will have an advantage in height and reach though and a lot of determination. My team have worked out a strong game plan and I also have youth on my side, so I will do everything I can to get the win.”
