ONE flyweight Muay Thai contender Nakrob Fairtex is a true example of relentless hunger for success, as evidenced by his resume in the world’s largest martial arts organization. From his promotional debut in January 2023 to June 2024, he amassed a record of nine fights and is now gearing for his tenth in the upcoming ONE Fight Night 24: Brooks vs. Balart on U.S. primetime this Friday, August 2nd against Dedduanglek Wankhongohm in their Muay Thai rematch at Lumpinee Stadium, Bangkok.

In their last match, Nakrob Fairtex knocked out Dedduanglek in the third round. Despite this victory, Nakrob is not underestimating his opponent. He believes Dedduanglek will be a tougher challenge this time.

In a recent interview with ONE Championship, Nakrob stated, “I’m sure he’ll be better than the first fight. I think his attacks will be heavier and faster than before. His defense will definitely be better because he’ll see all the mistakes he made. More importantly, he’ll have a chance to get his revenge on the ONE Fight Night stage, so I believe he’s in good shape.”

Nakrob further stated that he won’t change his fighting style but plans to increase the power of his strikes. Aiming for another knockout, the Thai star revealed, “If I have the opportunity, I will try to finish him. But I believe that he has learned his lesson from the first fight. I definitely can’t beat him easily like before.”

Dedduanglek reflects on past defeat against Nakrob Fairtex

Dedduanglek has been victorious in almost all of his fights in the ONE Championship, with the sole blemish being his defeat against Nakrob Fairtex at ONE Friday Fights 41 in November 2023. The knockout loss took a significant psychological toll on him. However, Dedduanglek managed to bounce back and return to the winning track by defeating Taiki Naito in a kickboxing match last April.

In an interview with ONE Championship, Dedduanglek acknowledged that the rematch with Nakrob will be tough. He revealed that his previous victory over Kongsuk Fairtex at ONE Friday Fights 35 had made him complacent, which resulted in his first loss in the promotion. 

Dedduanglek stated, “After that, I came back to learn how I was defeated and used that information to improve myself. I learned that I had to practice more and be more diligent than before. The important thing was not to be careless.”

Now eager to exact revenge on Nakrob Fairtex, we only have to wait until tomorrow to see if he can fulfill his goal against his countryman.