Nong-O Hama is back in the win column and he feels ready to reclaim his throne. The Thai legend picked up an important unanimous decision victory over his streaking compatriot, Kulabdam ‘Left Meteorite’ Sor Jor Piek Uthai, at ONE Friday Fights 58 inside the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

The win snapped a two-fight slide for the 37-year-old, while also stopping Kulabdam’s dominant streak of three first-round knockouts. Speaking to Sportsmanor, Nong-O spoke about why the win was so special to him.

Nong-O Hama reveals fighting with ‘original style’ helped him defeat Kulabdam

Nong-O Hama opened up about his impressive victory, expressing his delight in his latest conquest, and explained that returning to his true roots helped him achieve victory.

“I am absolutely happy about the victory and I feel that the confidence I had is coming back. I can sense that,” he said. “What you saw, is my original style, me at my best. Also, my game plan as well. You can see the confidence is coming back because I decided to stick to my original style.”

“I feel my gameplan before was just to try and go out there and knock opponents, go forward, and pressure. But I forgot, my original style is more of a technical fighter. I use my fight IQ, and my ability to change my game plan in the ring a lot. So in this fight, I thought a lot about that original style, and I’m glad it got me through.”

For the third straight fight, Nong-O was faced with a younger, heavy-handed striker, and considering the outcome of his previous two fights, the odds didn’t appear to be in his favor.

Nong-O credits the team for coming up with a game plan that led to victory

However, the Thai legend trusted his team’s game plan and prepared to counter ‘Left Meteorite’ and neutralize the southpaw’s best weapons. He also had plenty of help from his trainer in simulating his opponent’s movements.

“Strength and conditioning came into play during my training camp. But mainly, it was the speed. My trainer just kept sparring with me, he moved and attacked like Kulabdam, so I knew what to expect when I fought. It was so intense, I had to figure out new ways to defend some strikes, and, in the end, it helped me get the win,” he said.

Despite over 300 fights to his name, Nong-O has remained respectful to his opponents, win or lose, which include his latest outing. He says that at this stage of his career, he would rather focus on more important matters than celebrating huge wins.

“The reason that I’m grounded is because I’m getting old, I’m not a teenager anymore. When I win, I don’t go for a big celebration anymore,” he said. “I just want to focus on my career, focus on improving, getting my style better, that’s why my focus is just having nice meals with my friends and family. So I use all this to come back better, fight better, and to achieve all my goals in my career,” he said.

What are your thoughts on Nong-O’s comments?