Saemapetch outpoints Rodlek, moves to ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai Tourney Final

Saemapetch Fairtex promised things would be different when he met Rodlek PK.Saenchai Muaythaigym inside the ring for the fourth time – and he lived up to his word.

Saemapetch looked technically superb as he scored a majority decision win over Rodlek in the main event of ONE: NO SURRENDER II last Friday, 14 August, in Bangkok, Thailand.

The win advanced the 25-year-old to the final of the ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai Tournament where he awaits the winner of the other semifinal, a clash between “The Million Dollar Baby” Sangmanee Klong SuanPluResort and “Left Meteorite” Kulabdam Sor. Jor. Piek Uthai at ONE: NO SURRENDER III on 21 August.

Whoever comes out on top of the tournament will get a shot at reigning ONE Bantamweight Muay Thai World Champion Nong-O Gaiyanghadao sometime in the future, a guy who dealt Saemapetch a loss last year.

After feeling each other out for most of the first round, the pair unloaded for an action-packed second round where the Fairtex star countered beautifully, using Rodlek’s aggression to his advantage.

The resident of Pattaya, Thailand, opened round two with a straight left, prompting Rodlek to move forward, but each time he seemed to have Saemapetch cornered, the MGPT Muay Thai World Champion landed with counters.

Rodlek did his best in the third round to land a match-changing blow, but Saemapetch was too elusive and too quick as he got the nod from two of the three judges.

Meanwhile, Mehdi “Diamond Heart” Zatout put on a kickboxing clinic as he scored a convincing unanimous decision win over Leo Pinto in a ONE Super Series bantamweight kickboxing match.

Zatout used his superior boxing skills to frustrate the younger Frenchman, putting the pressure on Pinto by landing one big combination after another to overwhelm the 26-year-old.

In other matches, Akihiro “Superjap” Fujisawa scored a late first-round knockout win over Pongsiri “The Smiling Assassin” Mitsatit in a mixed martial arts catchweight contest. Yodkaikaew “Y2K” Fairtex was also victorious in his mixed martial arts flyweight bout against John Shink, scoring a second-round knockout.

In the remaining ONE Super Series matches, Sorgraw Petchyindee Academy scored a split decision win over Pongsiri PK.Saenchai Muaythaigym while Fahdi “The Gladiator” Khaled defeated Huang Ding via unanimous decision in the curtain-raiser.