“In my opinion, my setbacks can happen to any athlete. But my mind is still fighting. My body is still capable of it. It won't be my last fight.”
On Non-O's defense, his loss came at the hands of two of the division's most exciting young prospects. Haggerty, 27, holds the belt and is in his prime, while Carrillo, 25, is a top contender in the bantamweight division.
Nong-O nearly finished off Carrillo with a low kick at ONE Friday Fight 46, but succumbed to an elbow in the second round.
Nong-O isn't just trying to prove he can still compete at an elite level; He hopes to sweep the division one last time and reclaim the title he took from Haggerty at ONE Fight Night 9 in April.
“My goal before I retire is to become world champion again,” he said.
Nong-O is still ranked No. 3 despite his recent losses and is determined to wear the belt once again.
“I used to be a champion, but I lost the belt. After losing to Jonathan Haggerty, you could say I immediately wanted to come back to get the belt back. I believe he will come back even better than before.”
Considering how great Nong-O's career has been so far, that's quite an accomplishment.
Before signing with ONE Championship, he held titles in four different divisions at Lumphini Stadium and won numerous “Fighter of the Year” awards in Thailand.
He won his first 10 matches at ONE Championship and became Bantamweight Champion in the process.
Nong-O's age clearly accentuates the negative atmosphere surrounding his recent performance. He was stopped by Haggerty in the first round, and Carrillo pulled away from Haggerty in the second round. Prior to that, he had not been stopped since 2010.
Nong-O admits that those negative emotions affect him, but he has lost battles many times in the past and feels he is psychologically equipped to deal with these setbacks. .
“Everyone feels bad when they lose, but I try not to get too caught up in negative emotions,” he says.
Despite the setbacks, Nong-O had much to celebrate, with more than 300 Muay Thai wins on his record. He once lost six games in a row, so this isn't even the worst outcome he's experienced.
Nong-O's opponent in ONE Friday Fight 58, one of the biggest promotions of the year to be held at Lumphini Stadium, has three first-round overtime wins, and before signing with ONE Championship, he fought at the Bangkok stadium. He was also a star player.
Crabdom is only 25 years old and, like Nong-O, has won the “Fighter of the Year” award and the Lumpinee title. Nong-O speaks highly of his young opponent, but warns that it won't be easy.
“I give Clubdom a 10 out of 10. This guy is in great shape right now, but I don't expect him to beat me easily.”
He took on the challenge against Clapdam and promised to put on a performance that fans at Lumphini Stadium would pay to see.
“This fight is going to be explosive. I'm ready to go head-to-head with him and will never back down.”
