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This content was machine-translated from the French version.
Bangkok's Lumpinee Stadium trembled. On August 7, the double bill of The Inner Circle 25 and ONE Friday Fights 165 delivered its share of definitive verdicts: two Muay Thai legends fell, a contender knocked on the door of the world title, and an undefeated fighter continued his march forward. A look back at a night that reshuffles the cards in ONE Championship's lighter divisions.
The Main Event of The Inner Circle 25 was supposed to be a formality for Nabil Anane. The Algerian, former world champion in Muay Thai bantamweight, faced Thai veteran Suakim PongSuphan PK in a world title eliminator. But the expected scenario never materialized. Suakim, patient and clinical, inflicted a knockdown on the former king of the division before winning by split decision. A victory celebrated as the biggest upset of the night, propelling the 32-year-old Thai towards an unexpected chance against reigning champion Rambolek Chor Ajalaboon.
The Main Event of The Inner Circle 25 was supposed to be a formality for Nabil Anane.
Superlek sinks, Dayakaev confirms
The other shock on the Inner Circle card pitted Superlek Kiatmoo9 against Abdulla Dayakaev. For the Thai public, seeing their nine-time world champion icon suffer a second consecutive defeat at the hands of the same opponent is inconceivable. Yet Dayakaev recited his score with growing authority, suffocating the flyweight kickboxing champion in the exchange phases before sealing an unambiguous score. The Russian now leads 2-0 in their personal rivalry, a record that raises questions about Superlek's ability to regain his best level at 31.
In the shadow of these two upsets, Marat Grigorian did what Marat Grigorian does. The Armenian dismantled Mamuka Usubyan in three rounds to secure his ticket to the semifinals of the ONE SAMURAI featherweight kickboxing tournament. True to his constant pressure style, he never let the Georgian establish his rhythm and confirms his status as favorite for the rest of the tournament.
Petninmungkorn, the undefeated countdown
On the ONE Friday Fights 165 side, the evening found its climax in the atomweight clash between Petninmungkorn NamkangIceland and Pet Suanluangrodyok. Two of the most explosive punchers on the circuit, locked in a knife-edge fight that the judges decided by split decision in favor of Petninmungkorn. The Thai now boasts a record of seven wins and zero losses—a flawless run that is starting to make noise well beyond Bangkok.
The co-main event took care of business. Ilyas Musaev needed only two minutes and eleven seconds to fold Suksawat PK Saenchai with a body shot in a Muay Thai bantamweight clash. A surgical KO that reminds us that the Russian possesses one of the cleanest finishing strikes in the organization.
ONE Championship catches its breath before moving on to ONE Fight Night 45, where Felipe Lobo and Dmitrii Kovtun will face off. But the night of August 7 will have planted a question that will haunt the coming weeks: has the established order of the smaller divisions just changed hands for good?
