ONE Nextgen II: Saemapetch unfazed by Rittewada’s knockout power

The
Thai
star
is
aware
of
the
new
talent
in
the
ONE
Bantamweight
Muay
Thai
division,
and
he
stresses
that
he
will
defend
his
spot
as
the
#1-ranked
athlete
in
the
weight
class
no
matter
what.

“I
don’t
want
anyone
to
snatch
[my
ranking]
away
from
me.
I’ll
try
my
best
to
keep
it,”
the
Fairtex
representative
said.

“Rittewada,
you
want
my
ranking,
don’t
you?
You
want
to
be
number
one?
I
won’t
let
you
have
it.
There
is
no
way
I
will
let
go
of
it.”

Saemapetch
earned
his
way
to
the
top
of
the
division
courtesy
of
some
hard-fought
battles,
so
he
does
not
want
to
give
away
his
spot
too
easily.

In
May,
the
Thai
striker
retained
his
#1
spot
with
a
huge
knockout
win
over
#3-ranked
contender
“Left
Meteorite”
Kulabdam
Sor.
Jor.
Piek
Uthai
in
the
opening
stanza,
and
he
also
scored
an
important
decision
win
over
#2
contender
Rodlek
PK.Saenchai
Muaythaigym
last
August.

Conor
McGregor
believes
Phogat
ONE
Atomweight
GP
win
foreshadows
what’s
to
come
for
Indian
MMA

Since
his
loss
to
bantamweight
Muay
Thai
king
Nong-O
Gaiyanghadao
in
a
World
Title
challenge
two
years
ago,
he
has
dished
out
some
outstanding
performances
to
remind
the
world
why
he
still
is
one
of
the
bantamweight
greats.

Another
tough
challenge
now
awaits
Saemapetch
in
the
form
of
Rittewada,
and
he
knows
he
needs
to
win
in
order
to
get
another
shot
at
the
gold
strap.

“This
is
a
risky
fight
because
Rittewada
has
just
entered
[ONE
Super
Series],
and
I
am
ranked
number
one.
If
I
lose
in
this
match,
I’d
lose
my
ranked
position,”
he
said.

“Am
I
nervous?
I
am.
If
I
lose,
I
won’t
be
able
to
get
a
rematch
with
Nong-O.
I’ll
need
to
climb
up
the
rankings
again.
This
match
is
very
important.
I
need
to
win.”

The
athlete
with
an
impressive
123-16-1
record
is
adamant
about
two
things:
maintaining
his
spot
and
getting
a
World
Title
rematch
versus
his
compatriot.

He
also
understands
Rittewada’s
greatest
strengths
–
his
knockout
power
–
but
admits
he
is
not
afraid
of
it
one
bit.

“Rittewada
has
all
the
powerful
weapons.
I
have
to
be
careful
because
his
boxing
skills
are
not
bad
at
all,
and
he
has
been
winning
continuously,
mostly
by
knockout,”
the
Pattaya
resident
said.

“He
has
been
winning
with
knockouts
but,
for
me,
he’s
not
scary.
I’m
not
worried
about
this
guy.
He
is
not
that
different
from
other
boxers
who
are
strong
and
powerful
and
have
similar
weapons.”

Download
the
ONE
Super
App
and
catch
these
two
athletes
in
the
main
event
of
ONE:
NEXTGEN
II
this
Friday
(November
12).

Source:
Media
Release