Broken Orbital But Still Smiling
It’s been a long road for Nongamm. In her last bout against Chabakaew Sor Kanjanchai she broke her orbital. It was an elbow.
She lost the fight and lost time in recovery.
The fighter from the North of Thailand went to the doctor. Then again. Then again.
He wanted to wait to see how healing went. Her bones around her eye healed, but there are still some issues.
The orbital is a sensitive area. Many athletes break the lower part of the orbital. Nothing can be done. The bone heals and the athlete fights again.
But Nongamm broke the Maxillary bone, which is close to the inside of the eye. If she moves her head too quickly, she becomes dizzy.
Another breakage could dramatically worsen Nongamm’s eyesight. She wants to fight, to create a future, but tomorrow is uncertain. What we do know is that her smiles are here today and will be there tomorrow.
America Gets The Lumpinee Win
(In this Photo: Fairtex BGV20, Fairtex FMV9, Fairtex BS1714)
Chandler Arizona was one of the original spots for Muay Thai in the United States. Mr. Wong, the founder of Fairtex moved there in the late 90’s. He stayed for several years and built a gym.
He moved back to Thailand but his roots of Muay Thai were left to grow.
From those early days came gyms and trainers like Master Bob Karmel. He helped build Golden Era Muay Thai with Nick Chasteen and Damien Earley.
And they helped forge Tatum Dorn. She recently fought at Lumpinee Stadium.
“It’s an epic experience for sure. You hear about Lumpinee as a Muay Thai fighter,” Dorn said.
She won her fight by TKO. It was a fast fight. It didn’t go past the first round.
“It’s a lot less built up. You just go here and go with the flow,” Dorn said.
Sweating His Way To The Finals
(In this Photo: Fairtex VS3)
Ongbak is on his way to the Global House finals. Lumpinee Superchamp holds regular tournaments.
Ongbak won two fights in his bracket. His last fight was against Mohammadreza Shahsavari. He landed a jumping elbow in the third round. It rocked his Iranian opponent. Then he landed another one and another one. He won the bout by TKO in the third. Now he’s in the final.
And he’s staying in shape and sweating out the last bit of water weight for the final bout.
The Warrior Vs USA
(In this Photo: Fairtex BGV9, Fairtex BS1709)
Nakrob’s style is fitted for ONE Lumpinee. He is a Muay Bouk. He’s all action as he moves forward. He punches. He kicks. He knees And he elbows.
Now he’s fighting the USA. He battles Diego Paez on December 7th.
Paez is a fighter from Southern California. He’s achieved a large social media following of 233,000 on Instagram. He has 11 professional bouts to his record.
“I’ve never seen him fight,” Nakrob said of Paez.
Nakrob’s following on Instagram is 4091 (as of this writing). The 26 year old from Surin is on a 5 fight win streak at ONE Lumpinee. He began fighting at 6 years old. He’s fought more than 65 times.
It’s a battle of stats as an Instagram influencer battles a seasoned warrior.
Regardless it will be a lot of publicity.
BM The Main Event
It’s never an easy round for athletes. For fighters like BM, there are ups and downs. The 21 year old is 1-2 at ONE Lumpinee. He’s dropped his level. He fought at Superchamp. Now he fights in the main event at Fairtex Fight.
“I’m hoping to get back to ONE Lumpinee,” he said. “I want to win and go back up.”
The desire to move up is motivated by fame, money, and glory.
There is more exposure at ONE Lumpinee, the purses are higher, and it’s more prestigious.
But first BM needs to win the main event.
Should Padetjseuk Come Back?
(In This Photo: Fairtex BGV9, Fairtex URFACE Shorts)
“He just came back,” Seesom said. Seesom is a head trainer at Fairtex.
The young athlete left the gym. He was having family issues. He and his sister, Gasjang, went to work at their parents restaurant in Southern Pattaya.
Things were fixed. Padetjseuk and Gasjang returned.
“He’s at 70% form right now,” Seesom said. “He hasn’t fought in a year.”
But he’s scheduled to. Both Padetjseuk and Gasjang enter the ring at Fairtex Fight. They will test their skills and their conditioning.
And most importantly answer the question of, should they come back?
Stamp Back In The Gym
(In this Photo: Fairtex AS1- Black, Fairtex KPLC5)
One athlete who made a return is Stamp. She’s a regular at Fairtex now. Her lateral meniscus tear is on the mend.
Stamp is still busy rehabbing it. In addition to physio, she is hitting pads.
“I hit pads yesterday,” the ONE Championship champ said. “But it wasn’t that good. I don’t think I should hurry to kick.
The end of the year is approaching. There are no immediate plans for her to fight. It is likely she will fight in the first quarter of next year.
In the meantime, she’ll be where she’s found the most success, in the gym.
Author: Matt Lucas
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