ONE Fight Night 28: Prajanchai vs. Barboza Preview and Predictions

From the most prominent combat sports arena in the east, Lumpinee Stadium, ONE Championship will host ONE Fight Night 28. Sitting atop the card is a Muay Thai strawweight championship between incumbent champion Prajanchai PK Saenchai and Ellis Badr Barboza. The British star, Barboza, looks to score the biggest win of his career over a bonafide legend of the sport.

The co-main event will be a flyweight Muay Thai contest between Kongthoranee Sor Sommai and Nong-O Hama. Nong-O has seen his performances dip lately, losing three of his last four. Kongthoranee is looking for a win to extend his winning streak to three and improve to ten and one over his last 11 bouts.

The event airs live on Amazon Prime Video starting at 8 p.m. ET.

Prajanchai P.K. Saenchai holds two belts under the ONE promotion; will he retain his Muay Thai strawweight title against Ellis Badr Barboza?

This is a major opportunity for Barboza. His story is nothing short of inspirational, overcoming adversity and a childhood spent dealing with homelessness. He certainly has the mental toughness to make greatness happen, but at this point in his career I don’t think he is the physical equal of Prajanchai.

With over 400 fights, Prajanchai has the experience of a veteran but he is only 30 years old and still in his physical prime. I think his vast array of experience will be too much for Barboza to overcome but this fight will be exciting and contested at a very high level. The judges give this one to Prajanchai after the fight goes the distance.

Nong-O Hama has lost three of his last four bouts; can he regain some momentum and defeat Kongthoranee Sor Sommai?

This is as close to a must-win situation as it gets in the world of Muay Thai. With the athletes fighting so often and notching many times hundreds of fights a losing streak doesn’t typically haunt them. However, Nong-O needs a win here to prove that he is still a force to be reckoned with in the flyweight division. He is 38 years old and certainly closer to the end of his career than the beginning but I expect to see him in prime form in this bout.

Kongthoranee Sor Sommai is just about as talented as they come. He had a phenomenal run on ONE Friday Fights and has won both of his bouts at ONE Fight Night events. I think he has the talent to someday wear the championship belt but I don’t think he gets the job done this weekend. I’m expecting Nong-O to score a win by knockout.

Hiroyuki Tetsuka recently had a five-fight winning streak snapped; will he be able to start a new streak by beating Zhang Lipeng?

Yes, “Japanese Beast” is a fun fighter to watch. He has shown that he can finish fights on his feet or with his grappling. His opponent is also a well rounded fighter, which will make this one of the most entertaining bouts on the card. This one probably doesn’t go the distance.