ONE Championship

A fourth straight win would do more than extend a streak for Nontachai Jitmuangnon. It would put him directly in the World Title conversation.

The Thai standout finally meets Kiamran Nabati in the bantamweight Muay Thai main event of The Inner Circle 31, streaming live from Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, this Friday, September 18, after a pair of delays pushed the matchup back from its original August date.

Nontachai has evolved into a far more cerebral fighter since winning the Road to ONE: Thailand tournament, powering a three-fight winning streak that includes a decision win over former World Title challenger Felipe Lobo and a third-round TKO of Semih Sah Cindir. Nabati arrives sharper after absorbing his first professional defeat to newly crowned champion Yod-IQ Or Pimolsri, and Nontachai’s corner has already identified an exploitable pattern in the Russian’s counter game.

“He loves catching legs to counter with heavy punches, which is a big danger zone for me. I’ll be throwing feints. When I do kick, I’m aiming straight for the head so he can’t catch it,” he said. “We did our homework, so I’m not giving him the chance to counter-strike.”

Nontachai Jitmuangnon predicts how a fight with Yod-IQ would go

A win over Nabati would give Nontachai his fourth straight victory, a feat he has never accomplished before in his ONE Championship tenure. He has already begun looking past Friday toward the belt itself, with an eye on avenging Nabati’s only career defeat by taking down the man who delivered it.

“If I pull off this win over Kiamran, it’ll be my fourth straight victory. I really want to keep this momentum going. Honestly, my eyes are set on the belt now.

“If I ever get my shot at Yod-IQ, I feel like I’ve got the tools to break him down.”

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