The bad blood spilled over in Saturday’s ONE Fight Night 28 main event as Prajanchai PK Saenchai retained his strawweight Muay Thai title on a doctor stoppage in the fourth round.
The two-sport ONE Championship king cut Ellis Barboza open badly above his left eye with a series of elbows during an ill-tempered affair at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok.
The two clashed verbally and physically at the end of each round, and had to be restrained by referee Olivier Coste multiple times.
“I don’t know what happened there,” Prajanchai told the Bangkok Post backstage when asked about the scuffles in the ring, however.
“It felt like after each round he had me in the clinch and I didn’t understand why he would do that.
“The ref came to stop it and my team came to stop it, so I don’t understand what happened there.”
They also declined to touch gloves at the start of the fight, and Prajanchai gleefully pointed at the blood pouring down Barboza’s face straight after widening the cut with another elbow in the fourth round – which proved to be the final blow.
Prajanchai perched himself on the top turnbuckle and started celebrating early with Barboza still being checked by ringside doctor Warren Wang – and even ran over to seemingly encourage the stoppage.
There was eventually a halfhearted handshake after referee Olivier Coste waived it off on the instruction of Wang – but not until Prajanchai had taken another victory lap of the ring, and bounced himself up and down on the ropes slapping his elbow to the delight of the Thai fans in the crowd.
“I think it’s just normal,” Prajanchai said, brushing off any idea of ill feeling between him and Barboza. “During a fight sometimes there are things like this. It happens.”
Victory was all the sweeter for Prajanchai after being awarded a double performance bonus by ONE boss Chatri Sityodtong.
The chairman and CEO had largely kept his wallet in his pocket throughout the event, with China’s Zhang Lipeng picking up the only other bonus – of US$50,000 – for a first-round KO of Hiroyuki Tetsuka.
But Chatri made Prajanchai just the third fighter in ONE history to receive an extra US$100,000 after a fight, following Anatoly Malykhin and Jonathan Haggerty,
“Surprised” was how the 30-year-old Thai summed up his feelings – and no doubt relieved, after almost failing to pass hydration at Thursday’s official weigh-ins, which would have seen him stripped of the belt and made him ineligible for a bonus.
“Part of it will be for my savings and part will go towards my kid,” he added, looking over to his young son who was sitting in the media room behind the cameras. “I just want to make sure my family won’t struggle in the future.”
Prajanchai will not struggle for future opponents later this year, either.
He will first have to unify the ONE strawweight kickboxing titles against whoever claims the interim belt at ONE 172 between former champions Sam-A Gaiyanghadao and Jonathan Di Bella.
“I’m not sure who will win, I cannot say – but whoever wins, I’m ready for anyone,” Prajanchai said.
Aliff Sor Dechapan is also looming as the next possible contender for his Muay Thai belt, after a 70-second KO of short notice replacement Shamil Adukhov in the opening fight of the card on Saturday.
“I’m really not sure [if Aliff is next], I don’t know,” he added. “I think it’s all up to ONE Championship. Right now I’m a champ so I can’t really choose who I want to face.”
Whichever belt he defends next, it is likely to be a less fiery affair than his bloody battle with Barboza.
“It’s all sport, there’s winning and losing,” Prajanchai added. “I would rather say that I won against myself rather than I won against him.”
