MUAY Thai phenom Johan Ghazali Zulfikar’s unbeaten record in the ONE Championship series came to an end at ONE 167 as the 17-year-old lost to Vietnam’s Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat.
The judges handed the latter a unanimous decision victory in their flyweight category fight at the Impact Arena in Bangkok.
However, Johan who goes by the moniker Jojo, was the more aggressive fighter in all three rounds and was always advancing but found it difficult to land his trademark blows but the Vietnamese were elusive and always running.
Nguyen, 35, defended well throughout the bout. While Jojo indicated he was well prepared after identifying the weaknesses of his opponent the Vietnamese chose to wear down Jojo with leg kicks—one of which briefly dropped Jojo in the third—and counter-striking when possible.
The tactics used by Nguyen were efficient and paid off. He is a five-time WMF Muay Thai world title holder and a former Sea Games gold medalist. Both fighters had made weight for the bout yesterday (June 7).
The defeat brings Jojo’s five-fight winning streak in the ONE Championship to an end. – June 8, 2024
