Saemapetch gunning for a rematch with Nong-O, Felipe Lobo if he beats Mohamed Younes Rabah

Saemapetch Fairtex is keeping an eye out for the future, despite already facing an all-important task this weekend.

The multiple-time Muay Thai champion will face old foe Mohamed Younes Rabah in a history-filled rematch at ONE Fight Night 19 this Friday, US primetime, at the historic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium.

Saemapetch suffered a first-round knockout loss to Rabah in a ONE Fight Night 17 encounter that many observers deemed to have a few extracurricular hits thrown in.

In an interview with ONE Championship, the 126-win veteran said he plans on setting up a rematch with either Muay Thai legend Nong-O Hama or Felipe Lobo if he beats Rabah in Bangkok.

He said:

“If I can beat Rabah, it depends on ONE to decide who should be my next fight. But I’m ready to fight with everyone. I want a rematch with both Felipe Lobo and Nong-O.”

Saemapetch was riding a dominant three-fight winning streak from 2018 to 2019, but that run came to a screeching halt when he challenged Nong-O for the ONE bantamweight Muay Thai world championship.

The former world champion was at his best during that time and knocked the Fairtex Training Center star in the fourth round of their November 2019 meeting.

Saemapetch then faced Lobo in April 2023 but dropped a third-round knockout loss to the Brazilian star at ONE Fight Night 9.

ONE Fight Night 19 is ONE Championship’s second Amazon card of the year and is available live and for free to all Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.

---

The play-by-play of Saemapetch and Mohamed Younes Rabah’s first meeting

To say that the first fight between Saemapetch and Mohamed Younes Rabah was dramatic would be an understatement.

The two fearsome strikers exchanged knockdowns barely into the first round, with Saemapetch scoring the first nearly a minute into the contest.

Rabah, however, shook off the cobwebs and scored a knockdown for himself after clocking the Thai star with a cracking right straight.

The final sequence, however, caused controversy.

Although Rabah already had Saemapetch down with a flurry of punches, he hit his downed opponent with a knee to the dome.

Saemapetch was visibly out of it after the exchange, and the fight was ultimately called a first-round KO for the Algerian star.