Felipe Lobo is set to continue with his ONE Fight Night 43 matchup against Nontachai Jitmuangnon after the Thai competitor was unable to make weight in Bangkok.
During the official three-hour weigh-in period on Thursday at the fighter hotel, Nontachai was the sole fighter from ONE Championship to fail his checks. He successfully passed hydration tests on both attempts but came in overweight for their bantamweight Muay Thai bout, weighing 147.4lbs on his second try. In contrast, Lobo weighed in at 143.8lbs, well under the 145lbs limit.
Despite having over an hour left in the weigh-in window, Nontachai chose not to attempt to make weight again, leading Lobo to accept the fight at a catchweight.
“I had no problem accepting the catchweight,” Lobo stated to the Bangkok Post on Friday morning. “I want to fight. I’ve put in a lot of work to my camp and I’m ready, let’s go.”
Looking to rebound from a challenging past, the 33-year-old Brazilian has faced defeat in three of his last four contests. He aims to rebuild his path towards another title opportunity following unsuccessful bids against Nong-O Hama and Jonathan Haggerty. Now, he will face a young Thai fighter eager to elevate the Jitmuangnon Gym’s reputation.
During media day, Nontachai expressed a desire to make his mark, stating, “You have been in ONE Championship for a long time. I think it’s time to maybe step down and let the younger generation shine.” Lobo’s response was succinct: “We’re gonna show him on Saturday.”
Lobo’s training camp has been particularly demanding, as he became a father two months ago. He shared that the arrival of his son made this the most challenging camp of his career due to disrupted sleep and added family responsibilities.
“Yes, it’s very tough, very hard. Not much sleep,” said Lobo, who is based in Phuket. “I was sleeping in a separate room, but my wife’s family is not here, neither is my family, so it’s very hard. It was so hard. I lost many nights, didn’t sleep. But I have prepared very well, training so hard. Even if I don’t sleep well, I was there in the gym giving 100 percent. It was the hardest preparation ever, I would say. But when you look at your baby, it gives you extra energy.”
He humorously noted that he managed to catch some sleep during fight week since his son is still too young to travel.
Despite his recent setbacks, Lobo remains optimistic about his chances of returning to title contention. “I’m training very hard every day, and I still believe that I can be the champion,” he asserted. “My only focus is on this fight. I have no plan yet, but I want to fight anyone who comes my way. I have a son, and I need to work. So I’m open to fighting everybody. Rambolek, Haggerty – Nabil is in the line again.”
The rest of the ONE Fight Night 43 card will proceed as scheduled, featuring a featherweight MMA title fight between champion Tang Kai and challenger Shamil Gasanov, both of whom successfully made weight and passed hydration tests for the Lumpinee Stadium main event.
The co-main event, involving Petchtanong Petchfergus and Ben Woolliss, also cleared the weigh-ins, although Woolliss’s team later accused the former ONE bantamweight kickboxing champion of lifting a foot off the scale.
“Ben’s opponent does the ol’ floating foot,” Soma wrote on its official Instagram story. “Well played Petchtanong.” Petchtanong, 40, weighed in behind a privacy curtain, and a zoomed-in clip from Soma appeared to show him lifting his left heel off the scale.
Thursday’s weigh-ins were notable for ONE Championship in Bangkok, with the process concluding before the official three-hour window ended. Nontachai’s failure to make weight was the only disruption in an otherwise smooth event.
Source: Bangkok Post
