Nadaka Yoshinari had not lost in seven years. He had never fought under kickboxing rules as a professional either. At Yokohama Buntai on Saturday, 12 September, he did both things at once, and the second went as smoothly as the first.
The reigning ONE Atomweight Muay Thai World Champion beat Har Ling Om by unanimous decision in the main event of ONE SAMURAI 3. Widely regarded as Japan’s greatest Muay Thai practitioner, Nadaka was stepping into unfamiliar territory. So was his opponent, a 28-year-old Lethwei and Muay Thai veteran from Myanmar who came to Japan believing his heavier hands could shock the home favourite.
Round one showed how it would go. Nadaka used his straight left to snap Har Ling Om’s head back and teased teeps into his midsection. The Myanmar fighter landed one big right hand that proved he had real power. It changed little.
The second round brought two warnings for Nadaka, both for excessive clinching. He returned to his plan quickly, doubling up on left kicks and pecking away with the same straight left. Har Ling Om played to the crowd but did little to sway the judges.
In the third, Nadaka, 25 and a member of Eiwa Sports Gym, danced around his man, landing punches upstairs and low kicks downstairs, then mixed in push kicks to the face. He went nearly untouched. Har Ling Om had no answer but to absorb it.
All three judges had it for the Japanese fighter. The win pushed his all-striking record to 68-6 and stretched his winning streak to 42 bouts, and ONE called it the first step in his pursuit of dominance in two sports.
