‘Making Up For What I Lacked’ – How Kulabdam Is Using ONE Winnings To Create Opportunities For Young Fighters
Surging Thai knockout artist Kulabdam “Left Meteorite” Sor Jor Piek Uthai is committed to opening doors for his country’s new generation of Muay Thai athletes.
At ONE Friday Fights 58: Superbon vs. Grigorian II, the 25-year-old will look to extend his three-fight winning streak when he faces former longtime divisional king and current #2 contender Nong-O Hama in a high-stakes bantamweight Muay Thai clash.
That highly anticipated showdown will take place in Asia primetime in front of a raucous crowd at Bangkok’s famed Lumpinee Boxing Stadium.
Kulabdam has been training for this fight at Sombunfarm, the gym he recently opened in Thailand’s Surin province.
In addition to serving as the home base for “Left Meteorite’s” camp, the gym is also a place for local youth to train in Muay Thai with the goal of earning much-needed income for their families.
The bantamweight Muay Thai standout spoke to onefc.com about his new venture:
“I wanted to give opportunities for underprivileged children in the neighborhood to have a career to earn money.”
Kulabdam knows that a career in Muay Thai is no easy undertaking, requiring enormous amounts of discipline and dedication.
He also knows firsthand how challenging it can be to find quality training, particularly in the more poverty-stricken parts of the nation. With that in mind, he hopes to give aspiring young athletes the opportunities that he didn’t have:
“It’s like making up for what I lacked when I was a child. When I was young, I wanted to be a Muay Thai fighter, but I couldn’t find any gyms in my area. So I packed soil into fertilizer sacks to make a DIY sandbag. I want to build a gym that meets standards for kids.”
The gym currently boasts about eight young fighters in addition to world-class Kulabdam and his elite training partners.
While the bantamweight star is still early in this endeavor, he says the most exciting aspect of opening Sombunfarm has been seeing his fighters take their first steps in the world of competitive Muay Thai:
“The most rewarding part is that I can bring the children in my community to learn Muay Thai and take them to compete in local rings, so that they can get fight money to support their families.”
Kulabdam Hopes To Change Lives With Sombunfarm
Kulabdam admits that opening and operating a new gym has come with its fair share of stress, but the biggest initial obstacle was acquiring enough money to get it off the ground.
He says that recent back-to-back knockouts of Fariyar Aminipour and Julio Lobo – and the performance bonuses that came along with them – have been critical in helping him build Sombunfarm:
“The main problem was lack of funds, so I collected money gradually until I achieved my goal. The bonus money I got from the previous two fights helped a lot.
“I have no partner. It’s me alone. I can tell you all the money I invest in the gym comes from the money I earn from competing in ONE.”
Now a globally recognized star about to fight a true Muay Thai icon on April 5, Kulabdam is grateful for the doors ONE Championship has opened for him.
With that in mind, he hopes to one day see some of his homegrown fighters competing in the world’s largest martial arts organization, where they too can achieve new levels of financial and competitive success:
“In the next 5 to 10 years, I would like to see representative athletes from my gym competing in the capital, Bangkok. I would be more than happy if I could support those fighters to have the opportunity to compete in ONE and change their lives.”
