ONE Friday Fights 173 Main Event Result: Tonglampoon Edges Past Santos Tobias In Gritty Battle
Thai brawler Tonglampoon FA Group stuck to what he knows best, eking out a split decision victory over Dionatha Santos Tobias in the strawweight Muay Thai main event of ONE Friday Fights 173 on Friday, October 2.
Their three-round battle wrapped up another action-packed Asia primetime doubleheader in Bangkok’s Lumpinee Stadium, with the action set to continue in less than 24 hours as ONE Fight Night 48: Erdogan vs. Elliott on Prime Video returns to that same hallowed venue.
After a brief feeling-out period where both fighters respected each other’s power, both warriors went to work with intent. Santos Tobias got things started with a beautiful jab-body punch combination, while Tonglampoon prodded forward behind chopping leg kicks and range-setting jabs.
Tonglampoon entered the second frame with the slight advantage, but Santos Tobias did not waste time trying to swing the tide back in his favor. He shifted his focus upstairs and went headhunting with straight hands after doing damage to the midsection in the opener.
The Brazilian found his timing and even caught Tonglampoon’s kick before countering with a venomous four-punch combination. That, however, woke the Thai up, who began swinging with overhand rights that tested his foe’s defense at every turn.
With everything to play for in the third round, the action only intensified. The Brazilian upped his output and leaned on his elite boxing, slipping and clipping Tonglampoon with nasty uppercuts. Santos Tobias showed no signs of slowing down, but the Thai was just as game.
Tonglampoon answered with clubbing hooks to the head and body that caught the 26-year-old on a couple of occasions. Fittingly, the final minute descended into a grueling elbow war at close quarters, with the FA Group representative getting the better of the trade-off behind a lethal left cross that swung the closing exchanges in his favor.
That late surge and accumulated damage proved the difference, snapping Tonglampoon’s three-fight skid, pushing his career record to 49-15, and putting the 22-year-old back in the mix for a life-changing US$100,000 main roster contract.
