Eight months after experiencing his first loss in ONE Championship, Kritsada “Dream Man” Kongsrichai returned to got right back on the winning track.
On Saturday Night, 11 March, the Thai wrestling champion survived through an early scare to defeat Adrian “Papau Badboy” Matheis at ONE: WARRIOR KINGDOM in a strawweight throwdown. The event was held at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.
Matheis, the ONE Strawweight Indonesia Tournament Champion, immediately brought the action and rocked his Thai nemesis with a barrage of heavy shots from the bell.
Despite being visibly stunned, Kongsrichai remained calm, picked the Jakarta native up, ran across the cage, and slammed him down with massive force. He instantly transitioned into full mount, looking to end the fight quickly.
“Papau Badboy” temporarily escaped in an effort to get to his feet, but the Thai is a master grappler and easily brought him back to the ground with a picture-perfect takedown.
For Matheis, it was all downhill from there. Kongsrichai dropped elbows, briefly worked for an arm triangle, and then abandoned it for some more of his ground and pound attack.
“Dream Man” resumed those elbow strikes that had been working so well, and it was a nightmare Matheis was not able to handle. The Indonesian tapped out, giving the win to the Thai at 2:51 of the first round,
The dream continues for Kongsrichai, who moves his record to 5-3. Matheis drops his second straight, and now stares at an equal 2-2 record.
