ONE 168, UFC Fight Night, and Bellator
Another weekend of fights, this time a mix of ONE-style Thai-boxing and MMA. I say "ONE-style" because it's not like the traditional Thai-boxing you'd see at stadiums. ONE's Thai-boxing is more like MMA without the submissions. Being good at Thai-boxing doesn't mean you'll have the same success at ONE. However, ONE is able to get some top names in Thai-boxing, for better or worse. There is a transition process, and not everyone transitions well, but some are more suited for ONE's Thai-boxing structure.
Saeksan Or. Kwanmuang vs. Liam Harrison
There was a lot of back and forth leading to the finish, but Harrison was taking the heavier shots to the head. Saeksan is also more durable. Going through the Thai sorting process of children entering gyms and fighting all the time, it's not just a system of development but also a system that finds the most durable and skilled fighters. If you're not durable, you will not last hundreds of fights.
Elbows were exchanged by both fighters, but Saeksan found an opening in Harrison's guard as Harrison was backing up. Openings in guards are not permanent features. Those openings come and go. Saeksan perceived the opening and got a shot through before it closed. It was so fast that no one saw it until the replay.
In Liberation Martial Arts, we perceive striking offense as creating keys for key slots before the key slots disappear. At a higher level, you can make a key and have your opponent form the key slot for you. (You all really need to sign up for Liberation Martial Arts.) LMAists at the Learning Lab have been able to face competitors with thousands of hours of more practice because they're recalling memorized combinations, whereas we take the open slots.