Tharoth

Cambodia’s Sam Tharoth suffered an agonising defeat, both physically and mentally, in her female mixed martial arts bout against Jujeath Nagaowa of the Philippines on Friday night at ONE Fighting Championships’ “Warrior’s Way” fight card in Manila. The ‘Little Frog’ from A Fighter Club in Phnom Penh, who had her shoulder dislocated in the first round and barely escaped from two strong submission attempts, showed a fiery determination to withstand her ‘Bad Girl’ Filipina opponent until the second stanza of their atomweight (48kg) contest. “In the first round I got choked, I don’t remember but I think twice I was about to pass out,” Tharoth told the Post. “I was about to tap, but I didn’t. I thought about my country and my parents. I wanted to win for them, so I kept trying and fought until the second round. As long as I still survive, I’ll keep fighting,” she added. Nagaowa quickly took control again, deflecting blows from Tharoth and then dominating an exchange on the ground. She moved to mounted position and reigned down strikes on the Cambodian until the referee dove in to wave off the fight. “When the referee stopped the fight, I didn’t know that it was the end. I thought it was the end of round, but after I realised I was so sad and angry with myself,” Tharoth said. The 24-year-old from Banteay Meanchey also noted that she hadn’t implemented much of the advice from her coaches. “We were talking about the game plan. They told me just to be patient in and around the three-minute mark. Don’t rush, count her punch, pushkick a lot to her face, kick her in the leg.