Asa Ten Pow insisted he “earned” a ONE Championship performance bonus after being snubbed for the US$50,000 prize despite a historic TKO of the legendary Seksan.
“The American Ninja” finished the Thai veteran in the third round of their 142lbs catchweight Muay Thai bout at ONE Fight Night 30 last weekend in Bangkok, after delivering knockdowns in the first and second.
He became the first man to stop Seksan since 2020, and first in ONE, but did not even get an in-ring interview at Lumpinee Stadium.
“Yeah, I'm a little disappointed in that, feeling a little bittersweet having taken on ‘The Man Who Yields to No One’, who hasn't been knocked out, hasn't been dropped like this in ONE,” the Florida native told the Bangkok Post backstage.
“I put my heart and soul into it, and it's hard for an American to get out herem – it's a lot of expenses. That 50k would have gone a long way for me.
“I felt like I put on a great performance, I showed a lot of techniques, and I ultimately won the fight by TKO. I think I slightly deserve it, or actually I earned it.”
A despondent Ten Pow, 35, later slammed a fist on the interview table after watching on the monitor as Nico Carrillo picked up a bonus from ONE chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong for finishing Sitthichai.
“Khun Chatri, I don't know if you were watching or not. If you are, I hope I did everything that you wanted for this fight, for this promotion,” Ten Pow said. “That's what I thought I showcased out there.”
Ten Pow had made plenty of sacrifices for the fight, leaving his young three-year-old daughter at home to spend a month preparing with the Sitsongpeenong gym in Bangkok.
“From right when I got there, they knew the game plan, and they instilled it right away on me,” Ten Pow said.
“That's what we were focussing on day in, day out, the repetitions, the consistency and the discipline to go in there and do it, especially under the bright lights, here in Lumpinee, his home crowd.
“I mean, the crowd went nuts for him and I just stayed cool, calm, collected and just stuck to my plan.
“He's a legend and that's his game and he pushed me. I was able to score where I could and create those holes that I needed and my power was there like I said it was going to be.”
Even more remarkable was that Ten Pow was dropping from his usual bantamweight limit by three pounds, and looked better than ever having teamed up with renowned nutritionist Peter Miller of Condition Nutrition, who is marking out a solid reputation in the ONE Championship world.
“I had a great [weight cut] with Peter, he did his job and I came in like a pro, right on the money with 142, and he ultimately believes I can get a little lower as well,” Ten Pow said.
“Flyweight, bantamweight – if the fight’s right, I’m there. If we're sticking at bantamweight, I want a top five guy. If I'm going down, maybe Nong-O or Kongthoranee – the winner or the loser [from ONE Fight Night 31].”
Whichever weight class he’s in next, Ten Pow is hoping he fights at ONE 173 to right the wrongs from a loss to John Lineker there last year, when the promotion returns to the United States on August 1.
“Yeah, I hope to be in Denver, that's my country and, you know, I want to redeem myself in America for sure,” he added.
“Right now I'm a little upset, but I'll definitely be looking back on the fight, I'm still kind of locked in right now,” Ten Pow said.
“It went exactly the way I thought it would be, and Seksan is a legend, and again, I put my heart into it and trained my ass off for this fight.
“The American Ninja” finished the Thai veteran in the third round of their 142lbs catchweight Muay Thai bout at ONE Fight Night 30 last weekend in Bangkok, after delivering knockdowns in the first and second.
He became the first man to stop Seksan since 2020, and first in ONE, but did not even get an in-ring interview at Lumpinee Stadium.
“Yeah, I'm a little disappointed in that, feeling a little bittersweet having taken on ‘The Man Who Yields to No One’, who hasn't been knocked out, hasn't been dropped like this in ONE,” the Florida native told the Bangkok Post backstage.
“I put my heart and soul into it, and it's hard for an American to get out herem – it's a lot of expenses. That 50k would have gone a long way for me.
“I felt like I put on a great performance, I showed a lot of techniques, and I ultimately won the fight by TKO. I think I slightly deserve it, or actually I earned it.”
A despondent Ten Pow, 35, later slammed a fist on the interview table after watching on the monitor as Nico Carrillo picked up a bonus from ONE chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong for finishing Sitthichai.
“Khun Chatri, I don't know if you were watching or not. If you are, I hope I did everything that you wanted for this fight, for this promotion,” Ten Pow said. “That's what I thought I showcased out there.”
Ten Pow had made plenty of sacrifices for the fight, leaving his young three-year-old daughter at home to spend a month preparing with the Sitsongpeenong gym in Bangkok.
“From right when I got there, they knew the game plan, and they instilled it right away on me,” Ten Pow said.
“That's what we were focussing on day in, day out, the repetitions, the consistency and the discipline to go in there and do it, especially under the bright lights, here in Lumpinee, his home crowd.
“I mean, the crowd went nuts for him and I just stayed cool, calm, collected and just stuck to my plan.
“He's a legend and that's his game and he pushed me. I was able to score where I could and create those holes that I needed and my power was there like I said it was going to be.”
Even more remarkable was that Ten Pow was dropping from his usual bantamweight limit by three pounds, and looked better than ever having teamed up with renowned nutritionist Peter Miller of Condition Nutrition, who is marking out a solid reputation in the ONE Championship world.
“I had a great [weight cut] with Peter, he did his job and I came in like a pro, right on the money with 142, and he ultimately believes I can get a little lower as well,” Ten Pow said.
“Flyweight, bantamweight – if the fight’s right, I’m there. If we're sticking at bantamweight, I want a top five guy. If I'm going down, maybe Nong-O or Kongthoranee – the winner or the loser [from ONE Fight Night 31].”
Whichever weight class he’s in next, Ten Pow is hoping he fights at ONE 173 to right the wrongs from a loss to John Lineker there last year, when the promotion returns to the United States on August 1.
“Yeah, I hope to be in Denver, that's my country and, you know, I want to redeem myself in America for sure,” he added.
“Right now I'm a little upset, but I'll definitely be looking back on the fight, I'm still kind of locked in right now,” Ten Pow said.
“It went exactly the way I thought it would be, and Seksan is a legend, and again, I put my heart into it and trained my ass off for this fight.
