KUALA LUMPUR: Muay Thai phenom Johan Ghazali Zulfikar's unbeaten record in the ONE Championship series came to an end at ONE 167 today.
Johan, 17, lost to Vietnam's Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat as the judges handed the latter a unanimous decision victory in their flyweight category fight at the Impact Arena in Bangkok.
Johan was the more aggressive fighter in all three rounds and was always advancing but found it difficult to land his trademark blows.
Duy Nhat, 35, defended well throughout the bout, wearing down Johan with leg kicks - one of which briefly dropped Johan in the third - and counter-striking when possible.
In the end, Duy Nhat's efficient strategy paid off as the judges scored the fight his way. Duy Nhat is a five-time WMF Muay Thai world title holder and a former Sea Games gold medallist.
Both fighters had made weight for the bout yesterday.
The defeat brings Johan's five-fight winning streak in ONE Championship to an end.