Lebanon’s Omar El Halabi loses to Thai star, wins Bangkok crowd in show of endurance

Lebanese Muay Thai fighter Omar El Halabi won the Bangkok crowd despite losing to surging Thai star Kompet Fairtex at ONE Championship’s show ONE Friday Fights 75.

Kompet was in control for much of the three-round Catchweight (57.6 Kg) Muay Thai, putting in a dominant attacking display and applying relentless pressure against El Halabi.

The Thai fighter kicked off the opening round with low kicks targeting El Halabi’s left leg and applied punching combinations injuring the area above El Halabi’s right eye. The Lebanese fighter countered with caution, throwing jabs while keeping his guard intact.

Early in the second round, the two men traded punches with El Halabi searching for gaps in his opponent’s guard. Kompet continued to press forward and searched for the finish with El Halabi’s back to the ropes, targeting the latter with elbows, punches, and body kicks.

In the third and final round, Kompet continued to control the pace against the Lebanese star who stayed on his feet and fought back despite bleeding from his injured head.

El Halabi managed to string together a punching combination before Kompet caught his leg and dropped him onto the canvas. The two men continued to trade punches in the dying moments of the third round.

Despite struggling to show his real self in a one-sided affair, El Halabi lived up to his “Ironside” nickname and won the crowd’s hearts the Lumpinee Stadium as he endured Kompet’s unyielding attacks with the latter throwing everything at his disposal but failed in his quest to knock out his opponent.

With his third loss out of four bouts at ONE Friday Fights, the 26-year-old Lebanese star’s overall professional record drops to 21-7. Meanwhile, Kompet delivered another solid performance, picking up his fifth consecutive win at the weekly fight series.

El Halabi is one of three Lebanese fighters to have featured at ONE Friday Fights alongside Abdallah Ondash and his younger brother Ramadan Ondash who hold 4-1 and 2-0 records, respectively.

ONE Friday Fights is a weekly fight series that martial arts organization ONE Championship broadcasts every Friday from the Lumpinee Stadium and kicks off at 3:30 PM Beirut. The shows include fights in different martial arts disciplines including Muay Thai and MMA.