(Photo credit: GLORYKICKBOXING.COM)
Petchpanomrung “The Professor”Kiatmookao (aka Petpanomrung Kiatmuu9) or better known simply as ‘Petch’, now 27, was born on May 26th, 1995 in the rural town of Buriram, Thailand.
Due to poverty, families in Buriram often send their children away to Muay Thai camps to become Muay Thai fighters and bring the family some extra income.
Petch was no different. At a very young age, his family sent him off to the Kiatmuu9 gym, the home of multiple-time Lumpinee World Champion Singdam Kiatmuu9, and other world champions. Thus hailing from a reputable gym, it was inevitable that Petch would earn success of his own.
In addition to being the reigning, and defending Glory Kickboxing Featherweight World Champion and RISE Super Lightweight World Champion, Petch was also a 2016 WMC World Lightweight Champion, 2015 Toyota Vigo Marathon 64kg Tournament Champion, and multiple-time PAT champion
In addition, Petch was also ranked in the top 10 of Thailand’s two largest Muay Thai stadiums, Lumpinee and Rajadamnern.
Ever since his debut in Glory in 2016, Petch’s only loss was a controversial split decision against then-featherweight champion, the heavy-punching Robin Van Roosmalen, a loss that Petch avenged years later in dominant fashion.
Now with you have a snapshot into Petch’s background, let’s countdown “The Professor’s” Top 3 Kickboxing Finishes!
3. Vs. Thong Puideenaidee – Petchpiya Fights, Lumpinee Stadium (Feb. 3, 2012)
Two months after avenging his loss to Ponsawan Lookprabat at Rajadamnern Stadium, Petch went up against Thong Puideenaidee at Lumpinee Stadium (both fighters’ records were unknown at the time).
In round 1, we see Petch lands the first attack in the form of a leg kick at 0:36. He kept Thong at a distance with teeps.
There was a quick kick exchange at 0:51 with Thong grabbing Petch’s leg and proceeding to knee Petch, but Petch evaded and reset. Other than that, it was an overall slow-paced round, with Petch keeping his opponent at a distance and constantly landing round kicks and teeps.
In round 2, Thong started becoming more aggressive, but Petch was always one step ahead when it came to the exchanges.
At 3:56, Petch landed a jab-hook-low-kick combo to sweep Thong, after which Petch landed rear kicks. After faking with a switch step, Petch missed with the rear kick, but he immediately threw another one that landed on the head to knock Thong out at 4:09.
2. Vs. Zakaria Zouggary – Glory 49: Rotterdam (Dec. 9, 2017)
Having defeated Xie Lei, Petch, now 157-36-2, squared off against the 30-3-1 Zakaria Zouggary of the Netherlands. Despite being the underdog, Petch put on a performance that made it a contender for 2017’s Knockout of the Year.
Round 1 began with Petch’s left against Zouggary’s punches. At 0:10, Zouggary attempted a teep, but the teep was caught by Petch, who swept him.
At 0:54, Petch threw a knee from the clinch that appeared to land on Zouggary’s head and dropped him. However, the referee later revealed it was a low blow. Petch was dominating the round, mixing his signature left kick with punches and knees.
At 1:08, Zouggary attempted a spinning hook kick, but Petch plowed through and landed double round kicks. Petch continued pressing forward, pushed Zouggary to the end of the ring, and landed a quick flurry of blows at 1:46. Petch was smothering Zouggary, giving him very little room to initiate any sort of offense.
Round 2 was pretty much the same. At 1:16, Zouggary attempted a tornado kick, but Petch walked through it and clinched him.
At 1:40, Petch swept Zouggary from the clinch. While legal in Muay Thai, it’s actually illegal under Glory rules, and the referee gave Petch a warning. Nonetheless, Petch continued walking Zouggary down, clinching him and landing strikes.
By round 3, Petch was up 20-18, according to all 5 judges, and Petch continued dominating the fight. However, at 1:23, the referee deducted a point from Petch for refusing to break from the clinch when ordered to do so.
At 1:49, Zouggary shelled up, allowing Petch to get a knee-punch-knee combo in. At 2:01, after breaking from the clinch again, Petch continued his onslaught, got Zouggary to a corner, and attempted to clinch him, only for Zouggary to push him away.
On, the break, Petch landed a left, high kick to knock his Dutch foe out cold, ending the fight at 2:10 into round 3.
1. Vs. Abdellah Ezbiri – Glory 53: Lille (May 12, 2018)
After his KO win over Zakaria Zouggary, the 158-36-2 Petch went on to fight the 46-12-1 Frenchman, Abdellah Ezbiri on his home turf in France.
Round 1 was a showdown between Ezbiri’s high, diverse volume vs Petch’s left kick and ever-improving boxing.
At 1:39, Petch landed a huge left hand that knocked Ezbiri down, only for the Frenchman to be saved by the ropes. Petch followed with a left kick, but Ezbiri immediately clinched with Petch.
After the break, it was clear that Ezbiri was wearing down due to Petch’s unrelenting forward pressure.
At 2:32, Petch landed another left kick. Ezbiri tried a low kick at the same time, but was spun around as a result of Petch’s kick. At 2:43, Petch landed a clean head kick, but surprisingly, Ezbiri ate it well, and tried answering with a combo of his own, though to no avail. With 10 seconds left, Ezbiri attempted a round kick, only to be swept by Petch.
In round 2, Ezbiri tried coming off aggressively, but it still did little to stop Petch’s kicks, and while attempting a leg kick, Ezbiri was dropped by a body kick at 1:22.
At 1:35, Petch checked Ezbiri’s leg kick and answered with a clean, left head kick. After pushing Ezbiri to the ropes, Petch went for a jumping left head kick at 1:39 to knock the Frenchman down flat on his face. Failing to make the 10-count, it was declared game over for Ezbiri at 1:40 of round 2.
Such a finish became Glory’s 2018 Knockout of the Year, and Petch went on further to fight and defeat Kevin VanNostrand for the Glory Interim Featherweight Title.
