Rambong faces Sornsueknoi at The Inner Circle 18 on June 12 with a rebuilt game plan

Two losses in a row. A moment of serious doubt. Then a decision to fight smarter rather than fight harder. Rambong Sor Therapat arrives at The Inner Circle 18 as a different version of himself.

Rambong faces Sornsueknoi FA Group in a flyweight Muay Thai co-main event at The Inner Circle 18, streaming live for members at live.onefc.com from Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand on Friday, June 12.

The 29-year-old carries 83 career victories and a two-fight winning streak into the bout. Back-to-back defeats to Suriyanlek Por Yenying and Stephen Irvine halted a seven-fight run that had made him one of the weekly series’ most dangerous stars.

Sornsueknoi arrives having stopped Nuapet Torfunfarm via TKO in the second round of his last outing. He hits hard and moves forward. Rambong has faced that kind of opponent before. What is different now is how he plans to handle it.

Those two losses broke Rambong down before they built him back up. He went to the footage, identified the problem — not enough power, not enough thinking — and came back with a clearer picture of what he needed to become.

“When I lost those two fights back-to-back, I was completely discouraged. I was seriously thinking whether I should keep going or just call it quits. But my confidence came back because I’ve improved myself,” he said.

“I trained hard through what felt like a two-fight nightmare. I really wanted to rebuild my form. Looking back at those losses, I realized I need to adjust the power of my strikes because my weapons haven’t been heavy enough.”

Rambong Sor Therapat plans to negate Sornsueknoi’s aggression

Rambong Sor Therapat has always been the fighter who walks forward and makes something happen. That identity is not going anywhere. What is being added to it is the part that was missing: deliberate thinking behind the aggression.

He has studied Sornsueknoi closely and found the thread to pull. Both men press forward. Both men want the finish. The difference on Friday night, Rambong believes, will come down to who makes smarter decisions when the exchanges get close.

“Yes, I have been focused on sharpening my knockout power, but I also know that I have to fight smart. You can’t rely on pure physical strength alone; you have to use your brain,” he said.

“I’ll feel him out first to see what kind of game he brings into this fight. Then, I will adjust my game plan round by round. My confidence is back, so I’m not worried about the doubters who question if I can still fight. You’re going to see a whole new version of Rambong, upgrading from 4G to 5G with way more ring intelligence.”