Perth Muay Thai fighter Jordan Godtfredsen has endured a tough introduction to ONE Championship.
“Wolf” produced a gutsy performance to push Thai superstar Yodlekpet Or Atchariya all the way to a split decision in the ONE Friday Fights 25 headliner on July 14, despite having the fight week from hell.
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The week got off to a tough start for Godtfredsen, who touched down in Bangkok only to find that his bags hadn’t made the journey.
Perhaps the mix-up was for the better, as the luggage may not have survived when Godtfredsen’s taxi was then rear-ended on its way to his hotel.
In any case, missing bags are little more than an inconvenience for most travellers, but for an elite fighter approaching the biggest fight of his life, preparing without his gear could’ve made an immeasurable difference in his performance.
“It was definitely a rough week,” he recalled.
“I had none of my clothes, toiletries, training equipment, fight gear, or vitamins and supplements. So, that was very stressful over the first couple of days, navigating Thailand and trying to locate my luggage.”
But the combat sports gods weren’t done with Godtfredsen, who had done what any fighter worth his salt would do – he organised his meals for the week only to be left high and dry.
Then came the sickness that has plagued many a visitor to the Thai capital. While it did cause a minor panic in the Godtfredsen camp, the 30-year-old persevered.
“Due to being fight week, I organised a meal prep company to deliver my food, which never showed up, initially,” he said.
“I also started getting the flu on my first day there, which also went to my chest, which was very frustrating.”
The affable Godtfredsen refused to be deterred by the seemingly relentless string of setbacks.
With nothing going right for the Kao Sok Muay Thai representative, a gift from a local appeared to bring about a much-needed change in fortune.
“After training on my second day, I was given a blessing by one of the Thais and given a Buddha amulet for good luck and protection. Within the hour I had a phone call saying my luggage had been found and it would be at my hotel by the time I got back,” Godtfredsen recalled.
“We managed to stay positive and, by the third day in Thailand, we managed to get back on track and had a much better run from then onwards.”
After facing adversity for most of the week, Godtfredsen then met four-time Muay Thai world champion Yodlekpet at the historic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium – the mecca of “the art of eight limbs.”
After a strong first round that saw Godtfredsen use his 7-inch height advantage to great effect, Yodlekpet got back into the fight in round two before turning the tide in the final round.
The late rally was enough to convince two of the three ringside judges to award “The Destroyer” a split-decision win.
Godtfredsen’s razor-thin defeat divided social media, with many believing that he was deserving of the judges’ nod.
But the West Australian, in typical fashion, refused to let the result take away from what he achieved in standing toe-to-toe with one of the sport’s very best.
“In the ring, I thought I had done enough to win on the night, but losing via a split-points decision to a Thai four-time world champion in Thailand at Lumpinee really isn’t a bad result in my eyes,” he said.
“I definitely won over a lot of the crowd and was able to stop Yodlekpet’s three-fight knockout streak in my first outing on ONE Championship and gave him a very hard fight. So, I can’t be too down over not getting my hand raised. Nine out of 10 (people) thought that Yodlekpet would make light work of me like all of his last opponents.”
Godtfredsen lost no fans with his performance at ONE Friday Fights 25, and the ONE Championship brass will no doubt be keen to have the Aussie back in the near future.
But in the meantime, the devoted soon-to-be father of two is simply looking forward to giving some time back to his family after what might have been the craziest week of his life.
“The promotion seemed really happy with the fight and have already asked me to come back. The fight was very well received by the fight community, and I won a lot of respect from the Thai people,” he said.
“I’m hoping to come back sometime soon, but after the birth of my son next month and some time off with my family.”
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