After spending the past year leaving the competition, Liam Nolan has returned to the sport looking to renew his campaign for a lightweight Muay Thai world title.
However, in just 59 seconds, his path to Championship Gold became even longer.
Iranian striker Abolfazl Alipourandi cracked the British star with a head kick and crashed into the canvas, urging the judge to stop the lightweight Muay Thai fight in the first round.
The Londoner was originally scheduled to face Nauset Trujillo, the last man to defeat him in the February 2024 clash rematch. However, the Spaniards withdrew from the contest during the week of battle.
Alipourandi intervened to replace him with a five-day notice, but Nolan had more experience and an advantage of 3 inches tall, but ultimately it wasn’t a problem.
When the bell rang inside Bangkok’s Lumpini Stadium, the Iranian fearlessly rushed forward with a wild punch, quickly turning the 27-year-old into defense.
Nolan tried to establish range with a kick, but Alipoulandy continued to rush forward with the shot to close the distance, closing with him against the ropes.
The referee put the two back in the center of the ring, and the British again threw a heavy kick. Alipourandi responded with pressure as he threatened his rival with more punches and supported him with the ropes.
However, later on, when Nolan dropped his left arm and braceed to blow his body off, Alipoulandy tricked him with a head kick that broke his chin and wrapped around his neck. The strike knocked out London.
The referee was preparing to give him an 8 count, but after realising that Britt was struggling to wake up, he called off the fight with a 59-second mark in round 1. This loss reduced Nolan’s record to 22-9.
