A lot can happen in 10 years, and the camera does not lie.
The latest social media trend to spread like wildfire is the #10YearChallenge where people from all over the world share two pictures: one from 2009 and another one from 2019.
Some of Cambodia’s ONE Championship athletes and martial arts icons are joining the latest craze and are now sharing their pictures from way back.
#1 Khon Sichan
KWC Flyweight Champion Khon Sichan was a feared Kun Khmer competitor ten years ago but was still a long way from his mixed martial arts debut and the global stages of the world.
On Friday, 22 February, Sichan will make his long-awaited return to ONE Championship competition as he will take on Indonesian talent Rudy Augustian in a bantamweight clash at ONE: CALL TO GREATNESS in Singapore.
Will the Phnom Penh based talent be able to build on his highly impressive win over Riski Umar in 2018? The Kun Khmer expert certainly has the support of “The Kingdom of Wonder” as he looks to kick off the new year with another stellar performance.
#2 Nou Srey Pov
Kun Khmer World Champion Nou Srey Pov started boxing when she was 16 years old and have ever since had a meteoric rise that has taken her all the way to the world’s largest martial arts organization ONE Championship.
Ten years ago she was a young girl that had not even thought about picking up a pair of gloves, and now she is preparing for the bout of her life as she makes her mixed martial arts debut against Thai superstar Rika “Tinydoll” Ishige at ONE: CLASH OF LEGENDS on Saturday, 16 February in Bangkok.
#3 Chan Rothana
Life-long martial artist Chan Rothana has gone through quite the transformation in ten years. Back in the days, Rothana used to walk around much heavier and could not have made ONE Championship’s flyweight limit.
At ONE: DESTINY OF CHAMPIONS on December 7, Rothana made a thunderous return to mixed martial arts competition as he finished previously undefeated Indonesian Abro Fernandes via TKO.
Looking better than ever, Rothana is now aiming to get back into competition as soon as possible.
#4 Sovannahry Em
American-Cambodian Sovannahry Em considers herself a shy girl, but she has definitely begun to break her shell and is now emerging as one of ONE Championship’s hottest rising talents in 2019.
Sovanna promotional debut in Kuala Lumpur could not possibly have gone any better as she made quick work of Ukrainian mixed martial arts veteran Iryna “Delsa” Kyselova in early December.
Looking at her picture from ten years ago it does not seem like a day has passed, but Sovannahry is evolving with leaps and bounds and is setting herself up for an exciting 2019.
#5 Tharoth Sam
Ten years ago, it would have been impossible to predict that former ONE Championship athlete Sam “Little Frog” Tharoth would become the fully fledged martial artist and movie star that she is today.
Widely regarded as one of Cambodia’s best female combatants, Tharoth has used her martial arts skills to bridge the world of cinema and is now fresh off an international tour promoting her latest motion picture Surviving Bokator.
“Little Frog” is currently on a two-bout win-streak and hopefully she will make her anticipated return this year as female martial arts in Cambodia is hotter than ever.
#6 Keo Rumchong
During the last ten years, Kun Khmer icon Keo Rumchong has reached a level of admiration that most athlete only dare to dream about.
Still competing at the highest level of Kun Khmer, Rumchong now aims for ONE Championship’s global stage to be able to share his explosive skillset with the world.
Even though the Battambang native has had many prosperous years, 2019 might be his most memorable as he is training hard to put an exclamation point on stellar martial arts career.
Khmer Komlang 