Suablack On Shimon's Shared Coach Past

Suablack Tor Pran49 and Shimon Yoshinari trained under the same veteran coach before their ONE SAMURAI 3 flyweight Muay Thai clash Saturday in Yokohama.

The 30-year-old Thai veteran and the 21-year-old Japanese standout both worked under Pakorn PK Sialaytentmungkorn earlier in their careers, a man Suablack himself lost to at ONE Friday Fights 137 last December. The shared lineage adds an unusual wrinkle to the flyweight bout at Yokohama Buntai on September 12, per BJPenn.com.

Suablack Dismisses Long Odds Against Shimon

"Pakorn used to train him back then, and Pakorn trained me too. We're both Pakorn's students," Suablack said. "We'll just have to see in the ring whose application of Pakorn's techniques proves superior."

Suablack rebuilt his career with a second-round knockout of Stephen Irvine at ONE Fight Night 45 last July, a finish that earned a $50,000 performance bonus he reportedly used to fund a water well for his parents in the mountains. The remainder went to his wife as savings in gold, according to the report.

Oddsmakers have installed him as a heavy underdog against Shimon's 26-1 record and unblemished ONE Championship run. Suablack arrives off consecutive losses that preceded his flyweight move, but the Thai veteran said he has identified technical flaws he believes tilt the matchup in his favor.

"Most people are giving me a 10 percent chance to win and him 90 percent. But I'm going to make that 10 percent a reality," he said. "He's tough, but when he gets hit, he flinches. I saw several flaws that I can exploit."

Reported via:

• BJPenn — Suablack and Shimon used to share the same coach ahead of ONE SAMURAI 3 clash