In the second lead card bout of ONE 166 on 1 March, Chinese Muay Thai sensation Han Zihao took on Japanese veteran Shinji Suzuki.
Because it was a Muay Thai rule bout with small gloves and it was played in the Circle, the two men didn't start the first round with a very tight attack. Shinji Suzuki was relatively more aggressive and relied heavily on his low kicks, landing multiple low kicks.
Han, on the other hand, paid more attention to the striking effect of his punches, and had a clear punch before the end of the round to knock his opponent back.
Surprisingly, Han Zihao, who was solid in the first round, was knocked down by his opponent less than a minute into the second round, and although Han quickly got up and signaled that he was okay, he still fell behind on points.
After being knocked down, Han stepped up his offense significantly, and he had more time to occupy the Circle and press hard. However, Shinji Suzuki's punches and legs have powerful kills, which poses a huge threat to Han Zihao.
Because Han Zihao was knocked down once, Han had to knock out his opponent at least once in the third round to have a chance of reversing.
Clearly aware of this, Han Zihao began to step up his attack, trying to make every punch effective, and he didn't back down in the face of his opponent's punches.
In the last round, both of them had a lot of physical consumption, and Shinji Suzuki retreated and his combat skills and tactics were also mainly blocked, and in the last minute, the older Suzuki Shinji was obviously physically exhausted and staggered, and Han Zihao also played a good attack. But unfortunately, Han Zihao did not achieve a knockout.
In the end, Shinji Suzuki won the bout by unanimous decision.
Han Zihao was strong in his early days in ONE Championship and also played as a title challenger.
In "ONE: NEXTGEN II" in November 2021, Han also defeated Victor Pinto.
But then back-to-back losses to Ferrari Fairtex and Asa Ten Pow "The American Ninja" Asaten Pow, another defeat to Han Zihao will require a set-up, as he still has a lot of potential in the striking circle in ONE Championship thanks to his ability and years of training in Thailand.