He hit the canvas in round one with a Thai veteran’s right hand still ringing in his ears. By round two, Julio Lobo had turned the entire fight on its head.
The 32-year-old Brazilian stopped PTT Apichart Farm via TKO at 2:01 of round two. Their bantamweight Muay Thai bout happened at The Inner Circle 20 at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday, June 26. The win pushed his ONE Championship streak to three straight. It was also the most significant result of his 67-win career, complete with a performance bonus.
“Honestly, I’m overwhelmed and so fulfilled right now. I’m overjoyed. I’ve been waiting a long time for this fight, waiting for the chance to taste victory on this stage and take home the bonus. So right now, I can say in one word — I’m absolutely thrilled,” he said.
PTT had dropped Lobo with a powerful right hand late in round one. The moment threatened to derail the entire performance. The response from his corner left no room for hesitation.
“When I got back to the corner, my coach and the team in my corner immediately said, ‘Okay, you have to take this round back, or we’re going to lose.’ At that point we had nothing left to lose. My coach said, ‘Now you’ve got to go out there and fight with heart.’ And honestly, I already have a strong fighter’s heart, so I just did exactly that — went out and fought with everything I had and got the win,” he said.
Julio Lobo eyes a six-figure contract
Julio Lobo trains daily at Phuket Fight Club under a coach who demands his best. Stopping a veteran with more than 100 career wins was, in his words, less a surprise and more a confirmation of that daily grind.
“[I’m] not surprised at all, because I’ve trained for this exact moment all along. I train hard every day with my coach, who pushes and challenges me hard every single day. So for us, it wasn’t surprising at all. Of course I knew it would be a tough fight, but I also knew I could do it — and I did,” he said.
Three straight wins now sit on his record, and Lobo is choosing patience over premature ambition. The life-changing ONE Championship contract is the immediate target, with titles a conversation for later.
“I’m ready to face anyone. I’m not putting pressure on myself. I’m thinking step by step, fight by fight. Whenever ONE feels I deserve it and offers me a contract, I’ll start thinking about a World Title shot or whatever comes with it. But for now, I just want to enjoy doing what I do here,” he said.
“I love fighting at ONE Championship because this is the biggest promotion in the world. I love coming here and putting on performances like tonight — fights that leave everyone amazed and shocked.”