Wow, what a weekend! It was full of punches and round-house kicks and it was definitely a bloody sight. I went for the International Muay Thai Superfights last Saturday (JULY 5) at Stadium Malawati in Shah Alam and it was a blast!
The International Muay Thai Superfights came to Malaysia bringing along a group of fighters from all around the globe. The highlight of this event was the Malaysian Super 4 Contender Asia 2 Qualifier. Four Malaysian fighters fought each other with knees and elbow just to be the next Malaysian fighter in next addition of Contender Asia.
It was quite a surprise and exciting when YODSAENKLAI, the winner of Contender Asia, went onto the ring to give a short…very short speech. Now, he’s The Man that beat 15 other tough fighters from around the world to be the CHAMPION of Contender Asia.
The line-up for the event was rather interesting. 8 fighters battled out in the World Inter-Continental Grand Prix and 4 others battled out in the Malaysian SUPER 4 to be the next fighter to represent Malaysia in next addition of Contender Asia.
WORLD INTER-CONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
MATCH ONE: ABBAS ‘HARDMAN’ AHMADI vs ZIDOV ‘AKUMA’ DOMINIK
Iranian Abbas ‘Hardman’ Ahmadi fought against Zidov ‘Akuma’ Dominik from Switzerland. Both are skillful fighters but the Iranian was a much more agressive than Zidov.
Although Zidov did not make it easy for Abbas, the Iranian was hailed as champion by total count of points from the judges.
MATCH TWO: OLIVIA JACKSON vs TIANA ‘TIGER’ CAVERLY
Match two was for the ladies. Olivia Jackson from South Africa took on Aussie Tiana ‘Tiger’ Caverly and it was packed with hard-hitting actions.
Tiana, who worked in the army and the police force gave the part-time model, Olivia Jackson a fight to remember. Tiana was given a TKO after the referee called off the match.
MATCH THREE: KIM KAHN ZAKI ‘ZIG ZACH’ vs LEONARDO ‘AMENDOIM’ MONTEIRO
Before the match, when I was outside the venue, I overheard many people talking about this fighter who came from Brazil. I did not know who he was and I still do not know who he is now. But Leonardo Monteiro is one tough cookie to beat. He only started Muay Thai 5 years ago and he’s been giving everyone else a tough time ever since. Leonardo fought Kim Khan Zaki of Singapore. Nicknamed ‘Zig Zach’, he was one of the fighter from Contender Asia.
It was an exciting match, a lot of spinning elbows and backhand punches. Leonardo defeated Zach on a TKO after the referee called off the match because Zach’s right shoulder popped out of its socket twice during the match.
MATCH FOUR: SEAN WRIGHT vs SIRICHAI ‘SINGHA’ SIRI
This match was the most exciting match of all. Scottish fighter Sean Wright took on a Thai fighter Sirichai ‘Singha’ Siri for the WMC title. Sean, who is also a fighter from Contender Asia proved to be the tougher guy as he took on Sirichai to a bloody end.
The referee too gave Sean the advantage of a TKO at the very last minute of the very last round as Sirichai was bleeding profusely despite his attempt to continue fighting.
MALAYSIAN SUPER 4 CONTENDER ASIA QUALIFIER
MATCH ONE: BERNARD ‘HEADHUNTER’ RADIN vs TENGKU SHARIZAL
The Malaysian SUPER 4 fights started off with the match between Bernard ‘Headhunter’ Radin versus Tengku Sharizal from Polis Di-Raja Malaysia. Bernard is a veteran in the martial art arena and proved himself to be more dominating against Tengku Sharizal, who got sweeped off the ground again and again by Bernard.
However, the undefeated Tengku Sharizal did not give up easily and put on a great fight to bring the match to a tie. The extra round saw Bernard struggling against the younger and more fitter Tengku Sharizal. Tengku Sharizal still remains undefeated after that match.
MATCH TWO: HASHIM RAMLI vs KHOO ‘RED DRAGON’ MENG YANG
19 year old Hashim Ramli was the youngest fighter that night and he fought against the Red Dragon, who is also veteran with 21 wins under his belt. Khoo ‘the Red Dragon’ Meng Yang did not take it slow and immediately put Hashim lying down on the floor with a powerful punch in the first round.
That however, was not good enough. Hashim managed to keep himself on his feet till the end of 3rd round, which ends up in a tie. The extra round saw Hashim Ramli winning the match to proceed to the final match against Tengku Sharizal. Honestly, I strongly feel this match was rigged. The Red Dragon was kicking Hashim’s ass but somehow it ended up as a tie. It was impossible. Sigh.
FINAL MATCH: TENGKU SHARIZAL vs HASHIM RAMLI
The final match to determine who will be the fighter from Malaysia in Contender Asia 2. It was Tengku Sharizal against Hashim Ramli. This match however did not last very long, Tengku Sharizal, who won against Bernard earlier, brought Hashim tumbling down like a giant.
Hashim, who was already badly beaten by the Red Dragon earlier just couldn’t take it anymore and accepted the defeat. Tengku Sharizal remains undefeated and will be the next fighter to represent Malaysia in the next round of Contender Asia.
LOL
