Wednesday, 19 June 2013 10:57

French promotion Nuit Des Challenges returned with an event in Marseilles yesterday. The card featured bouts with K-1, Muay Thai and Full Contact Rules. Among the fighters featured on the card were Karim Bennoui, Thomas Adamandopoulos, Abdallah Mabel and Gregory Choplin.

Karim Bennoui faced off with Thomas Adamandopoulos in a clash of two of the top 61-63kg kickboxers in the world. Bennoui had won the It's Showtime 61MAX title in March over Sergio Wielzen before losing it to Javier Hernandez in June. Adamandopoulos had been on a roll this year, winning all six of his fights this year. The fight was scheduled for five rounds for the ISKA World CHampionship at 62.5kg. From what I've heard, it sounds like it was a really good fight. Karim Bennoui took the decision.

Abdallah Mabel met Gregory Choplin, another clash with two of France's best. They met at 72.5kg under Muay Thai rules. Abdallah Mabel took a decision. Karim Ghajji decisioned Sebastien Pace in a full contact fight, showing he can adapt to all three different rulesets. Another top French fighter Albert Chey took a decision over Olivier Moriano.

Full results here.

Wednesday, 19 June 2013 10:57

Earlier today at Differ Ariake in Tokyo, M-1 held its second co-promotion with It's Showtime Japan headlined by two WPMF World Title fights, a WPMF Japan title fight, a WPMF Japan #1 contender's bout and a fight with Saenchai Sinbimuaythai.

In the night's main event, rising star Genji Umeno captured his 8th straight win with a 1st round KO via elbow at 2:39 into the round over Dekkamon HimaraiGym to net him the WPMF World Super Featherweight title. This moves the 22 year old's record to 18-1(9 KO) and may move him up further in the Lumpinee Stadium rankings, where he currently sits ninth. Up next for Umeno is an exciting showdown with WPMF Japan Featherweight champion Yosuke Morii on December 22nd. Should he get past Morii, I would assume he would begin to focus on capturing a Lumpinee Stadium title, which he may be able to do being in a relatively weak division.

In the co-main event, WPMF Japan Lightweight champion Arita Tsukahara upset WPMF World Lightweight champion Kanongsuk Weerasakreck with a 4th round TKO at 2:26 into the round to capture the WPMF World Lightweight title. This is a surprising result as Kanongsuk had been on an absolute tear lately, going 8-1 in his last 9 with wins over Rashata, Genki Yamamoto, Hiromasa Masuda and Satoshi Endo with his only loss to Kan Itabashi. Tsukahara was coming off of a loss to Masahiro Yamamoto back in August. Both fighters' futures are unknown at the moment, but both could find themselves fighting at the December 22nd Fujiwara Festival event.

In the night's last title bout, WPMF Japan Super Flyweight champion TO-MA picked up the vacant WPMF Japan Bantamweight title with a unanimous decision win over the previously undefeated Takuma Ito on scores of 50-47(x2) and 50-46. The title belonged to Ichinohe Sota, though I'm not sure why he vacated it as his only fight since winning it back in April was a draw against Takuma Ito. Regardless, TO-MA has a few options going forward, as he could face Sota, Arashi Fujiwara in a rematch or recently crowned WBC Japan champions Ryuji Kato or Ryuya Kusakabe. For Ito it's back to the drawing board as he has 21 year old has recorded his only two blemishes on his record in the past 6 months. A matchup with recent WBC Japan title challengers Kojiro or Shuichi Uentsu would be a good test for Ito.

In the main non-title fight, renowned Thai fighter Saenchai Sinbimuaythai took longer than most would have expected to dispose of J-Network Super Lightweight champion Shunsuke Oishi, with Saenchai finishing him off at 1:35 into the 4th round. I do not know how the fight went, but the result isn't too bad for Oishi who could have a future in K-1. For Saenchai it's a 5th straight win and puts him at 17-2 since the start of 2010.

Finally, in a #1 contender's bout for the WPMF Japan Featherweight title, 5th ranked Yuji Umehara upset 2nd ranked Hiroki Nagashima with a 1st round TKO as a result of a cut. Umehara is now set to face current champion Yosuke Morii, however with Morii set to face Umeno on December 22nd and the way this fight ended, there could be a rematch between the two.

Wednesday, 19 June 2013 10:57

Earlier today at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Krush held Krush.13, an event headlined by three Krush vs Europe fights.

In the night's main event, K-1 -63kg 2011 Japan Tournament champion Yuta Kubo defeated France's Tristan Benard by knockout, 52 seconds into the 3rd round. Kubo seems to have controlled the fight completely, on his way to a decision victory before putting the Frenchman away. The win is a 7th straight for Kubo and his 12th win in his past 13 fights, with his sole loss coming in the finals of the K-1 -63kg 2010 Tournament to Tetsuya Yamato. Kubo was guaranteed a spot in a possible -63kg World Tournament, but with K-1's sale and transition into the current FIKA, Kubo's future is unknown. It is likely that he will be seeded into the round of 32, though as one of the hottest fighters in the division at the moment, he may not have much trouble fighting his way through another qualifying tournament.

In the second Krush vs Europe fight and what may have been the closest, Krush 60kg champion Hirotaka Urabe was taken the distance by Mike's Gym product Maik Redan, but Urabe came out on top on scores of 30-28(x2) and 30-27. Urabe was able to win a clear decision, but not without resistance from the young fighter. At just 17, Redan looks to have a bright future training out of Mike's Gym, but the challenge of the Krush champion was too much for him this early in his career. For Urabe, it's a 6th straight win and it is likely that he will defend his title soon. Good options for defenses are RISE champion Kosuke Komiyama, whose challenge was dismissed by Urabe, or the winner of the Krush Supernova tournament semifinal match between Masaaki Noiri and HIROYA.

In the final Krush vs Europe fight, Krush 55kg champion Shota Takiya overwhelmed the UK's Damien Trainor en route to a 3rd round stoppage, 53 seconds into the round as a result of a flying knee. It's a 7th straight for Takiya who is a real force at 55kg. A third fight with Ryuya Kusakabe for the Krush title would be a great rubber match and would be a great addition to any Krush card.

Also on the card, Team Dragon prospect Hideaki Yamazaki picked up his 4th straight win with a first round knockout of Hayato Hatakeyama, while Krush regular NOMAN picked up a 2nd round KO and MMA fighter Daisuke Endo continued his kickboxing career with a draw.

Wednesday, 19 June 2013 10:57

It's Showtime is holding their 53rd event today in a new location, Tenerife. The largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands is a hotbed for kickboxing and It's Showtime has put on a great card to please the local fans. Among the top match-ups on the card are the return of Giorgio Petrosyan, who takes on Zeben Diaz. There's also an It's Showtime 95MAX World Title fight featuring Danyo Ilunga defending his belt against hometown fighter Loren Javier Jorge. The rest of the card is filled with exciting match-ups that make this event worth checking out.

The event starts at 4PM EST/1 PM PST. You can order it on www.showtimefights.com or if you live in Canada, it's live on The Fight Network.

Sergio Wielzen vs. Carlos Reyes 61kg

Wielzen wins by TKO in Round 1 due to a cut he caused with a knee on Reyes. The fight was competitive until Wielzen wobbled Reyes with a counter hook and then hurt him even more with a knee, followed by dropping him with a left hand. Reyes got up but the fight was called off due to the cut.

Andy Ristie vs. Jonay Risco 70kg

Didn't see the first two rounds because the TV station was having technical difficulties but in the third, Ristie floored Risco with a left hook after having some trouble finding his opponent. Risco got up but the fight was called off. Ristie wins by TKO in Round 3.

Murthel Groenhart vs. Darryl Sichtmann 77kg

Murthel Groenhart wins by unanimous decision. One way traffic for Murthel.

Moises Ruibal vs. Amir Zeyada

Amir Zeyada wins by TKO (Injury) in Round 2. Ruibal was winning Round 1 before getting dropped with a right hand at the end. In the second, Ruibal seemed to injure his knee and was counted but fought on. He was counted twice more for the injury and the fight was called off.

Giorgio Petrosyan vs. Zeben Diaz

Petrosyan wins by majority decision (3-2). The two judges who scored the fight for Diaz must just be idiots or be local judges because it was pretty clear that Giorgio won all three rounds. The commentators were making it seem way closer than it was just because Diaz actually managed to land a punch or two.

Danyo Ilunga vs. Loren Javier Jorge (It's Showtime 95MAX World Title)

Danyo Ilunga wins by unanimous decision. One way traffic for Ilunga. Loren simply didn't throw enough and got outworked by the more dynamic Ilunga.

Wednesday, 19 June 2013 10:57

The MuayThai Premier League continued today with their third event, this time in The Hague, Holland. The event, like both of the MPL's previous two events featured some well known and top talent. Among the fighters featured on the event were the world's top fighter at 77-82kg, Artem Levin, Mohammed Khamal, It's Showtime 73MAX World Champion Yohan Lidon and Nieky Holzken.

As per usual so far, there was no available way to watch the event live. It's likely we'll have to wait a bit for the event to be broadcast on The Score in Canada. Other than that, maybe someone got some cell phone videos. Full results below. Thanks to AFAV and Muay Thai Authority.

Valentina Schevchenko def. Ilona Wijmans by Unanimous Decision

Mauro Serra def. Denis Schneidmiller by Unanimous Decision

Artem Vakhitov def. Jiri Zak by Unanimous Decision

Aleide Lawant def. Lindsay Scheer by Split Decision

Vladimir Moravcik def. Yohan Lidon by Unanimous Decision

Artem Levin def. Roberto Cocco by KO

Julie Kitchen def. Sandra Bastian by Unanimous Decision

Mohammed Khamal def. Michael Dicks by Unanimous Decision

Nieky Holzken def. Ky Hollenbeck by Unanimous Decision

Marco Pique def. Ali Gunyar by Unanimous Decision

Filip Verlinden def. Chris Knowles by Unanimous Decision

Wednesday, 19 June 2013 10:57

Over the last 2 days, Shooto and Shootboxing held their two co-promotional events, with a rematch between Andy Souwer and Toby Imada, as well as Shootboxing vs MMA fights between Hiroki Shishido and "Lion" Takeshi Inoue, as well as Hiroaki Suzuki and "Wicky" Akiyo Nishiura headlining the Shootboxing card, with a Flyweight title fight between reigning champion Junji Ikoma and Mikihito Yamagami headlining the MMA card.

In the main event of today's Shootboxing card, 2-time K-1 MAX champion and 3-time S-Cup champion Andy Souwer avenged a massive upset loss to MMA fighter Toby Imada from last year's S-Cup semifinals by unanimous decision on scores of 30-24 and 30-25(x2). I believe Souwer was able to score downs in rounds 1 and 2 while Imada was unable to score any throws on Souwer, which was the key to Imada's victory last November. The win is nice for Souwer who recently fell in the semifinals of the It's Showtime Fast and Furious tournament to Artur Kyshenko. Souwer doesn't currently have any fights set, though he could be an option for Dream's New Year's Eve event. For Imada, a rematch with Hiroki Shishido or an MMA fight in Bellator are options.

In the co-main event, former Shooto Lightweight champ "Lion" Takeshi Inoue scored an upset over Shootboxing star Hiroki Shishido by close majority decision on scores of 30-29(x2) and 29-29. Inoue scored a shoot point in the third round which ended up being the deciding factor. The win is Inoue's 4th straight as he was on a 3-fight win streak in MMA with consecutive TKO wins over Taiki Tsuchiya, Koichiro Matsumoto and Caol Uno. Up next for Inoue could be a fight with Tatsuya Kawajiri should Kawajiri not get an immediate shot at Hiroyuki Takaya or a possible rematch with Kazayuki Miyata. The loss is Shishido's second straight as he lost to Toby Imada back in June. Shishido has been a bit shaky as of late, going 4-5 in his last 9 fights and with back to back losses to MMA fighters, Shishido could see his relevancy, in terms of competition, be diminished, although as one of Shootboxing's biggest draws, he could continue to face top-level fighters.

The other major MMA vs Shootboxing fight that took place on the card was #1 ranked Shootboxing Super Featherweight Hiroaki Suzuki defeating Shooto and Dream veteran "Wicky" Akiyo Nishiura by unanimous decision on scores of 30-27(x3). Nishiura's unorthodox striking was not enough to overcome Suzuki, who is now on a 3-fight win streak and now has wins over 4 MMA fighters in his Shootboxing career. Suzuki's next fight could be a rubber match with Tomohiro Oikawa for the Shootboxing Super Featherweight title. The loss moves Nishiura to winless in his last 4 fights with losses to Caol Uno and Mitsuhiro Ishida in MMA and a draw to Tetsuya Yamato in K-1.

In the night's biggest upset, Shootboxing convert Bovy Sor Udomson took a clear cut decision win over It's Showtime and K-1 fighter Gago Drago on scores of 29-28 and 30-28(x2). Udomson is now on a 2-fight win streak after losing 4 straight, although he did not look very good in his last fight with Toby Imada. For Drago, it's a sixth straight loss in a career that has been characterized by extreme inconsistency. He has a fight with Hinata on January 28th at the big It's Showtime event.

Swiss-born Japanese transplant Christophe Pruvost managed to pick up a decision win over former boxer turned kickboxer Satoru Suzuki, Team Souwer's Henri Van Opstal picked up a win over Pride and UFC vet Akihiro Gono, MINA picked up a win over Emi Fujino and Rena's younger sister MIO picked up another win in Shootboxing.

In the Shooto portion of the event on Saturday, Shooto legend Rumina Sato was knocked out in the first round by Team Souwer's Nico Verresen. For Sato, it's a bit of a disappointment as this was only Verresen's second MMA fight.

In Shootboxing action, Kazuyuki Fushimi defeated Shooto fighter Junji Ito by decision and Shootboxing Japan Featherweight champion Naguranchun Masa M16 defeated Shooto fighter Fumihiro Kitahara by 1st round KO.

Wednesday, 19 June 2013 10:57

Just minutes ago, Batu Khasikov and Mike Zambidis met for their long awaited fight in Moscow, Russia. 2011 has been Khasikov's coming out party and a win over Zambidis would really put his name in the minds of kickboxing fans worldwide. The fight was for the W5 World Title at 71kg, which was held by Zambidis. Zambidis won the title by winning a tournament in April with wins over Enriko Gogokhia and Dzhabar Askerov.

In the first round, the fighters started out picking their shots. Zambidis favored striking with his hands and Khasikov established his kicks and knees. In a weird chain of events, Zambidis backed off from a seemingly light exchange and took a knee, favoring his jaw. The doctor was called in to take a look, and after examining Zambidis' jaw, the fight was stopped. It was a very strange ending, as I thought it might've also had something to do with Zambidis swallowing or choking on his mouthpiece. It seems that his jaw was broken though, and the most likely culprit was a knee that Khasikov landed. With Zambidis unable to continue, Khasikov got the win and was awarded the W5 71kg World Title.

Batu Kashikov has really established his name in 2011, holding two wins over long time, well known K-1 veterans. Khasikov is 31 years old and it's rare for a fighter to rise to prominence at that age. I'd definitely like to see him mix it up with more of the world's elite and look forward to what's in store for him in the future.

Wednesday, 19 June 2013 10:57

Yesterday in Hilversum, Holland, Twilight Fight Night played host to a few notable match-ups in the Dutch kickboxing scene. Two fighters that are definitely not known enough at all for how good they are, Ramzi Tamaditi and Fred Sikking each fought.

Both Tamaditi and Sikking are rather unknown outside of Holland and deserve some recognition. Tamditi fights in the stacked 70kg division and should be on an It's Showtime card. He fought Leory Kaestner at It's Showtime's event back on March 6th and came up short, losing a decision. Fred Sikking is in the 85kg division and has had mixed result at the higher levels. He recently split a two fight series with Moises Ruibal and got knocked out by Bogdan Stoica in February. Both fighters are on the cusp of breaking into the more prominent stages and needed wins yesterday to advance forward.

Tamaditi took on Egon Racz, a Slovakian fighter who now trains out of Mike's Gym. Racz is a good litmus test for a fighter's level and Ramzi took a decision over him. The win moves Ramzi a step closer to the bigger stages of kickboxing. It's never certain when one fighter will finally get the opportunity and some guys will hover around the Dutch scene for a long time.

Fred Sikking also moved forward with a decision win over Rodney Glunder. Glunder is a pretty decent win and moves Sikking up the ladder. It's surprising that Sikking hasn't gotten an opportunity on an It's Showtime card, especially with their efforts to establish an 85kg division. He would be a good fight for Sahak Parparyan.

A lot of guys like Tamaditi and Sikking hover around the Dutch and obscure European scenes for a very long time without getting any opportunities on the big stage. Now with more stable organizations popping up, there's hope that more fighters can get the recognition they deserve.

Wednesday, 19 June 2013 10:57

I've got to admit the idea of hopping on a Greyhound bus and traveling to Atlantic City has never been on my top ten list of things I'm really interested in doing before I die. Actually it has never even been on my list of things to ever contemplate doing in my life. I would have probably thrown going to Atlantic City on my list of things I'll be happy to never do. Fortunately my good buddy Bauzen used some jedi mind trickery and dangled some Catvonc style kryptonite in front of my face and convinced me to cash in some travel vouchers and head to the Jersey shore for the weekend. I say fortunately because had Bauzen not exploited my weakness I might not have gone out of my way to attend what in my opinion was one of the most well run, classiest and amazing combat sports events I've ever attended.

The show that Take On Productions, in association with MSG Sports puts on is a well oiled machine and I can only hope they continue to grow and their show is able to expand throughout the country. From the local favorite talented ring announcer Larry Legend to MuayThaiislife.com owner Eric Rivera handling the fight commentary, to the promotors and fighters-this is a professional and entertaining show. I know from personal experience, we've got nothing that even comes close to their level of production quality here in Atlanta. Take On's event truly made me fall deeper in lust with the sport of Muay Thai and if you ever have the opportunity to go to one of their shows I say you had better jump on it. I'm not even mad that I somehow lost an earring, a ring, a phone charger and a flat iron in the post fight celebrations. I'll blame all of that on sharing too many watermelon rock rancher drinks with Bauzen's girlfriend.

The West Coast has always boasted about having the creme de la creme of Muay Thai fighters on American soil but I think the gyms on the East Coast are ready to give them a run for their money. Gyms like Sitan NY, Phil Nurse's The Wat, Cool Hearts from Philly and Boston Muay Thai just to name a few-have trained and assembled crews of skilled and exciting fighters that combat sport junkies need to start paying close attention to. From the ammy fights to the pro debuts and full rules title fights-there was not one moment where I felt the action was lagging. Here's some of the highlights of the night:

Amateur fight Rich Brattole of Weapons 9/Strategic Combat Gym vs Tim Scmeier of Sitan NY

These guys were both obviously not used to wearing headgear, which is a New Jersey athletic commission rule and not a requirement where the fighters normally fight in their home state of NY, but despite that they went to war with each other trading blows back and forth for the entire 3 round contest.

Amateur fight Caitlyn Dempsey of Impact Martial Arts vs Christina Rodriguez of Girl Fight MMA NJ

The ladies brought the first blood of the evening and the first extremely loud crowd response of the night. Caitlyn Dempsey won her debut fight and the crowd erupted in excitement.

Amateur fight Tianna Urman of The Wat vs Prarie Ruglio of Girl Fight MMA

Prarie came at Tianna Urman raging with unrelenting fists for one full minute before her right hand shut Urman down for good. Girl Fight MMA fans in the crowd went absolutely bonkers and let's be honest, Bauzen had a momentary fear of being trampelled by a mass of angry lesbians.

Main event Justin Greskiewicz of Cool Hearts Muay Thai Philly vs Eddie Martinez of Sitan Gym NY

Another really great fight featuring one of the Sitan gym fighters Eddie Martinez versus the always fun to watch purple haired Justin Greskiewicz. Justin took full advantage of the NJ elbow allowance and used those along with some kicks and punching combos to take the very close split decision win over Eddie Martinez.

Pro fight Jay Matias of Sitan Gym NY vs Jake Mainini of Boston Muay Thai

Saving the best for last here-this was the pro debut for both of these fighters and most of the media in attendance agree it was hands down the fight of the night. These two stole the show and put on an amazing display of technical and precise Muay Thai from round one all the way to the end of the fifth round and never once looked fatigued. Jay Matias gave the crowd a show that they will talk about for years afterwards with his arsenal of kicks and unrelenting combinations that ultimately won him the unanimous decision over an also very skilled Mainini. Here's a small video clip from this fan favorite fight to help fill your hungry Muay Thai bellies.

I know right now you are sitting there dying to watch the rest of that fight. As a matter of fact, I'm certain you want to watch the whole event and you are now angrily axe kicking your little sister into your mom's plastic covered couch because you missed out on all the action this weekend. Well calm down and stop being an angry bully. You can go check out the whole event on GFL.tv right now. The full event results on TakeOnProductions.com and don't forget to follow TakeOn Muay Thai on Twitter and like them on Facebook for all the information you are going to need about their upcoming shows.

Wednesday, 19 June 2013 10:57

Yesterday in Moscow, Russia, Fight Code along with W5 held an event featuring a Fight Code portion of the card and a W5 portion of the card. The Fight Code portion was shown on Fight Code's stream and W5 wasn't, so everyone was left in the dark about the W5 portion. The W5 portion was shown on Russian TV and videos should be uploaded soon.

In the main event of the W5 portion, former It's Showtime 61MAX World Champion Sergio Wielzen took on Russian fighter Ruslan Tozliyan for the W5 World Title at 60kg. The fight started off fast and Wielzen was knocked down in the first round. It was tough to tell if it was a slip or a legit knockdown because a very strange canvas was being used that had fighters slipping on it all night. Wielzen rallied back and hurt Tozliyan multiple times throughout the rest of the fight. The knockdown made the fight pretty close but Wielzen got a unanimous decision to become the W5 -60kg champion. Next for Wielzen is current It's Showtime 61MAX World Champion Javier Hernandez at It's Showtime's card in Tenerife on November 12th.

In the co-main event, Maxim Smirnov fought Maxim Shalnev at 70kg. About halfway through the first round, Smirnov started to get into a rhythm with his hands and started consistently finding the mark on his opponent. Shalnev was hurt by punches in the first and it continued in the second. Shalnev got cracked with a left hook and staggered, causing the referee to call a halt to the bout in the second round. Smirnov didn't take much damage and should be ready for his fight against Dzhabar Askerov next month at the Tatneft Cup 2011 Finals.

Highly touted up and comer Aziz Kallah made the venture to Moscow to fight 17-year-old Alim Nabiev. In what was quite surprising, Nabiev controlled the fight with his height and range and landed significant strikes on Kallah for most of the fight. If I were to make comparisons, I'd say he looked like a mixture of Artem Levin and Yoshihiro Sato. Only at the very end of the fight did Kallah come on strong. Nabiev picked up a unanimous decision and he's definitely one to look out for in the future, being just 17 years old and already beating the likes of Aziz Kallah.

Full results below:

W5 60kg World Title fight (5x3):

Sergio Wielzen def. Ruslan Tozliyan by Unanimous Decision. 

Single fights (3x3):

Maxim Smirnov def. Maxim Shalnev by TKO (Referee Stoppage) in Round 2.

Yuri Zhukovsky def. Valdrin Vatnikaj by decision.

Goran Radonjic def. Nadir Gadzhiev by decision in an extra round.

Alim Nabiev def. Aziz Kallah by Unanimous Decision.

Vitaly Lisnyak def. Evgeny Khil by decision.