A spectacular MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) event was held in Bangkok on Saturday, Sept. 10 at the Insanity Nightclub on Sukhumvit Road:
Fight promoters Full Metal Dojo also announced that, as part of their support of the new Thailand Mixed Martial Arts Federation (TMMAF), they will be holding an all-amateur tournament for Thai MMA fighters across four regions of Thailand from January next year, under the banner – Made in Thailand.
The winners in the various weight categories will then represent Thailand at the prestigious 2017 International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) World Championships, part of the UFC’s annual International Fight Week in Las Vegas.
In Bangkok, a 10-fight card featured some of the toughest, most closely-fought MMA wars of attrition ever seen in the Thai capital.
In the main event, American Emilio Utturio (8-4) edged a split decision win over Brazilian Daniel Hortegas (3-3) in a blood, sweat and tears contest. Utturio proved his well-rounded skills against the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt practitioner and finished in the ascendancy, although both fighters showed incredible heart to keep up the frenetic pace.
But the fight-of-the-night saw Iran’s Masoud Ranjbar (3-0) from AKA Thailand, Phuket, force a verbal tap-out of the promising British brawler Jamie Sloane (6-3), who dominated the Iranian with his boxing, but was worn down and unable to continue at the end of the second round. This was a memorable battle, where Sloane had Ranjbar in all kinds of trouble, almost knocked-out on his feet, but the courageous Iranian found the strength to land crucial take-downs and fatal ground-and-pound, which eventually exhausted the brave Brit.
Another man who was dominant on the feet, but lost the war on the ground was the ever-popular 18-year old Cambodian Thai Rithy (5-2) who scored some heavy bombs on Filipino Richard Corminal (4-1), but was impressively taken down and finished via ground-and-pound in round two. Both fighters showed their fighting heart, swinging wild punches at each other, yet the grappling advantage was held by Corminal as he proved his worth against fan favourite Rithy, also winning some new fans of his own.
FMD founder and host, Jon Nutt, saved the day by stepping into the cage on one day’s notice as a last minute stand-in, and had a brief, but memorable minute in the Dojo with ripped Brazilian heavyweight Marcelo Tenorio (4-1), as they traded kicks and punches before Tenorio forced Nutt to tap-out via head-lock.
Elsewhere, a performance-of-the-night contender was Bangkok’s Settawut “Ben Ten” Nemthanorm, who landed a thunderous head-kick to Chiang Mai’s Nat Natchayangkul in the first round, before sinking in a textbook rear-naked choke, forcing the tap-out in the second stanza.
Dominant displays came from two high-flying Thai prospects who were both trained up in the Muay Thai tradition, before transitioning into MMA, and now fighting in both disciplines. Thanonsaklek “Top Noi” TigerMuayThai (2-1) notched his second win in the Dojo with a swift and brutal win over Anton Larsson (2-1). Yodkaikaew “Y2K” Fairtex (3-1) from Fairtex Gym, Pattaya, also destroyed Jirawat “Machida” Anujai with his superior stand-up skills.
