MIKE SIDIS vs DEANVER RAPHAEL : ISKA BMAEX 85kgs Title Fight

MIKE SIDIS vs DEANVER RAPHAEL : ISKA BMAEX 85kgs Title Fight

--------#WRB---------

This is an all Malaysian affair for the 85kgs belt.

Mike holds a record of :

Muaythai fight 1 (pro)
K1 3 (amateur)
Boxing 1 (amatuer)
MMA 4 (1pro 3amatuer)

He works in the oil & gas industry of Labuan. The job takes his time away from training but it also makes him cherish the time he has for training. At one time his social habits of drinking, smoking and partying took a toll on his health. Martial arts gave him a new meaning. He value the time he is able to sharpen his skills and fighting is a way for him to test the skills he has acquired. ( read more about Mike in my previous post here ).

Aside from martial arts, Mike loves the outdoor and will go kayaking, diving and hiking when he has the time, he loves the fact that he stay in the island of Labuan which offers him all the adventure activities he needs just at his doorsteps.

He loves rock & roll & hip hop music and still enjoy a good mug of stout among good friends...usually after a hard week of training or after a good fight...maybe a few extra mugs if celebrating a win.

A carefree person that is humble & down to earth, but once in the ring, his spirit of competitiveness takes over and he will do his best to win, watch out for some of his unorthodox moves & combos.

------------#WRB-------------

Deanver Randel Raphael is a hot young talent from Kinabalu Fighters. At 24 he has amassed 7-0-0 record in Kickboxing and most recently record his biggest victory by winning the Grand Merdeka Super Fight belt.

He is from Sugud Penampang , but grew up in Tawau. It's where he picked up Taekwondo as a teenager & also trains at Alamgir Gym sharpening his striking skills.

He has a full time job at Samsung Service Centre but also is an entrepreneur, running his own business - Denz Collection which focused on console games, figurines, accessories, anime etc. Deanver loves martial arts because it gives him a space to release stress and sharpen not only his physical abilities but also keeps his minds sharp, which helps him in his work and planning for his business.

GRAND MERDEKA SUPER FIGHT FULL RESULTS

Last weekend was a triple whammy. The weekend of 25-26 August, saw the actions of  KK Int BJJ, Malaysian Fight Fest (in KL) and Grand Merdeka Super Fight. I had to cover 3 martial arts event, but I can only be at one physically.

But organising chairman, Johan Julian Lee Abdullah, kept me up to speed on the going ons at the event.

It was two days of action that happened at KK's latest mall - Grand Merdeka. Located around 30 mins drive from KK. It's good to see local mall coming forward to become venue sponsor for combat sports event. Knowing that combat sports event bring crowds. The participants, their team mates, supporters and families present a ready customers for their mall.

Grand Merdeka Super Fight also became an avenue for development of new talent. 1st day saw junior age kickboxers compete. Out of the 80 participants, half of them are participants in the kids & teens category which fought in 21 bouts.

On the 2nd day, adults category were held. 20 bouts were competed, 2 being the semi-pro title fight.

The event saw the participation of 14 teams + 3 independent fighters collected medals
D' Sha Muaythai from Tawau emerge overall champion with 7 champion & 3 runners-up medals.

 
Below is the results for the day 2 (adults category) :

Bout 1 -10

Bout 11-20

D'Sha Muaythai Team  - overall champion

On Day 1, saw MIMMA 5 Lightweight champion, Nathaniel Lakai of Warmonger Miri in action vs Kyo Kaede, former Muaythai champion whom is making a comeback in combat sports. This fight was specially arrange as the last fight on 25 August, which enabled Nathaniel to compete in KK Int. BJJ on 26 Aug.

It was in the class B catgeory (for fighter with 3 or more fight experience). It was a slow start as both feel out each other in the first round, but in later rounds, Nathaniel found his timing for good powerful combos, which saw an uppercut that put Kyo in an 8 count. Nathaniel won the bout via unanimous decision.

Nathaniel vs Kyo

Day 1 (kids & teens)

Day 2 (adults)

-----------#WRB------------

Johan Julian wants to give shout out to coach Sharon Andrea Gerald of D'SHA MUAYTHAI , whom sent a huge contingent of kids & teens to participate.

Also to coach Dhillon Tahing of REVOLUTION GYM whom brought athlete from SMK Pulau Gaya. Coming all the way from the island to Grand Merdeka mall. Even their school principal & vice principal came to support.

This is good for the development of combat sports, to have committed coaches who sacrifice their time & effort to coach & guide youngsters and encourage them to participate in competition to enable them to grow their skills further & develop sportsmanship & camaraderie among other combat sports athletes.

-------------#WRB------------

Some feedback Julian received is on the results which some coaches felt was unsatisfactory. Julian said he understood their feelings and is certainly something he would look into. But he hopes the coaches & their team understand that the organiser does not have any influence over the results.

As an ISKA sanctioned event, certified ISKA judges and referees are in charge of the decision. The referees and judges are separate from the organising team and organiser follow by the results given by them.

Moving forward, Julian said some gym need to pay attention on their fighters registering but was a no show. He advise that gym should be more responsible for this and have better planning.

------------#WRB-------------

The two hi-light title bouts on day 2 certainly live up to it's name. It was very close fight as both title bouts ended in split decision. (click here to read the pre-event story)

Aziz Hoo Gwo Jye of Kinabalu Fighters won the 60kg Semi-pro title belt against Fadzly Bin Julai of Warmonger Miri. (click here to read Fadzly's pre-event story)

Daenver Randel Raphael of Kinabalu Fighters won the 85kg Semi-pro title belt against Zachenzie Zifyon Douni of Keningau MMA.

----------#WRB-----------

GRAND MERDEKA SUPER FIGHT

This weekend is going to be Super! Super because Grand Merdeka Super Fight is on!

Happening at Grand Merdeka Mall , KK's latest shopping mall in Bandar Sierra (roughly 30 mins drive from Kota Kinabalu).

This event is organised by Kinabalu Fighters and sponsored by Grand Merdeka Mall, Mian Sports Equipment and Tritonic isotonic drink.

It is part of the Summer Festival calender of events organised at Grand Merdeka Mall which happens in the month of August and September. Some of the other programs include Cosplay Fiesta, Borneo Wheels Day and Grand Merdeka Battleground.

----------#WRB------------

This event according to organising chairman Johan Julian Abdullah is to further grow K1 Kickboxing among newbies. Giving amateur fighters a chance to step into the ring to gain valuable fight experience, under the sanctioning of ISKA.

A total of 80 fighters have signed up for Grand Merdeka Super Fight.  In the first day 25 Aug will see kids and teens category. Under 12, 12-14 and 15-17. A large numbers of these kids and teens are from D'Sha Tawau, lead by coach Sharon Andrea Gerald and also SMK Pulau Gaya lead by coach Dhillon Tahing of Revolution Gym. 

On Sunday 26 Aug, adults category will start at 12pm and end with the highlights, two semi-pro bouts. 60kg Super-fight and 85 kg Super-Fight. Semi-pro rules allow for knee to the body and double hand clinch but no elbow strikes.



" We have a huge amount of kids and teens. We run it using class system to categorised the experience of the fighters to ensure a fair and even fight. Class D for adults debut or just 1 fight experience. Class C - Young Guns for those with 4 fights or less. Class B is for those with 4 fights or above."
- Johan Julian

------------#WRB----------------

1st bout, for the 60kg Super-Fight.

Fadzly Bin Julai (Warmonger) vs Aziz 'The Shantung Zhai' ( Kinabalu Fighters). Both these fighters have been in many title bouts ( kickboxing & Muaythai) but has come out empty handed.

Fadzly participated in last month in Labuan's STAND Muaythai Super 4, Fadzly lost in the final. Just few days ago he took a boxing bout in Lekir Ultimate Fight in KL but lost.

In 2016, Fadzly and Aziz met for the 1st time in a Muaythai pro fight. Fadzly lost that fight. So many fights, so close yet so far...come this Sunday he is determined to go back Miri with a title belt on his waist.

As for Aziz, he has been very active in Muaythai and Kickboxing. He most recently won a Sanda bout in Labuan. In Kickboxing he lost in B-MAEX title fight last year in a close fight and in Fight Fest. But this kid does not have 'giving up' in his dictionary. He keeps moving forward and will also be putting his best strike forward to ensure the belt is his.

2nd bout is for the 85kg title.

Deanver Randall of Kinabalu Fighters will step into the ring vs Zachenzie Z Douni of Keningau MMA.

Deanver is from Tawau and started training in Kinabalu Fighters 2 years ago and comes from TaeKwonDo background. He debut his kickboxing fight in SIDMA Young Guns last year. He is on a 6 fight winning streak with wins at various events suchs as BAC, Ultimate Beatdown Borneo and Fight Fest. He feels that it's time for him to win a title belt to further motivate him forward.

Zachenzie is a prodigy from Keningau. Zach has various experience participating in Muaythai, Kickboxing, MMA and Grappling. He is only 18 and already collected 1 gold and 1 silver for his Kickboxing bouts. He has boundless energy, preparing for his title fight this Sunday, he is also squeezing in a BJJ match on Saturday at KK BJJ Championship. 

----------#WRB-----------

FIGHT FEST 4 : Shantung Kid vs Shadow Hunter

Martial arts can change lives. This certainly ring true for Mohd Reyan and Aziz Hoo Gwo Jye.

Both of them will be fighting for the FIGHT FEST IV 60kg K1 Kickboxing title belt.

They both grew up in their teenage years that was full of challenges.

Aziz is a Shandong Chinese. Shantung Chinese are predominantly Muslim and came to Sabah in the early 20th century. They were brought in by the British government as settlers to Sabah, opening up farmlands and small businesses.

He attended an all boys school of La Salle Kota Kinabalu. In his teenage years, he loved basketball. But being among all the boys and playing basketball, at times small squabble became fist fight.

His father does not want Aziz to end up at the wrong side of the law. Being a former state footballer himself that used to practice Chinese Wushu, he understand the good influence of sports and  martial arts can have on a person. Also he knew that if his son was able to attend training regularly, he would not have time to mix with the wrong group of friends.

Aziz father knew one of his staff trained Muaythai at Kinabalu Fighters Gym. So he decided to check out the place. After talking to owner Johan Julian, he knew he found the right place and right people for Aziz. At 16 years of age, Aziz tasted his first Muaythai lessons. 

Aziz immersed himself in it and improved under the watchful eye of trainer Randel Kadayum and coach Johan Julian. After taking his SPM exam he was selected to attend the Malaysian National Service. After the 6 months at the training camp, Aziz was happy to be back to Kota Kinabalu which enable him to go back to Muaythai training.

To save money, he even jog from his home in LIDO area to Kinabalu Fighters gym in Lintas Plaza. He love the enviroment at Kinabalu Fighters, surrounding himself with positive people that train hard and always supports each other, which slowly but surely mould Aziz into a discipline fighter.

He has more than 25 amateur fight under his feet and he remembers the first time when his coach ask him to join a tournament. He had to consult his father for approval. His father was more than willing to agree. He told Aziz that to compete is a good thing, it can build his confidence. Put what he had practice diligently into real situation. Competition will also be a gauge for Aziz to know what level he is at and to improve on weakness that he may have.

Going by the name The Shandong Kid, Aziz didn't look back and to date has fought 4 times as a pro athlete. His first pro match was in Jakarta and after that fought in Bintulu, Sandakan's Elopura Fight and most recently last year winning in Penang.

Aziz was also in Muay Fight, a local Malaysian production in a reality TV concept which is inspired by The Contender Series. This was the time he got close to Reyan as they were both selected as the representative for Sabah in the 60kg. They slept, train and eat together.

training at BCG Labuan

For this fight Aziz was in Borneo Combat Gym to train with coach Alvin Chong and Ronald Tee. Aziz also is the Muaythai coach in The Legend Brotherhood gym in Cyber Perdana but when he is not busy coaching he would help his father in his work as a repo man, ...well fortunately Aziz till date has not need to use his martial arts skills to settle any dispute.

Fighting at Elopura Fight 2016

Mohd Reyan Abdul was born in Sabah but grew up as a kid that does not have a Malaysian ID. This was because his parents hold the IMM13 documents that recognize them as refugees in the early 70s escaping the war in southern Philippines. 

Without a proper ID causes him to have difficulties enrolling in government school. He didn't attend high school and spent his teenage years loitering around with the wrong type of friends. This landed him in trouble with the law a number of times. He was also once slept in a lock up when police took him in for questioning as a major squabble turned into a fight which he took all the blame for.

After the death of one of his friends, Reyan realised that this type of live will eventually lead him to a bleak future. He does not have the education nor does he have the finance to get himself out of the rut. The only thing he knew he can do is with his hands and feet.

He ended up at Naga Kinabalu gym in Tanjung Aru. He told the head coach Muslee Tuah that he wants to train but does not have the means to pay for training. Muslee took him in as a student and does not charge him training fee. He felt that it's his duty to mould this young kid into a good person through Muaythai.

From there Reyan has amassed over 30 amateur fight and has build friendship among the Muaythai fraternity. He goes by the fight name 'Pemburu Bayang' ( Shadow Hunter in english ), a name he uses for his FB initially base on a popular Malay movie; but when it was announced by Kaza Musa in a Muaythai competition years ago, the fight name has since stuck with him. 

winning the 60kg title at F3 Championship

He won his first belt in F3 Championship in 2014, but his biggest success so far was reaching the grand finals of Muay Fight in Dec 2015. It was a league format and to reach the finals was already a great accomplishment as he had to fight through more than 12 fights among the best 60kg nak muay in Malaysia. In that finals, Reyan fought Jordan Boy and lost by points due to his injured ankle.

Reyan has since became a member of  Kinabalu Kings in Petagas. In 2016 Elopura Fight, Reyan won his match against Nizam of Buaya Saka. In 2015 F3 Borneo Series Reyan defeated one of the top 60kg nak muay in Borneo - Randal Kadayum. In Dec 2016 a rematch between him and Randal Kadayum for the Sabah Fight special trophy saw Reyan succumbed to a liver kick.  

in Elopura Fights 2016

Then in May this year in D1FC : PRIDE of RHINO WARRIORS, Reyan was in the main event vs Philipines top fighter Ramon Saluya. In that fight Ramon's background in Kyokushinkai Karate saw him executing a signature Kokushinkai kick Do Mawashi Kaiten Geri that KOed Reyan.

Reyan in the Sabah state Muaythai team 2016

Reyan does not let his pass results define his future. He is thankful of what Muaythai has given him in life and at only 23 this year he knows that the best years are still ahead of him.

Looking to bring back the K1 Belt, but fighting a friend is definately something he does not planned for himself. He just followed his coaches instructions and will do his best in the ring to showed them that the training they gave him and the knowledge they have impart on him are put to good use.

Aziz with Kaza Musa (middle) and Reyan in Muay Fight

Reyan and Aziz may be friends outside the ring, but in the ring both are professional and will put in their best to give a good show to the public. To them the fight for the belt is also a measure of how far Muaythai has contribute to their lives positively.

TAIWAN BJJ OPEN: INTERVIEW WITH WARREN WANG

Taiwan being an island nation closely related to China. Historically are strong in Chinese martial arts. During the 1990s & 2000s Tae Kwon-Do became very popular and Taiwan won medals in the Olympics. 

As Taiwan economy grew and business and manufacturing industry became dominant work, practicing of martial arts became secondary to getting a good education, hence less parents send their children for martial arts classes. Mainly Chinese martial arts are practice widely for competitive performance such as Wu Shu and for health such as Tai Chi.  

Brazilian Jiu-Jit Su made popular by the Gracie family of Brazil and the popularity of UFC, has been slowly but surely making in roads to the martial arts scene here. 

This weekend of 15-16 July, Taiwan BJJ Open 2017 will be entering it's 13th year. 

So how did BJJ came to Taiwan?

This is thanks to Dr. Warren Wang. The founder of Taiwan Brazillian Jiu-JitSu Academy and Tournament Director of Taiwan BJJ Open. Warren also holds a position in Asia MMA powerhouse ONE Championship as their Vice President of Medical Services. 

Dr Warren is a practicing medical doctor running his own clinic in Taiwan and was also part of the team that revolutionized the weigh-in program in ONE Championship ( cutting weigh has been a major issue in MMA which has caused death and health problem to fighters. Read more about ONE Championship new weigh-in program here  )

Warren Wang ( far right standing ) with the ONE Championship team in Macau 2016

Warriors of Borneo (#WRB ) had a catch-up with Dr. Warren.

Can you share with #WRB on the start and development of BJJ in Taiwan?

I started BJJ after UFC 2 in 1995. I trained for 2 years under Grandmaster Carley Gracie in San Francisco. Then I came back to Taiwan for medical school.

After 4 years of searching and waiting for a BJJ school to start in Taiwan... I decided to start a club in 2003, teaching 2-3 students on small puzzle mats. I was a white belt at the time.

Soon, a group of guys in Taipei heard of us and asked me to come to Taipei to teach every Sunday, class first started on tiles in a apartment complex community room.

In 2004, Andy Wang came to Taipei, Taiwan and started the Taipei BJJ Academy. The same year I was promoted to a blue belt.  

Taiwan BJJ Tournament in 2015

After two years, Andy left Taiwan to pursue TUF ( UFC's The Ultimate Fighter Season 5 ) and I took over the Taipei school, then I consolidated the Taipei and Taichung BJJ school under the Taiwan Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy banner.

I think i was promoted to Purple belt in 2007 by Andy Wang and recently promoted to Brown belt earlier this year by Professor Makoto Ogasawara.

Taiwan BJJ Academy currently has three locations, Keelung, Taipei Headquarter, and Taichung.

In 2003 I hosted a tournament in Taichung at an outdoor plaza with puzzle mats. The referee was Thomas Fan (current black belt and owner of Kylin BJJ) from Hong Kong (purple belt) at the time. 

He brought his student Takizawa Keisuke (current black belt and owner of Kowloon BJJ), we had about 30 competitors from Taipei, Taichung, and Kaoxiong (south of Taiwan)

Warren competing in 2013

Was that the first Taiwan BJJ Open?
Yes that can be considered the first one.
In 2014 the Taipei group got bigger and we brought in Andy Wang.

We held an international tournament in a mall in Taipei with competitors from Hong Kong, Korea and the Philippines.

Andy Wang was promoted to black belt by Baret Yoshida and Egan Inoue prior to the tournament. Then we've held a tournament every year except one year, ever since.

Andy Wang ( pix by Rebecca Lee )

Currently we have two tournaments a year. Taiwan BJJ/no-gi International  in the summer time and Taiwan Open in the winter time.

Our tournaments has grown in popularity in the last 4-5 years, from an average of 100 competitors to over 350 now.

Winners from 2016 Championship

with Scott Sommers

In the martial arts scene of Taiwan, Tae Kwon-Do is still popular? 
What other combat sports has Taiwan made a name in?
What do you think fuel the growth of BJJ in Taiwan, was it the UFC MMA craze?
Taiwan is not particularly strong in any martial arts. I would say that are a few that have worked really hard by themselves with no sponsorship and no government support... and made it, the few in Tae Kwon-Do Olympics.

San-Da is also a more popular martial arts. But no, I don't think UFC fueled the growth of BJJ in Taiwan...maybe in the beginning. That's what people got in the door in the beginning, but most of the new students now are training BJJ because of BJJ... not MMA.

How many competitor are you expecting this year?
This year over 350 competitors and I think over 50 different schools. 

Wishing you a very successful event
Thank You, I have a very reliable organizing team, together we run it very well, And we expect it to be the same this year.

Some pictures from 2016 championship

TAIWAN BJJ Open

Date: July 15-16, 2017 starting at 09:00

Location：Taipei Xin-Yi Sports Center Multi-function Gymnasium 

Saturday (7/15) – BJJ
Sunday (7/16) – No-Gi Grappling / Kids BJJ

Divisions: Male/Female; Mighty Mite, Pee Wee, Junior, Teen, Juvenile, Adult, Master 1&2

Weight & Rules: CTBJJA rules for English refer to IBJJF rules.

Borneo warriors from Sabah will be represented by the collaboration of two clubs in Kota Kinabalu; KINABALU FIGHTERS - UNITY BJJ Academy. 

KINABALU FIGHTERS (KF) has been around since 2009, (read about KF's background here) founded by Johan Julian Lee Abdullah. KF is a pioneer in martial arts gym that started MMA, Muaythai & BJJ classes in Kota Kinabalu. 


Coach Soh is a brown belt, teaches BJJ class in KF. Khairul is a blue belt under him, while Vivian & Cosmin are white belt. Cosmin also coaches a Kali-Escrima classes in KF. 

Johan ( sixth from right ) in Kinabalu Fighters BJJ class led by Coach Soh

Coach Soh ( center in Blue Gi) with ( L to R ): Cosmin, Khairul & Vivian, whom are KF sponsored athletes 

UNITY is a young club was formed just a few months back this year and has been growing the BJJ scene in Sabah.

UNITY first 100% Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) only training centre in Kota Kinabalu and possibly in Sabah. Located at City Mall, the centre is owned and managed by Syaiful, Jason and David, three BJJ fighters who opened the centre out of their passion for the martial art, with the objectives of seeing the BJJ community grow and create the awareness that this beautiful martial art not just for the skills involved but also to learn how to have a stronger mentality and finding solutions to go through and overcome challenges.


Coach Soh also led a BJJ class at UNITY BJJ, where Vivian, Cosmin, Khairul & aniel also trains together with other BJJ enthusiasts

Syaiful , Jason & David

clockwise from top left : Syaiful with, Coach Soh, Vivian, Krul Rahman, Cosmin, Anrian & Daniel

The Sabah team will be lead by Coach Soh Boon How consist of Krul Rahman, Anrian Fabian, Vivian Chuah, Cosmin Dordea, Daniel Tan & Syaiful Sufyyan Sidin.

This is all made possible with the support of sponsors, from KINABALU FIGHTERS, UNITY BJJ,  DEKOJUTA DEVELOPMENT S/B and from BJJ apparel partner AESTHETIC.

Warriors of Borneo wishes the SABAH team all the best!