MIMMA 4 LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP BOUT: JACE LAW VS KENG FAI

original pix by YK TANG

Fight of the Night! If MIMMA gives out this award, I believe on 8 OCT 2016, the bout should go to Lightweight bout of Jace Law vs Hui Keng Fai (KF). It was a highly anticipated fight, as both are known to be slugger and it’s either going to be a short match with KO in the book or a breathtaking marathon of slugfest.

Well, it turned out to be the latter, (check the pre-fight analyst here).

Jace was already given the nickname of JKO from Matt Pellino (MIMMA’s host & announcer), since season 3 last year. This comes from the power he has in his hands that can put opponent to sleep, which is how he won the belt beating cop Mohd Hasrul in round 1 in 2015.

Keng Fai was given the name Hurricane which signify the way he don’t waste time and always looking for a finished. He step into the grand final bout with 4 fight win streak that all ended in round 1.

Round 1, KF open with a jab, immediately Jace counter with a jab cross, the cross tag KF. KF doing the aggression as he stalk Jace from the center, throwing lighting jabs. But each strike, Jace counter back with combos of powerful left and right. Twice Jace connect with a front teep. KF switch stance and threw a left round house, connected flush on Jace’s head as he ducked too low to his right. They both exchange left right. Jace tags KF with his right. They separate. Couple more spurt of punch exchange. Both looking for a KO strike.

pix by ADRIAN TAN

Jace low kick on KF’s front leg which had a knee guard on. KF returns with a low kick of his own, then he went high and connect, immediately follow with a right hook but Jace parry and they both exchange punches in bunches in the pocket. KF connects with another low kick and another high kick that miss.

pix by ADRIAN TAN

Round 2. Jace attack with combos. KF use low kick followed by swings. Both are not standing still, when one attack the other will counter with combos. KF low kicked, checked by Jace. Jace connects with a upper cut and straight right that penetrate KF’s guard. Jace with a 3 punch combos. KF attacked with jabs, then a beautiful front push kick that moved Jace backward. Reset. KF lunge with jab, Jace counter left right, the right found the target, KF counter left, also hit the spot. KF moved in again with a double left, Jace counter with right upper cut, glazed KF. KF feint with a right and went low for a single leg. Pushing Jace on the cage and grind there. Jace defends the single leg attempt. KF disengage and they both starts exchanging blows.

pix by YKTANG

Couple more 1-2 exchange from both. KF the one pushing on, Jace able to roll with the punches. At 10 seconds mark, KF missed with a front push. They both come at each other, Jace able to duck and roll under KF’s huge left hook, came back up, missed with his left but the followed up with his right hand connect hard, KF counter with left but Jace protected in the pocket as he duck low to bring up his left hook again but KF covered his right side with his glove.

Round 3 was a crazy one. Both went at each other, blows by blows. Jace with the better head movement roll under a couple of punches, but both landing shots. KF eating the heavier punch, but his is like a train, kept on pushing forward. Fatigue may have set in as Jace s hands speed slowed down as he lowered his hands.  KF still coming forward throwing combos and connects with a few body shots. Jace countered, swinging for the fences. With the hard punches that found the target many times for both, these two was definately in superb shape as they were still standing and able to trade punch combos. What a satisfying round to watch!

pix by YKTANG

KF looks fresher at the start of round 4, but his face was busted up more than Jace. This round both slowed down. Each exchanging punch counter. KF found home a few jabs. Jace still able to duck and roll to make KF’s miss with his bombs. Jace lunge in with a 1-2 combo, KF counter right met Jace’s face as he ducked, Jace followed up with a back fist, didn’t land flush. Right before round ends, Jace caught KF’s kicking leg and executed a sweep.

Final round. Both still exchanging 1-2. Both connecting again, Jace still rolling avoiding KF hooks. KF have better head movement this rounds. Both still swinging at each other. KF connects with his hooks. KF got a head clinch and blasted a few uppercuts. They disengage and back to trading combos from arms lenght. Jace still able to connect with his counter.

KF level change and went for a double leg, succeeded and he got side control. Taking his time, he then moved to full mount. Jace seems too tired to defend. KF starts landing multiple right bombs from top position. Jace wants to avoid further damage as he sat up, but KF was quick to take his back, and got a rear naked choke. The choke was on Jace’s jaw, but KF squeezed hard and Jace tap out at the 2:30 mark.

pix by YKTANG

An absolute war by this two warriors! Kudos to both fighters for showing great fighting spirit. These two showed to us how far our MMA athlete has come in terms of technique and durability.

We have a new champion in Hui Keng Fai, like a relentless train with blazing machine gun hands that keeps pushing forward. As for former champion Jace, fatigue may have cost him the fight but he surely display high level crisp boxing and a big heart.

pix by ADRIAN TAN

pix by YKTANG

WRB caught up with the two for a post-fight interview.

Keng Fai went back to class the next day at HELP Uni, even with a swollen knuckles and fingers.

Did your game plan went according to plan?
Game plan was not to get hit and finish him quick. Clearly didn't go as planned hahaha. 
I underestimated the speed of his hands, I expected them to be slow and heavy, but no, they were fast, heavy, and came from odd angles, Jace was pretty unorthodox. His rhythm was different.

Matt seems to have courted some heat with some one sided commentary, what do you think of it
Matt might have helped me, I recall him implying that if the fight went to the judges decision I would lose, that urged me even more to finish the fight.

You said in pre-event interview that you don’t really train kicks…but in that fight you threw quite a number of kicks. You had a knee guard on, but still you threw more significant kicks...was it planned?
The knee guard was just to cover a scrape from a fall while running on the road. I dislocated my finger and my pinky was as big as my thumb, I could not put power into my right hands, that's why I had to throw kicks.

How was the victory celebration?
No fancy celebration, just good food with good friends and family. Back to training. Not happy with my performance.

Do you find Lightweight to be your permanent choice?

I'm fighting again at 67kg just 3 weeks after MIMMA 4. On 29th Oct. At a boxing match. Eventually I'll make a permanent move to featherweight, which was where I started anyway. I fought at lightweight for MIMMA because I didn't want to be cutting weight all year round for the preliminary matches.

What do you think is the key to your victory?
I think I'll improve so much more after this fight. I'm happy and relieved I won. But I am very unsatisfied with the way I won. Back to the drawing board. I took a lot of damage I could have avoided. I did not fight smart.

------------------------------------------------

WRB also talk to Jace Law.

Can you take us thru the fight...what was your game plan?
Striking and countering...looking for openings to land my strikes.. head movements and cutting angles. There were no specific game plans as you know Matt wasn't with me for this fight camp. I just sharpened my skills to prepare for this fight. 

Were you satisfied with your performance?...was preparation/ fight camp good? 

You can never be satisfied with your performance, being away from the cage for a year and going straight for a 5 round fight is pretty demanding. My lack of endurance made me slow in the 4th and 5th rounds, but overall I'm thankful I didn't totally gas out coz that would be embarrassing. 

I believe you wanted to keep the fight standing...and your boxing was spot on. But were you surprise he kept on coming?
I wasn't surprised I knew he was tough, Keng Fai had the eye of the tiger, he was exactly as hungry as I was when I was hunting for the title in MIMMA 3.. and that hunger gave him the edge to win the title. 

After this, would you be focusing on improving your ground game/take down defense...or training more to improve even more on striking to make sure you put people to sleep?
Yes, definitely.

Most title fight this time last longer than expected...quality seems to went up a notch vs 2015..what do u think? 6. How has the support been?...any message for supporter? 

The quality has definitely improved since the previous season. Just goes to show how competitive the sport of MMA is, either you evolve or you perish in the past.

How has the support been?...any message for supporter?
Support for me has been tremendous, I sometimes pinch myself coz its hard to believe I have so many people that support me... I just want them all to know I appreciate it very much.

Future plans?
We'll see...  : )

Jace feeling proud his face is still intact

JACE LAW VS KENG FAI

original pix by YK TANG

Fight of the Night! If MIMMA gives out this award, I believe on 8 OCT 2016, the bout should go to Lightweight bout of Jace Law vs Hui Keng Fai (KF). It was a highly anticipated fight, as both are known to be slugger and it’s either going to be a short match with KO in the book or a breathtaking marathon of slugfest.

Well, it turned out to be the latter, (check the pre-fight analyst here).

Jace was already given the nickname of JKO from Matt Pellino (MIMMA’s host & announcer), since season 3 last year. This comes from the power he has in his hands that can put opponent to sleep, which is how he won the belt beating cop Mohd Hasrul in round 1 in 2015.

Keng Fai was given the name Hurricane which signify the way he don’t waste time and always looking for a finished. He step into the grand final bout with 4 fight win streak that all ended in round 1.

Round 1, KF open with a jab, immediately Jace counter with a jab cross, the cross tag KF. KF doing the aggression as he stalk Jace from the center, throwing lighting jabs. But each strike, Jace counter back with combos of powerful left and right. Twice Jace connect with a front teep. KF switch stance and threw a left round house, connected flush on Jace’s head as he ducked too low to his right. They both exchange left right. Jace tags KF with his right. They separate. Couple more spurt of punch exchange. Both looking for a KO strike.

pix by ADRIAN TAN

Jace low kick on KF’s front leg which had a knee guard on. KF returns with a low kick of his own, then he went high and connect, immediately follow with a right hook but Jace parry and they both exchange punches in bunches in the pocket. KF connects with another low kick and another high kick that miss.

pix by ADRIAN TAN

Round 2. Jace attack with combos. KF use low kick followed by swings. Both are not standing still, when one attack the other will counter with combos. KF low kicked, checked by Jace. Jace connects with a upper cut and straight right that penetrate KF’s guard. Jace with a 3 punch combos. KF attacked with jabs, then a beautiful front push kick that moved Jace backward. Reset. KF lunge with jab, Jace counter left right, the right found the target, KF counter left, also hit the spot. KF moved in again with a double left, Jace counter with right upper cut, glazed KF. KF feint with a right and went low for a single leg. Pushing Jace on the cage and grind there. Jace defends the single leg attempt. KF disengage and they both starts exchanging blows.

pix by YKTANG

Couple more 1-2 exchange from both. KF the one pushing on, Jace able to roll with the punches. At 10 seconds mark, KF missed with a front push. They both come at each other, Jace able to duck and roll under KF’s huge left hook, came back up, missed with his left but the followed up with his right hand connect hard, KF counter with left but Jace protected in the pocket as he duck low to bring up his left hook again but KF covered his right side with his glove.

Round 3 was a crazy one. Both went at each other, blows by blows. Jace with the better head movement roll under a couple of punches, but both landing shots. KF eating the heavier punch, but his is like a train, kept on pushing forward. Fatigue may have set in as Jace s hands speed slowed down as he lowered his hands.  KF still coming forward throwing combos and connects with a few body shots. Jace countered, swinging for the fences. With the hard punches that found the target many times for both, these two was definately in superb shape as they were still standing and able to trade punch combos. What a satisfying round to watch!

pix by YKTANG

KF looks fresher at the start of round 4, but his face was busted up more than Jace. This round both slowed down. Each exchanging punch counter. KF found home a few jabs. Jace still able to duck and roll to make KF’s miss with his bombs. Jace lunge in with a 1-2 combo, KF counter right met Jace’s face as he ducked, Jace followed up with a back fist, didn’t land flush. Right before round ends, Jace caught KF’s kicking leg and executed a sweep.

Final round. Both still exchanging 1-2. Both connecting again, Jace still rolling avoiding KF hooks. KF have better head movement this rounds. Both still swinging at each other. KF connects with his hooks. KF got a head clinch and blasted a few uppercuts. They disengage and back to trading combos from arms lenght. Jace still able to connect with his counter.

KF level change and went for a double leg, succeeded and he got side control. Taking his time, he then moved to full mount. Jace seems too tired to defend. KF starts landing multiple right bombs from top position. Jace wants to avoid further damage as he sat up, but KF was quick to take his back, and got a rear naked choke. The choke was on Jace’s jaw, but KF squeezed hard and Jace tap out at the 2:30 mark.

pix by YKTANG

An absolute war by this two warriors! Kudos to both fighters for showing great fighting spirit. These two showed to us how far our MMA athlete has come in terms of technique and durability.

We have a new champion in Hui Keng Fai, like a relentless train with blazing machine gun hands that keeps pushing forward. As for former champion Jace, fatigue may have cost him the fight but he surely display high level crisp boxing and a big heart.

pix by ADRIAN TAN

pix by YKTANG

WRB caught up with the two for a post-fight interview.

Keng Fai went back to class the next day at HELP Uni, even with a swollen knuckles and fingers.

Did your game plan went according to plan?
Game plan was not to get hit and finish him quick. Clearly didn't go as planned hahaha. 
I underestimated the speed of his hands, I expected them to be slow and heavy, but no, they were fast, heavy, and came from odd angles, Jace was pretty unorthodox. His rhythm was different.

Matt seems to have courted some heat with some one sided commentary, what do you think of it
Matt might have helped me, I recall him implying that if the fight went to the judges decision I would lose, that urged me even more to finish the fight.

You said in pre-event interview that you don’t really train kicks…but in that fight you threw quite a number of kicks. You had a knee guard on, but still you threw more significant kicks...was it planned?
The knee guard was just to cover a scrape from a fall while running on the road. I dislocated my finger and my pinky was as big as my thumb, I could not put power into my right hands, that's why I had to throw kicks.

How was the victory celebration?
No fancy celebration, just good food with good friends and family. Back to training. Not happy with my performance.

Do you find Lightweight to be your permanent choice?

I'm fighting again at 67kg just 3 weeks after MIMMA 4. On 29th Oct. At a boxing match. Eventually I'll make a permanent move to featherweight, which was where I started anyway. I fought at lightweight for MIMMA because I didn't want to be cutting weight all year round for the preliminary matches.

What do you think is the key to your victory?
I think I'll improve so much more after this fight. I'm happy and relieved I won. But I am very unsatisfied with the way I won. Back to the drawing board. I took a lot of damage I could have avoided. I did not fight smart.

------------------------------------------------

WRB also talk to Jace Law.

Can you take us thru the fight...what was your game plan?
Striking and countering...looking for openings to land my strikes.. head movements and cutting angles. There were no specific game plans as you know Matt wasn't with me for this fight camp. I just sharpened my skills to prepare for this fight. 

Were you satisfied with your performance?...was preparation/ fight camp good? 

You can never be satisfied with your performance, being away from the cage for a year and going straight for a 5 round fight is pretty demanding. My lack of endurance made me slow in the 4th and 5th rounds, but overall I'm thankful I didn't totally gas out coz that would be embarrassing. 

I believe you wanted to keep the fight standing...and your boxing was spot on. But were you surprise he kept on coming?
I wasn't surprised I knew he was tough, Keng Fai had the eye of the tiger, he was exactly as hungry as I was when I was hunting for the title in MIMMA 3.. and that hunger gave him the edge to win the title. 

After this, would you be focusing on improving your ground game/take down defense...or training more to improve even more on striking to make sure you put people to sleep?
Yes, definitely.

Most title fight this time last longer than expected...quality seems to went up a notch vs 2015..what do u think? 6. How has the support been?...any message for supporter? 

The quality has definitely improved since the previous season. Just goes to show how competitive the sport of MMA is, either you evolve or you perish in the past.

How has the support been?...any message for supporter?
Support for me has been tremendous, I sometimes pinch myself coz its hard to believe I have so many people that support me... I just want them all to know I appreciate it very much.

Future plans?
We'll see...  : )

Jace feeling proud his face is still intact

Jace Law @ MIMMA3 Grand Final fight

Jace pix by YK Tang

After 3 trail blazing tryouts in Penang, Kota Kinabalu and Johor Bahru, MIMMA Tryouts is on its 4th stop coming this weekend 19-20 Mac 2016. Coming to Plaza Merdeka in Kuching, Sarawak. Sarawak is a treasure-trove for martial arts talent. In MIMMA Season 2 , Stephen Onn Jenggieng was the grand finalist for middleweight. Last year saw Sarawakian had a field day when 3 of them enter the grand finals of MIMMA3. Melvin Kho ( welterweight ), Joanna Yap ( female MMA ), Jace Law ( lightweight ). Joanna and Jace went home with the championship belt and if you count Ahmadjon Karimov of Tajikistan who studies in Kuching at that time winning the foreign pride championship belt, it shows that the spirit of the headhunters warriors are strong here.

One of the high lights of MIMMA3 Grand Finals was the lightweight fight of Jace Law vs Muhd Hasrul. Going against Hasrul, MIMMA Season 2 champion was certainly intimidating as Hasrul is known for his heavy hands, but Jace came into the fight with bombs of his own rights. The fight was a slugfest with Jace coming out victorious by knocking out Hasrul at the closing seconds of round 1.

Warriors of Borneo caught up with Jace to recall the eventful night in October 2015. Catch the video of the fight here. And you can read more about Jace’s from my previous posting

Pix by YK Tang

Tell me about the fight. What was in your thoughts stepping in the cage & looking at Hasrul across the cage?
Surprisingly, I wasn't nervous at all. My thoughts were basically telling myself "Wow! This is it! The big stage! Don't screw it up!"
My coach Matt Pellino telling me, “You got this!” helped boost my confidence even more coz he knows what he's talking about.

Pix by YK Tang

You initiated with a jab and immediately duck under his hard right, did you see that coming? Did that hit you?
I knew coming into this fight that I had to be cautious of his right hand. I think he caught me only once on my forehead. Other than that I pretty much controlled the fight with swift combos and footwork.

Pix by YK Tang

You hit him with two rights and the 2nd one floored him, did you practice that in training?
Yes I worked that combo a lot. My favorite counter against someone who's charging forward.

Did the lost in Jesselton Fight League 2015 fuel your desire to get the MIMMA belt?
Definitely! I still remember that night after the fight...my team mate Ahmadjon also lost his match and we were so down. We couldn't really sleep. I remember telling him we'll get those MIMMA belts. Fast forward a few months... Jon and I are MIMMA champions. It all worked out as planned.

Pix by YK Tang

So what is next after achieving the MIMMA3 glory?
Can't really say for now. I'm keeping my options open.

How did you celebrate the win?
Sleep! Fight week leading up to the fight was exhausting to say the least!

Looking at ONE Championship: Tigers of Asia ( OCT 2015 ) the night before MIMMA3 grand Finals, where Peter Davis & Ann Osman got KOed by foreigner, do you think we Malaysian are on par with them?
Yes of course. Malaysian fighters have come a long way. Everyone suffers a loss once in awhile, the important thing is to bounce back from it and come back stronger!

How do you train for the knockout power of JKO? ( what type of strenght & conditioning do you do to get this?
Its all in the hip ;)

Pix by YK Tang

Have you got any offer yet from other MMA promotions to fight Pro?
Can't say that I have.

What do you think of the overall quality of fights in the MIMMA3 Grand Finals?
Most of the fights were good. My personal favorite was Gino vs Melvin ( welterweight ). Nobody knows how close these 2 have become with each other since our training in Tiger Muaythai Phuket. The sportsmanship was awesome to see from both sides. They are funny guys outside, but warriors in the cage.

What's your opinion on the No-Contest decision for the Bantamweight fight?
Well it is what it is. We gotta respect the decision of the MIMMA officials and judges.

Finally who do you wanna thank for the win
Gymbox, Sean Wong. Coach Matt Pellino, Muay Thai Trainer Ncedo Gomba, S&C Trainer / Team Mate Stephen Onn, my fight team Aaron Lo, Melvin Kho, Tsan Nieng Khai, Ahmadjon Karimov and Aaron Tan. A few Gymbox Fight Club members who helped me during my training camps. My family especially my mom, my friends and last but not least my girlfriend who's always been there for me.

Jace's team mates from Gymbox will be at the tryouts, at Plaza Merdeka Kuching this 19-29 Mac,to make an impact.

Jace Law himself will be there too to encourage and motivate new comers at the tryouts.
Catch him with his shiny MIMMA3 Lightweight champion belt.

me with the Champ

The Heat is On - MIMMA4

2016 is the year of Fire Monkey. It’s certainly scorching lately. With El Nino is in full effect, the weather in Sabah is so hot & dry. The local political scene is experiencing a fiery time. But there’s a welcoming heat that will burn the passion of all martial artist out there. The heat from MIMMA4 ( Malaysian Invasion Mixed Martial Arts ). Fire…aptly chosen as the theme this year is exactly what it intend to do, into the 4th season, MIMMA4 continue to blaze the path as the best amateur MMA tournament in Asia if not the world.

This weekend of 5-6 MAC, happening at 1 Borneo Hypermall, Kota Kinabalu is the 2nd leg of the tryouts, after last weekend where it began at Penang.

The venue; 1 Borneo Hypermall is ready to receive fighters

The spark ignited in 2013, as a platform to nurture and grow local Malaysian talents from the MMA scene, by preparing a tournament for amateurs to contend and put their highly honed skills and countless hours of dedicated training to the test. During its first season, MIMMA has managed to become the central entity for all MMA hopefuls, opening the eyes of the public about the limitless potential of the sport. Records were broken and benchmarks were forged in its second season, and in its third season history was made when MIMMA introduced two new categories ( Foreign Pride and Women MMA ) to further enhance the development of the sport in the country, sealing its stature as the gold standard of amateur MMA in the world today. 2016 will see a continuation of hard work put into improving MIMMA as a proper platform for amateur MMA hopefuls to start their journey as well as injecting new innovation to ensure the local MMA scene stays vibrant and ever-expanding.

Tune Talk is the driving force behind MIMMA. Being one of the youngest but most innovative telco in Malaysia, it extends its innovative way of doing things to MIMMA4 , where MIMMA4 will be shifting most of its operations online, fully utilizing its presence, beginning with a fully digital registration process for all amateur MMA hopefuls in order to ease the flow during the day of the tryouts.

Go online to register yourself as a fighter

At the launch of MIMMA4 in Jan 2016, with Borneo Champion in the middle, Jace Law-Lightweight Champ 2015 & Joanna Yap Female Champ 2015 from Sarawak ( photo credit -YK Tang )

Jason Lo, CEO of Tune Talk stated, “Initially, we wanted to adopt a sport with which we could truly associate with and we felt that MMA was it for us. It is a sport that demands discipline, dedication and passion. This aligns with Tune Talk as we are also fighters in our own right, going up against the big telcos in Malaysia. Early on, we created this great relationship with ONE Championship to ensure MMA became well known in Malaysia, but that’s not enough for us because there is a lot of MMA potential here. With the guidance of ONE Championship, we created the Malaysian Invasion Mixed Martial Arts.”

“It is 2016 and we now have 2 MIMMA Champions fighting and making a huge impact in ONE Championship. This is just the start as we expect more champions to make the transition into fighting professionally soon. Tune Talk is now the frontrunner in both the amateur and professional MMA scene in Malaysia and this will continue as it will take the Malaysian MMA scene to the next level, ensuring our goal of making Malaysia the MMA hub of the region completely materialize in the near future,” he added.

For those new to MIMMA, the tryouts is a selection process for MMA fighters to qualify for MIMMA Tournament. Fighters will be judge on 3 stage, striking, ground game and sparring, where fighters need to show how they put together skills at striking and grappling to convince the judges that they possesses not just the techniques but also the heart and motivation to fight. Selected fighters will go through the ladder match, quarter finals, semis and the contender fights at Paradigm Mall, Petaling Jaya. The grand finals usually are held in a indoor stadium sometime in Oct.

Striking ( photo credit-YK Tang )

Grappling

Put it all together now...

Sabah, as part of Borneo, the headhunters land has always been a succesful hunting grounds for MMA talents. In the 1st season itself, Sabahan such as Allen Solomon Chong and Adrian Tham became the inaugural MIMMA Lightweight and Heavyweight champion respectively. Sabah also is home to reknown MMA athlete such as Rayner Kinsiong, AJ Pyro and Ann Osman, whom all fought as pro in ONE Championship. In season 3 we saw, Sabahan Darren Low defending his Heavyweight belt and 3 Sabahn as grand finalist in Hafizul Hakeem, Felicia Yunus & Effendy Kalai.

Next weekend 12-13 MAC, will see a few martial arts tournament happening. The prestigious Piala TYT Sarawak for Muaythai will be held at Bintulu and Fight Fest : Mata Leao Submission Tournament at Kota Kinabalu. Perhaps this may affect the numbers of fighters coming for the tryouts. As the local fight scene grows this is inevitable. Nevertheless athletes that's interested to make a name for themselves in MMA, can still go for tryouts at other states.

in case you miss out KK Tryouts, these are the dates for other venue

Major gym such as Team Karabaw, lead by head coach Rayner Kinsiong will invade 1 Borneo with at least 40 fighters for the tryouts. Hafizul will return again this year. Will he be able to use the experience from 2015 to secure a belt this year? Experience fighters such as Douglas Gumbilai ( MIMMA3 Semifinalist), Kent Tham ( JFL Heavyweight Champion 2015 ), Masko Franklin ( JFL Middleweight Champion 2015 ) and Erexy Emmenuel will also have another go this year.

Team Karabaw, receiving a visit from Datuk Jahid Jahim last week to show support at their Tamparuli branch

Alpha MMA, founded by Allen Solomon Chong, where Felicia Yunus trains at,  this year will send 4 to 5 fighters, but Felicia will be taking a break from MMA and concentrate on BJJ this year, but watch out for Liew Ming Lun, a product of Persatuan BJJ Negeri Sabah's youth program, Liew is a BJJ prodigy and has been working hard on adding striking to his arsenal. Liew just turn 18 and is very determined to achieve glory in MMA.

Liew Ming Lun...dream of being in the UFC one day.

Meanwhile from the gym that produces Malaysian 1st female pro MMA fighter-Ann Osman, Borneo Tribal Squad, will see 4-5 fighters participating.

Borneo Tribal Squad

Sabah Top Team lead by Italian pro fighter Antonio Battistessa, whom is a regular in MIMMA as one of the officials will be sending 10 fighters.

Sabah Top Team

Meanwhile from Keningau, KMMA, will send 4 fighters. One of them being the Jesselton Fight League (JFL )Bantamweight Champion – Hasbullah Sanmin. The ferocious fighter has develop well ever since his lost in ladder match in season 3 due to inexperience in grappling. He has improve by heaps in his ground game through the tutelage of his coach Mohd Bakri and will be the one to watch for this season.

with Md Hasbullah when he emerge as JFL Bantamweight Champion in 2015

With the help of MIMMA, MMA has become more popular and as more fights gym opens, more fighters are born. Gyms are also bringing in experience foreign coaches to enhance the skills of locals and to elevate local MMA standard.

The early seasons may see many fighters are basically either striking or grappling dominant, be prepared to see this 4th season where fights will be more technical and where fighters are more well rounded in all aspect of martial arts. Many who come will be experienced fighters as some would have participated in the many local tournaments that was held througout the year.

Fighters that presevere and do not give up will eventually reap the reward, just look at what Muhammad Aiman has achieved. He was the finalist in Season 1. Reached the Grand Finals in Season 2, but had to withdraw as he miss weight. In Season 3, he started all over again and eventually emerge as MIMMA3 Featherweignt Champion!

( photo credit-YK Tang )

Another good example is Jace Law from Sarawak. Not satisfied of reaching the semi finals in Season 2, last year Jace came back with a vengeance to dominate the Lightweight division with his signature JKO finishes and become the MIMMA 3 Lightweight Champion.

On branding sides,  making a first time appearance at MIMMA will be VENUM and AMNIG. Venum debut as the official apparel sponsors and AMNIG as the official apparel sponsors. Potosan Corner as the sole distributor of VENUM will set up stall to sell their products.

Bring on the HEAT!

wanna look dapper like these MIMMA referees.....

...get your AMNIG apparel at MIMMA Tryout- KK

wanna fight like a champion in the cage....( photo credit-YK Tang ).

...get your VENUM fight gear from POTOSAN CORNER

...but if you just wanna look cool like Matt Pellino.... ( photo credit-YK Tang )

...then come on down to 1 Borneo at MIMMA4 Tryouts for some awesome MIMMA4 merchandise

Much thanks to all the sponsor, as without them we fight fans will be deprive of MMA action