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

Keanu Subba - Back to the Fight!

2 July 2016. 22 years old Malaysian Keanu Subba will step on to Hefei Olympic Sports Center in China. He will be challenging China’s raising star Li Kai Wen in a featherweight match for ONE: Dynasty of Champion.

Keanu wears his walk-out tees with “Kaatar Hunnu Bhanda Marnu Ramro”, these words blaze across the logo that carries two Kukri knifes criss crossing in the middle. Keanu explains that the motto stands for: Better to Die Than be a Coward. Which sums ups the warrior spirit of the legendary Gurkhas soldiers.

Pix credits: ONE Championship poster & YK Tang Photography

This is what Keanu live by. Proud of his Nepalese heritage from his father side, Keanu is the younger brother of Gianni, from the Subba siblings. Both of them fight in ONE Championship, the powerhouse MMA organization in Asia.

Born in Hawaii to a Nepalese father and Chinese Malaysian mother, he grew up in Kuala Lumpur and attended SJKC Lai Chee for Primary school and Sekolah Sri Bestari before moving to the USA for high school. There his father encouraged the two sons to learn TaeKwon-Do. Keanu also kept himself active by dabbling into rugby and Krav Maga.

He was already interested in MMA when he watched the 1st season of UFC: The Ultimate Fighter, way back in 2005. Idolizing the winner, who is now UFC veteran Diego Sanchez.

Back in Malaysia, he joined TNT Kickboxing and learned from Master Khoo Meng Yang. His competitive nature eventually led him to join F3 Freestyle Fighting in 2011 in a fight which he lost to AJ Pyro. He continued training in Kambiz Warrior for striking and learned BJJ from Samir Mrabet. The following year he won a fight in Malaysian Fighting Championship, but those were the early cowboys days of MMA in Malaysia where most matches were not sanctioned and regulated properly.

The real journey actually began for him in 2013; Under the tutelage of American wrestler Matt Pellino at Muayfit, Keanu joined the 1st MIMMA (Malaysian Invasion MMA). In the final against Muhammad Ikram, he won the featherweight belt by KO in round 1 with an explosive display of punches.

Achieveing the pinnacle of Malaysia amateur MMA as MIMMA 1 & 2 Featherweight Champion

In 2014, together with other MIMMA champion he represented Malaysia for IMMAF (International MMA Federation) World Championship. Collecting a win and a loss. In MIMMA season 2 with more fight experience and continued improvement under Matt plus the stint in Tiger Muay Thai, he defended his belt; again by way of TKO with a volley of punches in round 1 against Joshua Khiew.

with the other MIMMA1 Champions representing Malaysia to IMMAF 2014 World Championship. 

Defending his featherweight belt in MIMMA2

with  his wrestling and MMA coach Matt Pellino

Eventually the offer came from ONE Championship for him to turn pro. Oct 2015, ONE: Tigers of Asia, Keanu enters the ONE’s oval cage vs French, fighter - Florian Garel. Perhaps nervous on his debut, Keanu was taken down two times and misses on a few strikes combo, but as the minutes goes by Keanu picked up steam and with one minute left on the clock, executed a trip, mounted Florian and rained ground and pound. Then he followed with some nasty sharp kukri like elbows. The referee stopped the fight just 10 seconds from the belt in round 1.

Victorious in his 1st pro fight vs Florian Garel. Pix credits: YK Tang Photography

In the same night, his brother Gianni whom already had 6 fights in ONE, was also victorious against Brazilian Almiro Barros. As an elder brother with more fight experience, Gianni has been instrumental in guiding and helping Keanu develop as a fighter. They enjoy discussing and analyzing fights and of course training and testing out new techniques together.

with brother and mentor Gianni Subba

For their parents, having two sons whom choose to have MMA as a career was not easy in the beginning. They were rather tentative at first because they do not like to see her sons getting hurt. But Papa Subba sees that his sons are really passionate and have a great potential to excel in this field and eventually supported them fully. He had to do the convincing to his wife for his sons.

with papa Subba, giving his two sons his blessings and full support in their fight career

Keanu 2nd pro fight was against ex Malaysian Karate champion Rayner Kinsiong of Team Karabaw Sabah. They met in the cage in Jan 2016 at ONE: Clash of Heroes. Definitely looking more confident the 2nd time around, Keanu uses his range to control the fight. Ducking under Rayner’s punch, Keanu shoots in and got a take down with a leg trip. In Rayner’s half guard, Keanu was still able to strike down with elbows and punches and earn himself another TKO win.

en route to his 2nd win in ONE Championship vs Rayner Kinsiong

As he was on a roll, Christian Lee of Singapore was also making wave, winning 3 times in the Oval cage...the clash of these two young stalwarts was planned for Mac 2016 at ONE: Union of Warriors. Keanu was really psyche up and trained hard for this fight. But unfortunately injured his elbow and had to pull out. Keanu was replaced by Anthony Engelan whom Christian defeated by TKO.

As a pro fighter, Keanu knows that a fighter’s down time is a bane. Diligently he went to therapy and do light training, in time he was able to heal quickly and got the doctor’s green light to fight again. Come this Saturday, Keanu’s journey towards MMA glory continue as he faces China’s featherweight tournament champion, Li Kai Wen.

Warriors of Borneo managed to catch Keanu out of his hectic training schedule in Bali Muaythai & MMA for a short interview.

How is your arm? Completely healed? how long did you had to rest before going training again?
My elbow is about 70-80 percent healed it still bugs me here and there but I have to live with it. Initially 6 months but thanks to the professional team at TheKL Skyclinic and Lifestyle Chiropractor I was back in training in 2 and a half months.

getting the best treatmement at The KL Sky Clinic

Subba brothers with Mr JC Lim owner of LifeStyle Chiropractic (next to Gianni) & Dr Ivan (next to Keanu) , 
who specially treat MMA athletes.

As a pro fighter...are you able to make a living ? Do you have to take up other job?
It depends what shows you're fighting for. ONE Championship pays better than the rest in South East Asia . It's tough but with each fight you get more money so it only gets easier.



How long is your fight camp in Bali for this fight?
3 weeks fight camp short notice but no excuses!

During the fight camp how often do you go back to Malaysia?
I go back every month for a week.


What is the best part of life you like about Malaysia?
Spending time with family and girlfriend and friends for sure.

What is your favourite Malaysian food?
Nasi lemak ayam rendang, fish head noodle soup, curry laksa, char keow teow, the list is endless!

What is the food like during training in Bali? -What is your fav cheat meal there in Bali?
I eat really clean during fight camp high on good fats and good carbs with good protein and strictly no carbs at night.
Favorite cheat meal is definitely a huge burrito from Taco Casa.


Do you consider yourself a balance fighter? Which aspect of the game you would like to see more improvement?
I consider myself pretty well rounded but I have so much more to learn. The learning and growth is endless.

Pix credits: YK Tang Photography

After the cancel fight with Christian, he has gone on to win 3 fights with finishes, would you think this fight with Li Kai Wen tougher than facing Christian?
It's a different fight. Christian has better grappling while Li Kai wen has better wrestling. They're both good in their own ways .

Your fight vs Rayner was in a catchweight close to welterweight, you are going back to feather now...is this your natural weight?
Definitely I felt really slow my last fight. I'm definitely more comfortable at 70.3 walk around weight.

Li Kai Wen looks like a heavy hitter, what will be you strategy going into this fight?
You'll just have to wait and see in China!

The media present you as a shy and quiet person...what is the real Keanu like?
I like to observe and get to know people better before I open up more. I like to remain calm and respectful to everyone but at the same time cautious with how I deal with different individuals.

Pix credits: YK Tang Photography

How do you cope with the media attention when u were successful in MIMMA?
It was tough at first because I'm not really good with my words but eventually I got the hang of it.

Who do you see have the most potential in the current MIMMA pool?
Theeban has a really unique style much like Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson and Lyoto Machida. He just needs to get more loose and use his Karate more. Hui Keng Fai has beautiful timing on his punches and slick grappling skills. I can see them winning this year for sure.

Theeban ( L ) and Hui Keng Fai ( R). Pix credits: YK Tang Photography

Malaysia already has MIMMA, touted as the best amateur tournament in Asia if not the world, what else do you see that Malaysia need to move forward in MMA?
TuneTalk/Jason Lo definitely changed Malaysian MMA forever. I would say we need more experienced MMA coaches and more cross training among fighters. It would also be ideal to have a rule where you would have to have at least 5 amateur wins before you're allowed to turn Pro.

What type of music do you listen to? What kinda music motivate u when you train?
Reggae, Tibetan music, and some motivational music videos.

What is your idea of chillin’ when u take a break from training?
Definitely spending time and catching up with my girlfriend and family.

Do you think ONE with the Global Rules set present a more dangerous fights compare to UFC Unified Rules Set?
The Global rule set is definitely more like a real life fight situation. You can't just lay on your back and chill. You got guys trying to kick your head off so I would say that it's more realistic.

Coming from a Nepalese & Chinese parentage, do you have any particular pre fight habits or taboo?
Not really, I just believe that I've put all the hard work in and I just have to go out there and perform. 

Who is your favorite fighter? and why?
Gianni Subba. Because he's my brother and I can relate a lot to his style.




Thank you very much for your time Keanu. Wishing you all the best in China!