BAHRAIN BRINGS UNITY OF MMA IN BRAVE COMBAT WEEK 2018

11-18 November 2018, the Kingdom of Bahrain was again for the 2nd time host to the biggest amateur MMA championship. What makes this year's World Championship special is because the two world governing body of MMA, IMMAF (International MMA Federation) & WMMAA (World MMA Association) joined hand to hold the very first unified World MMA Championship.

It was held along with Brave International Combat Week at Khalifa Sports City Arena.

For the amateur World Championship, this is the fifth edition. IMMAF has been organising the first 3 edition in USA. This year's unified tournament featured 362 competitors from more than 50 nations across 16 weight divisions. The Junior tournament (for 18 to 20-year olds) ran concurrently with the Senior Championships (for 18s+) and both events took place under Unified Amateur MMA Rules.

Under the amateur rules-set, bouts are contested in 3×3 rounds. All types of elbow strikes and knees to the head are illegal (knees to the body allowed). As for grappling techniques; heel hooks, twisters, neck cranks or any submission deemed as applying pressure to the neck or spine are forbidden.

Green Hill Sports provided the MMA athletes with opposing blue & red uniform, shin guard and 6 oz gloves. The defending champion colours are in gold. These sets of uniforms/gears were design to give amateur athletes good protection and also to portray and sporting image for MMA, moving it away from the underground violent image it's always associated with.

photos by Jorden Curran

The World Championships was hosted by the Bahrain MMA Federation and endorsed by the Bahrain Olympic Committee and H.H. Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad al Khalifa.

This year among the countries making an impact was Ireland. The Irish took home 3 gold medal with stand out Lee Hammond of SBG (Straight Blast Gym - the home team of Conor McGregor) leading the way when he won the senior Lightweight title.

Russia made a sensational impact as fifteen of their athletes progress to the finals, the results; they amassed 10 gold medals, 5 each from the senior & junior category.

This is the first time Russian made it to the podium in the world championship as the previous years they were not presence as Russian MMA's sports bodies were generally align to WMMAA. With the merger of the world governing bodies to hold one single World Championship, opened the door for more Russian athletes to compete.

Click here to see the full results 

This year's World Championship is a great big leap towards making MMA a recognised Olympic sports. The two world bodies completed their amalgamation in July and decides to work together to aim for 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

Bahrain will be hosting the World Championship again in 2019 making it three years in a row.

The driving force for this world championship and Bahraini MMA is His Highness Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al-Khalifa. 

“We are proud that Bahrain will be hosting the fifth and sixth editions of the world mixed martial arts championship for amateurs. We are devoting efforts to making Bahrain a major destination in the region for the hosting of different international events and championships. Our hosting (of the IMMAF Championships) for the three consecutive years serves as international recognition of the abilities Bahrain has to make any event held on its soil successful. The hosting (of the IMMAF World Championships) puts Bahrain among the most advanced countries in the world in the development of the sport of MMA…. We appreciate the trust of IMMAF in choosing Bahrain to host the event this year and next.”

His Highness Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al-Khalifa is the Honorary President of Bahrain Mixed Martial Arts Federation and founder of KHK MMA Organization. He launched Brave Combat Federation in Sept 2016 and from then on Brave CF has seen a meteoric raised and has been organised around the world in various countries.

For this year, we not only see the amateur MMA world unifying, but also in the pro MMA world; in which saw Brave Combat Federation 18 join forces with WFCA 54 to hold an event on 16 Nov along the Brave Combat Week.

This event had Brave CF with 7 pro bouts.

Palestinian Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady defeated Brazilian Lucas Martins to become the new Brave CF's lightweight champion when the fight ended early in round 1 as Lucas injured his knees. 

Another Brazilian fell when Russian Velimurad Alkhasov took the flyweight title to extend his undefeated record to 6-0-0.

It was not a night for Brazil as in bantamweight title fight, Filipino Stephen Loman defended it against Felipe Efrain in a 5 round barn burner fight.

UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nuramogedov was on ground to award Stephen with his Brave CF belt

WFCA 54 held another 5 pro bouts with the Russia base promotions fielding 5 Russian fighters with 4 of them coming out victorious.

I end this story with a video of UFC female Bantamweight champion Chris Cyborg showing her support by appearing in Brave CF's cage doing shadow boxing wearing hijab.

Stay update with more combat sports stories by following Warriors of Borneo Facebook page

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SHAQUEME REMAINS UNDEFEATED AND BECAME FIRST PERSON TO EXECUTE THE MUFFLER

Record was created on 17 Nov in Malaysia Fighting Championship (MFC). Shaqueme Rock became the 1st person possibly in Asia to execute the technique dubbed Pyhthon Trap " the Muffler.", made famous by grappling ace Vagner Rocha.

Shaqueme or fondly call Shem among his friends executed that submission perfectly when he submitted Indonesian Hendi Praharso. He got the job done in a little over a minute in round 1. This victory extend his pro record to 3-0-0 and he has remain undefeated since his amateur days. Shem's MMA fight in MFC9 last night was the only pro fight in the cards.

Shem is from Liverpool and came to Malaysia few years ago and trained at Monarchy MMA ( Kuala Lumpur). This MMA prodigy entered Malaysian Invasion (MIMMA) season 4 in 2016 and won all his fights and emerged champion of the Foreign Pride category.

A year after, he debuted in his 1st pro MMA fight at the now defunct Golden Warriors Fighting Championship (GWFC), winning by armbar in round 1. His 2nd pro fight in Sep 2017 also in GWFC was also a quick victory as he won by rear naked choke in round 1.

Saturday's fight was very meaningful for Shem because after his 2nd pro victory he has been eagerly looking for a match up to grow his record but nothing seems to work out as opponent seems to pull out from facing him one after another for various reasons.

"This is my 9th pull out and my 10 opponent in a row but for this event itself (MFC9) Hendi was the 4th opponent change."
Nevertheless Shem gave props to Hendi for stepping up and broke the jinx.

WRB: Does the constant opponent change frustrate you?
"I’m a martial artist and my goal is to go out there and impose my will no matter who I see across me in that cage.  I believe I have the ability to beat anyone when I take them to my strengths. I don’t really have specific game plan depending on opponents."

WRB: How does it feel to finally been able to step into the cage? You look calmer than before.

"I've been  training hard 3 years non-stop, never took a holiday. Not a chance this guy was come into my territory and taking what was mine. I've been visualising all camp how the fight would go and it went exactly how I knew it would. 

To be honest, this was the smallest show I've fought on in all my career and it just felt like another sparring session in the gym."

WRB: Take us through that awesome submission
"Well it’s a funny thing, actually Vagner Rocha has been making huge waves in the BJJ scene with this technique and it's been going viral.
So the day before my fight he made a “python trap challenge”. 
Whoever sends him the best video he will give them some prize of some sort ...LOL.
I just thought it would be cool to have that on my record and on the highlight reel so I reached out to him and told him I’ll do it in my fight. I think he took it as a joke but he reached it back and told me if I pulled it off he will repost me.
So I woke up early the morning of the fight and only drilled that for 30 mins at open mats then I rolled for 30 mins and only specifically looked for that set up and that finish.
After that, went home sleep and went to the fight calm and feeling good and did it there almost smoother than I did drilling it."

beginning of the end

the muffler in effect

WRB: How is your mindset now that you finally got a fight before 2018 ends. Whats your message to promoter out there?
"I got no point to prove to anyone. This is my job and I need to make a living. But I’ve proven time and time again, if you give me a fight I can you a show hi-lights! How can you not appreciate that as a promoter. 

I believe I'm the best featherweight fighter in South East Asia and my goal is to prove that, then after that, my goal is to be the best 145lber in the world. But more importantly the best martial artist I can be!"

Becoming the 1st person to execute this unique submission may call for a celebration, but not for Shaqueme. He will take a short break and then go back into hard training as he is preparing for his next pro fight in Taipeh in January 2019.

Monarchy MMA sent 6 fighters (including Shem) to MFC 9, participating in amateur boxing and muaythai. 4 walkout winners.

MFC 9 competitor...( with Shaqueme & friends gesturing "the Muffler")

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Malaysia Fighting Championship (MFC) is Malaysia's first MMA promotion started back in 2011. After a 5 year hiatus MFC returns this year in April with it's semi pro series. Last Saturday event was the 2nd for this year held at MuayFit Petaling Jaya. They have also mixing up boxing & muaythai bouts with MMA and was the first event to offer winners prizes in crypto currency (MFIT COIN)

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JAMES SHII - MALAYSIAN WORLD CHAMPION AT 2018 WORLD MASTER BJJ

Few years back when I started this blog just to keep myself updated with the martial arts scene, I realised that my article can also be a source of inspiration to others. I am glad that the story I write not only able to help promote combat sports events but also to bring spot lights to talents that needs the exposure.

But I must admit, the people I interview I would always dig deeper and try to ask questions about how they overcome personal challenges, the stories they shared in return inspire me too.

When I learnt about James Shii's achievement, I was impressed and wanted to know more.

In August this year, Mr. James Shii became the first Malaysian to win a gold medal in a BJJ World Championship. The event was 2018 World Master Jiu-Jitsu Championship. It's the biggest IBJJF (International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation) tournament of the year.

Held at las Vegas, USA...the 2018 edition was the 7th. It was introduced in 2012 to cater to the growing demand of competitors over the age of 30. Why the age of 30?..well usually when you reach 30, you are either settling down in your career or already have started a family. Commitment to training usually becomes very hard as you need to divide your time between BJJ, wife, kids & work. 

So anyone that can still compete at a very high level going into their 30s and beyond surely is someone special. This year itself saw over 4000 participants in a humongous event that runs 4 day on 21 mats, with hundreds of top level athletes & plenty of grappling legends from all over the world in attendance.

pix by Graciemag.com

So now that you understand the scale & how prestigious this event is, this is James' achievement, he competed in Master 7 category ( above 60 years old ) - Purple Belt. Winning that gold surely is sweet & special...and to win it at an age when most people would be living a retired life sipping coffee in their favourite coffee shop is certainly amazing.

In the month of the World Master, James celebrated his 62th birthday. Born in the capital of Sarawak, Kuching he moved to Malacca in West Malaysia when he was around 12. 

He is an Accountant by training and currently work as Group Financial Controller for a group of companies that include a PLC and mid-sized property developer.

Warriors of Borneo talk to James to learn about his  BJJ journey.

How did you got started in BJJ? Have you any martial arts experience prior to BJJ? What other sports do you do? What are the achievements in other sports?
I started BJJ 7 years ago and was introduced to it by a good friend who had started BJJ 2 weeks earlier. Before that I learned Chinese Kung-fu for about 7 years. And years before that I did Tai Chi for 5 years. I have always been interested in martial arts. I did play badminton as a sport many years ago. I have not been all that competitive so I have not had any notable achievements in sports.

What do you like about BJJ? How often do you train?
I like BJJ because it is very applicable and effective and I like the emphasis BJJ place on sparring. I believe sparring is a very key component of learning martial art and in this regards I have high regards for boxing, Muay thai, wrestling etc. I train twice a week and make it a point to be as regular as possible. More recently I have increased my training to 3 times a week.

How often did you compete in BJJ? Will you be competing again soon? tell us your competition record.
2018 World Master BJJ is actually my 1st competition. It is not easy to find opponents at my age category. I have not thought of competing again at the moment. 




In The World Masters, how many matches did you have to go through? Tell us about the whole experience participating in World masters? The people, the venue , food, the competition, etc...
I had one fight at the recent Masters. I contemplated taking part in June and got my IBJJF membership accepted end of July. Due to the heavy work load and reporting deadline in August I almost didn’t register for the competition and only decided to sign up on 8 August on the encouragement of my coach Aaron Goh. So I haven’t really had a lot of preparation and only came up with the game plan a week before I left for Las Vegas. 

The World Masters is an amazing experience – the ambience of the venue, the BJJ community people from all over the world, the energy on comp days and the many BJJ superstars gracing the event. Las Vegas is of course unbearably hot in summer with temp reaching almost 110F. 

I am impressed how efficient the whole event was run with about 20 mats and 3000 competitors over the 4-day competition. My match was in the afternoon of the last day. 

celebrating with Aaron & team mates after the win in Las Vegas

At your age, besides BJJ, what is your lifestyle to maintain your fitness? What is your diet like?
I do some cardio and light weights for 1 ½ hours once a week and generally eat a healthy diet like brown rice for dinner and cut out sugar where possible. I am usually in bed by 11.30 pm except for the once a week drink session with the guys. I do take multivitamins, glucosamine with chondroitin and fish oil for joints health, and also citrulline and arginine for heart and better recovery.

What motivates you to train? I believe you train with mostly people younger than you right? Tell us about your gym, your coaches & your training partner.
I do BJJ mainly for the health and self-defence purpose. The people I train with are mostly much younger than me. I am lucky to join one of the oldest and best BJJ gym (Leverage BJJ) in Malaysia and there are many very talented training partners who smashed me week in week out. Thankfully they also don’t go as hard with me. 

My coach is Aaron Goh who is a brown belt. I have very high regards for his knowledge of BJJ and am continuously amazed by the techniques he comes up with every week. Aaron is also really good at breaking down the finer details of the techniques that demonstrates his understand of BJJ.

At your age, you must have seen a lot, be it career wise, family & social life. What is your message for the younger generations of Malaysian.
The younger generation as we know spend way too much time on the internet and their smart phones. I would encourage them to take up sport-related activities that bring them out to the outdoor, promote health and cultivate social skills. I really enjoy the social interactions and comradeship at our gym and I think it is one of the things I look forward to at every class.

Training for 2018 World Masters

James train at Leverage BJJ under coach Aaron Goh.

Aaron first met James 7 years ago and was impress at how a guy at James age was very open minded. Aaron explained that at that time the BJJ community was very small and mostly made up of younger guys, and being the oldest in the group he was impress that James was very willing to learn.

On James competing in World Masters. Aaron explained that as a coach he encourage all his students to compete. 

" It's not about the win or the lose, but because it will make you a better person. The entire process of preparing for a competition will make you a better person. There's no downside to it, win or lost. I've never have a student that compete come to me and say arghhh... Aaron! 
I wish I didn't compete."

Aaron said it was he himself that actually trained for World Masters, in a conversation one night he suggested to James to come along as he believe James have a chance as it's an even playing field for his age bracket. In the World Masters, with the amount of people competiting James would have competitors in his age group compare to competition in Asia where older age group is very rare & participation there usually will ended in James competing in a category with exponents half his age or younger.

As a coach, Aaron says he see potential in everyone whatever their age is. Aaron said James, during training is very technical and one of the most dedicated member of his gym.

In the small knit group that Aaron coach, Aaron believe James is the oldest active BJJ practitioner and even the oldest Purple Belt in Malaysia. Aaron said he don't really take it easy on him, he expect the same technical proficiency from James.

In that sense, as a coach usually Aaron will not pair him up with a hungry younger person whom wanna make his mark in competition, as this will easily leads to injury which at James age takes longer to heal. He would pair James with someone that can push him enough and at the same time both learn from each other.

On this story about James, I couldn't get James to commit in the beginning as he politely decline. 

Aaron felt that James deserve this coverage. 

" He is rather humble and in a way shy and does not felt that the win is a big deal, but at his age and becoming a World Champion is definitely a damn BIG DEAL! "

" He has been one of my strongest supporter since I started my gym and have been very helpful not just to me but also to other fellow team members...for example when we sometimes bring in special Black Belt guest to teach in a seminar, when there's a team member that couldn't afford the fees, Uncle James usually is the first one to step up and offer to pay for him to let him be able to learn and benefit from the seminar. "

Personality wise he finds James as a person with good character, humble and kind, but he doesn't like standing next to him...

" Well because Uncle James is so tall that standing next to him for picture makes me look like a midget! hahaha. 

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Damon Soo (middle)

I will end this story with quotes from James's team mate, Damon Soo- MIMMA two division champion.

"James is actually my cousin in law. I met him when I joined Leverage and he was already a blue belt then. He has been one of my idols since then because despite his age he was and still is very fit and aggressive.

Before the World Masters a number of times I met my uncles and aunties and they would always ask me about James as they know we train in the same gym, they would ask if James really trains BJJ and does it seriously.

I could tell from their questions and remarks that they didn’t believe that he actually trains hard and spars/rolls hard even after I told them he did and that he gives all the younger guys a hard time during sparring/rolling.

He definitely defy the physical limit of people his age. Hence why he is one of my idols and my goal is to be like him when I am at his age."

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IT'S TIME TO STRIKE IN BRUNEI

Faced with challenges, usually good people come up with solution. In Malaysia 4 to 5 years back when martial arts promotion starts to gain momentum, most of the available fights are in West Malaysia. For Borneon, these means travelling by air to participate. Accommodation and transport also becomes a concern as all these needs money.

To overcome the logistics problems, many Borneon based event was born.  Sabah in particularly have seen a boom with plenty of martial arts promotion, such as Jesselton Fight League, Rampage FC, Fight Fest, Borneo Amateur Challenge, D1 Fighting Championship, Ultimate Beatdown Borneo, Elopura Fights.

Brunei location in the center of East Malaysia means many talented Bruneian fighters have to travel out of their country to participate. We may think that it's not a problem for Bruneian to travel as they have the 2nd highest per capita income (after Singapore) among ASEAN countries. But not all have the budget and time to travel.

Having a Brunei base event will give opportunity to more Brunei fighters to join. And definitely fighting in their own home ground is something special. Usually fighters have an edge with local support and familiar environment.

Enter STRIKE Promotions Brunei to solve this logistics problem. Their first event will be held on 10-11 NOV at the Atrium of Brunei's Airport Mall, dubbed Battle of Pride. This is good news for Brunei's fighter as they can focus on training and have less to worry on travelling,.... this time let the fighters from Sabah, Sarawak, Labuan & other parts of Malaysia do the travelling. Bringing foreign fighters to Brunei is also a way to contribute towards tourism revenue in Brunei.

With confirmed participation of 87 athletes coming from 16 various martial arts gym in Brunei and around the region, STRIKE is set to be the biggest amateur boxing and kickboxing event ever held in Brunei.

it is officially sanction by Brunei Boxing Association and ISKA and with support from the Brunei's Ministry or Culture, Youth and Sports as well as Brunei's  Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism.

According to co- founder Younis Asmad or better known as Nate , STRIKE aims to be the premier combat sports event in Brunei. Giving a platform for Bruneian fighters to showcase their skills and to unearth & identify talented Bruneian fighters. From here skills development programmes and training schemes can be offered so that local athletes are well prepared to compete in future regional multi-sports events such as the South East Asian (SEA) Games, ASEAN games, The Olympics etc.

He said they are planning to organise 4 events next year and MMA fights are in the plan. But to do that, he needs to make sure the first event is a success. For this, STRIKE  brought in big names from around the region and matching them with top Bruneian talent.

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In the main card, a semi-pro fight will headline STRIKE. Brunei's own up & coming martial arts star, Saufi Jaman of Nak Muay Fight Gym will defend Brunei's pride by battling it out with a season Muaythai stylist Dean Hamsah of Sabah.

Saufi is an all rounder martial artist, from Kickboxing, MMA to boxing , he has done it all.
His opponent Dean Hamsah from Team Karabaw Sabah is back in action after a year off competition.

Dean is Jesselton Fight League 2015 finalist and a pro Muay Thai & MMA fighter.  Dean may have the experience being the fighter with more fights in his record, but Saufi is a high output young fighter with home ground advantage. These two will meet in the STRIKE ring at Light Welterweight.

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Co-Main event is Aaron - Aziz, haha , ok it's not the well known actor I'm referring to (pun intended) but it is between Bruneian Aaron Lim and Sabahan Aziz Hoo 'The Shantung Zhai'.

This two has unfinish business to settle as they last met at B-MAEX Labuan on 31 DEC 2017, fighting for the B-MAEX championship title. The fight was very close but decision went to Aaron. Aziz corner was adamant they won that fight, hence this rematch will be a chance for both to proof who is the better fighter.

Aaron has good fighting spirit and technically have improve over the year, with home crowd support will surely give him an added psychological edge. Aziz has been very  active after B-MAEX, fighting in various event. Recently in August, he took home the Grand Merdeka Super Fight title belt.

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Another Semi-pro fight in the co-main event is at featherweight. Brunei's MMA poster boy Adib Sulaiman will be facing Sabah's Muaythai specialist Mohd Rayyan. Adib will trade his MMA glove with Kickboxing glove this time.

Coached by Brunei's BJJ pioneer Eazy Anuar, Adib at 27 has recently open his own martial arts gym - Wolfpack at Tutong. He recently represent Brunei in ONE Warriors Series. Adib is a relentless workhorse and has good footwork.

His opponent Rayyan or better known as Black Mamba has numerous successful Muaythai fight under his belts. Last year at only 19, Rayyan open his own gym - Black Mamba, possibly being the youngest gym owner in Sabah.

Although Adib is a well known athlete in Brunei's martial arts circle & will have home ground advantage, Rayyan will not feel the pressure as he has extensive experience fighting in many different places outside Sabah.

This featherweight fight promises lots of sparks and will guarantee to keep everyone on their feet.

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From Left to Right, Abu Qusyairi Hj Yacob (Secretary for Brunei Boxing Assocation), Firdausi Zainidi (Co-Founder of Strike), and Younis Asmad (Co-Founder of Strike).

These 3 semi-pro bouts winner will be the owner of the shiny inaugural STRIKE championship belt.

Firdausi Zainidi, Co-founder of STRIKE Promotions had this to say, 

“Organizing this event was a collaborative effort which involved multiple industries ranging from sports, retail, creative, hospitality, food & beverage and logistics. 

Since it is after all a regional platform, we wanted to showcase what Brunei has to offer. One of our sponsors for instance, Mahkota Crystal Sdn Bhd, Brunei's pioneer and only Glassblowing Studio in Brunei was generous enough to sponsor us with mementos for our distinguished guests and a trophy which will be awarded to the gym/club with the highest gold medal tally at the end of the competition.”

Event partner, Kaleidoscope Studios will also be organizing the Fit 2 Fight expo in conjunction with STRIKE: Battle of Pride where they will be sharing the event space adjacent to the competition area. Exhibitors will include :

Feel Good Gym, HJ Enterprise, Hasilhustler, Mini Physio, Bruactiv, Poni Divers, Aewon, Café Bene, Barre Plus, The Acai Bar, Pure Nectar, Kafe Krema, Kyna, RDX Brunei, Imperial Sports and Mahkota Crystal Sdn Bhd.

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In terms of development, Kickboxing instructor course and referee course is being organised by STRIKE. They brought in Master Khoo Meng Yang to conduct the course. Master Khoo aka Red Dragon is the South East Asian ISKA representative and most sought after referee/Head judge in Asia.

He will be conducting the International Sport Kickboxing Association (ISKA) Ring Sport Referee Course (Level C) on the 9th of November which will be followed by two (2) days practical where participants of this course will be required to referee/judge some of the amateur bouts under his guidance.

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Fighters from outside Bruneian have concern over the expenses they will incur in terms of accommodation, transport and food as Brunei as the highest currency among all ASEAN country.
But according to Nate, rest assure he has arrange for free accommodation for those that needs it at the sports hostel. As for transport, he said it can be arrange separately as he and his management team will offer help as much as they can to ease the burden of foreign fighters and make them feel welcome.

Nate also mentioned that he has lofty plans for combat sports development in Brunei. He wants to build STRIKE as a platform to raise the level of competition and also a place to develop more fighters, enabling them to participate in combat sports to eventually represent Brunei to compete competitively outside; also to develop combat sports into a fruitful activities to improve the lives of Bruneian physically and mentally and perhaps develop talents for future project in the entertainment industry.

“We are building this from the ground-up and we hope to create an industry in the area of combat sports and entertainment. 

In one area, we are working towards a road map where our athletes can pursue professional careers in this industry, not just locally but globally.”

Come and support STRIKE. Watch the action up-close by getting yourself ringside tickets. Single day passes ($15 for Day 1 & $10 for Day 2) and tickets to the main event ($20) are available for purchase by contacting 8227027.

For further information and enquiries:
Instagram: Strike.bn
Facebook: Strikebrunei
Email: info@strike-promotions.com
WhatsApp: +6738227027

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ULTIMATE BEATDOWN BORNEO 2.0 - BRINGING YOU MORE EXCITING FIGHTS

October is Ultimate Beatdown month. On 13 Oct, UB30 just concluded in Johor Bahru, which saw Arthur "Tazmania Devil"Adre won the Flyweight Super-4 championship.

Come Saturday 27 Oct, Ultimate Beatdown will move to the east to Kota Kinabalu Sabah for it's 31st edition or Ultimate Beatdown Borneo 2.

Ultimate Beatdown Borneo (UBB) evolved from Jesselton Fight League founded by Rayner Kinsiong. UBB had it's first event in May this year at the brand new mall in Penampang - ITCC with mixture of amatuer MMA, boxing and kickboxing and pro MMA fight.

UBB 2 will be held in ITCC again on 27 Oct, this time it will be held in the centre concourse bringing the fights more exposure to the public. For you to enjoy the action closer, get yourself cage side table ticket at only RM50. Tickets still available, call 019 8128379 to get yours now.

Plenty of action will happen in the UBB cage.. Fight will start at 2pm with amatuer fights. There will be MMA, Kickboxing & Cage Boxing bouts. 

AMATUER MMA 

1. Fahmi Sarto 82kg (Karabaw KK) vs  Wan Ruzahar heavyweight (Karabaw Sipitang)

2. Ajratul Ajmain 61kg (Karabaw Labuan)  vs Wilson Tan 61kg (NDW Sarawak)

3. Dayat (Khalifa MMA Brunei) vs Ted (Evolve MMA Singapore)

4. Ashvin Singh ( Impact MMA Singapore) vs Koo Jin Fouh (Project Mayhem Brunei)

KIDS AMATUER KICKBOXING 

1. 38 kg  Azman (Karabaw) vs Mohd Noor Hafiz (Ds'ha)

2. 50kg  Persley (Karabaw) vs Hillary Samuel Chin (D'sha)

3. 35kg  Pilbert (Karabaw) vs Khairi bin Yusuf (D'sha)

4. 38kg  Elzy (Karabaw) @adek vs Nursyafiqah Naziha (D'sha)

5. 40kg  Karwai (Karabaw) vs Muhd Farhan (D'sha)

6. 42kg   Ibak (Karabaw) vs MOhd Safwan (D'sha)

7. 47kg   Eva (Karabaw)  vs putri Nur Fatin (D'sha)

8. 28 kg  KitKat (Karabaw)  vs Mohd Shazwan (D'sha)

9. 20kg   Adden (Karabaw) vs Syed Amirul (D'sha)

10. 24kg  Avel (Karabaw) vs Putri Nur Balqis (D'sha)

AMATUER KICKBOXING

1. Rasyiid 60kg (KK Boxer) vs Danial Chia 60kg (Dr Martial Arts, UITM)

2. Abu Bakar Melin 70kg (Dr Martial Arts, UITM) vs Marcellus Lee 70kg (Karabaw KGU)

3. Aaron Erik 78kg (Dr Martial Arts, UITM) vs Dylan 78kg (Revo)

4. Henson khoo 60kg (KK Boxer) vs Efrayanle Jodin 62kg (Revo)

5. Ashraf Shafiqrie 55kg (Karabaw Sipitang) vs Jorvan  Jonest 54kg (Revo)

6. Sharifah 55kg (Fitlab) vs Wong shy zen (D'sha) 55kg

7. Norbert Nowell 55kg (Fitlab) vs Nizar bin Arshad 55kg (Karabaw Sipitang)

8. Farah Zeehan 52kg (Fitlab) vs . Evon Tan 50kg  (NDW Sarawak) female

9. Muaz Aizat 45kg (Karabaw Sipitang) vs Haziq Izzudin 48kg (Karabaw Tamparuli)

10. Ady Erawan 52kg (Karabaw Tamparuli) vs Mohd Nurhisyam 55kg (Karabaw Sipitang)

11. Allan Goh 61kg (NDW Sarawak) vs Mohd Farhan Darwis 60kg (Karabaw Tamparuli) 

12. Muhd Syahruzfikry 55kg (Karabaw Sipitang) vs Mohd Aliff Iqbal 55kg  (Fitlab) 

13. Asmawati 59kg (Karabaw Papar) vs Jie Han 59kg (D'sha)

AMATUER BOXING

1. Roderick Kwan 65kg (Rhino)  vs Mohd Fari 64kg (Fitlab)

2. Ghause 59kg ( Brunei, House of Fitness) vs Wesley Oliver 60kg (Karabaw Tamparuli)

3. Muhammad Faiz 53kg (Bunei, House of fitness) vs Jayrol John 52kg (Fitlab)

4. Jassica Chong 57kg (KF) vs Zubaidah binti Zainoh 57kg (Brunei TBC gym)( Female)

5. Steve Kong 75kg (Sarawak, Knight) vs Muhammad Hafiz 83kg (Revo)

6. Mohd Rifqi 52kg (Fitlab)  vs Mohd Hilmi 52kg (Revo)

7. Erikson 57kg (Rhino) vs Muhammad Fakhri 54kg (Brunei, House of Fitness)

8. Fathullah 65kg (Fitlab) vs Ednan 65kg (Underdog Street Boxing)

9. Mohd Syairil Sabri 60kg (Karabaw Tamparuli) vs Aswadi 60kg (Underdog Street Boxing)

Then following that for the 2nd edition of UBB a new format has been introduced. For the first time in this region a 5 vs 5 no gi submission only grappling match will be held inside a cage. Two teams will compete, Fluffy Unicorn  vs Powerpuff Ponies.

Team art design by John Augustine Lee

Don't let the cute names fool you, these are bunch of killers! And they will be going for submission all day!

Team Fluffy Unicorn is made up mostly of Sarawakian and two Bruneian. Notably Nathaniel Lakai, he is MIMMA5 Lightweight Champion. His brother Nigel is an active martial artist competing successfuly in BJJ, MMA & Kickboxing. The two Zaim from Brunei and Raphael Moa of Sarawak are high level accomplished grapplers. 

As for Team Powerpuff Ponies , they are all from Sabah. Most of them with high credentials in MMA. Samuel Lai is MIMMA3 Semi-finalist & JFL Finalist. Hasbullah is JFL Bantamweight champion. Joel is MIMMA5 Semi-finalist. Alex Fong is a pro fighter with ONE Warrior Series. As for Anrian he is a highly skilled grappler winner of various regional grappling competition.

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There are 2 co main event to whipped up your appetite for pro MMA fights. 

For male fight, Sabahan Mohd Rashidin will bang it out again vs Filipino Jayson Margallo. This is a rematch. They first met in Philipine's Cage Wars: Battle of Legazpi in August. In that fight Jayson broke his 4 fight losing streak by a round 1 submission over Rashidin. 

Usually Rashidin is a colourful fighter that always play it smooth during fight. But in Legazpi that day he seems not himself and was very stiff & looks nervous, hence losing the fight early in round 1. Both agree to a rematch  and will be now in Rashidin's homeland with his supporters boosting his spirit by the cage side.

For female fight, it's Magdelina Meding of Karabaw Labuan vs A'bell Angian of Rhino from Sabah.

This will be Mag's 2nd pro fight. She is Sarawakian but represent Karabaw Labuan. She debut at the same event with Rash; Cage Wars. In that bout, she went through a hard fought 3 round that ended not in her favour. She is back to redeem her record and A'bell is in her way.

A'bell @ Cyvilnie Angian is from Inanam. She has a day job as a pre-school teacher in training base in Keningau. At night she trains like a women possessed, at Rhino Fitness Kickboxing and Muaythai under Kru Jonathan Quan and Ranjit. This is A'bell's 1st MMA Pro fight. She is strong in her stand-up arsenal. She has a record fight of more than 10 times in amateur Muaythai & semi‐pro Muaythai and also in K1 Kickboxing tournament. She was selected to represent Sabah in Borneo Cup 2017 Muaythai tournament. She is still new in grappling but is willing to take up the challenge.

The night will climax with the main card. Pro MMA between Eazy Anuar of Khalifa MMA - Brunei vs Jess Delapena of Tribal Submission - Philipines.

Eazy is considered the father of MMA & BJJ in Brunei. He is credited as the one that kept BJJ alive in Brunei and brought it to the next level. He started BJJ many years back as a off season activity when he is not playing rugby. He love it so much that when his instructor left, he decided to teach even though he was still a white belt. 

Through teaching, sharing & actively competing, Eazy has improve his own game tremendously and has won numerous grappling tournament around the region, notably Singapore Grappling Challenge, Pan Asia, Philipines Open, Copa de Malasia, Bangkok Open, KK Luta Livre championship belt, finished 8th in Vegas BJJ World's masters.

Eazy is also well verse in stand up too. He holds a 9-0 undefeated boxing record. He coached and mentored many  Bruneian MMA prospect. Early this year, he open his own gym - Khalifa MMA , quit his demanding government job and at 33 this year, he felt it's about time for him to accomplish another dream - fighting pro MMA. 

Jess has 1-4-0 pro MMA record and gain all of his 5 fight experience fighting in Philipines. UBB2 will be his first fight outside Philipines. He is very excited to showcase his skill to the fans in Borneo and promise to bring the fight to Eazy. 

In their face-off on Friday night in BESS ( Borneo E-darts Sports Society ) Eazy and Jess had an aggressive head push session. Will this be the sign for a all out fight in the UBB cage? COme and find out for yourself. OK after reading this move your butts to ITCC Mall and witness UBB2 !

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