Dynamite Naksoo Asia Fight Tour - Sandakan 12 DEC 2015

The land below the wind has seen tremendous growth in martial arts lately. Sabah is already the home of Jesselton Fight League for MMA and for Brazilian JiuJitSu the 5th instalment of Borneo Headhunters just concluded last 5-6 Dec. As for MuayThai, the growth is spur by Dihnar. Under the leadership of Tuan Hj Nazri, the CEO, D1FC has been a powerhouse of MuayThai event in Sabah. ( read about Dihnar in my previous blog post here ). recently in Nov, the 1st Sabah Inter-District MuayThai tournament was held in Kota Kinabalu.

Come this 12 Dec 2015, hungry MuayThai fans will again be served with a another Muaythai promotions - Dynamite Naksoo Asia Fight Tour. Happening in Sandakan at the Sports Complex. To get the crowds coming in usually it's easy to just held it where the population is , which for Sabah is at the capital Kota Kinabalu. To have this event in Sandakan goes to show the willingness of the promoter to grow the sports in the east coast of Sabah. It's good to see that organiser does not only think about easily selling tickets but also at same time invest their hard work and passion at a place where there's potential for growth.

Dynamite Naksoo Asia Fight Tour will see many great match up between local Sabahan & foreigners. There's Superfight, Super4 ladies, OCPD Cup & President Cup up for grab, there's even a Superfight Kids!

Warriors of Borneo will be rooting for Mardeana, a local Sabahan whom is no stranger in MuayThai. Fighting in D1FC and also an active MMA fighters. Deana will face Citra from Indonesia. Deana has a day time job at Dihnar but at night she turns into a fighting machine, sweating it out in drills and sparring to sharpen her skills, under the watchful eyes of Bow Sueilek.

Always cheerful around friends and most times the one that makes everyone laugh, she is also passionate about food, health food. Watching her own diet and getting her friends to eat healthily too. But when she steps in the ring, you can expect a fearless and relentless fighting machine that will bring her best into every fight

Watch out!....Mardeana ready to bring it on this 12 DEC 2015

Fight cards

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Dynamite Naksoo Asian Tour is the brainchild of Dennis O'Dea of Dynamite MuayThai from Australia. Warriors of Borneo have the opportunity to do a email interview with him to get to know him more and to also understand the objective behind this tournament.

Tell me about Dynamite? It's not just a fight gym right? You do a lot of MuayThai promotions too? When did you start Dynamite and what is the main objective

"Dynamite" was given to me by my parents when I was a kid. Since then I have kept this name and used it throughout my life and fight career. It is a representation of me in all that I do in this industry, hence I named my gym “Dynamite Muay Thai” and my show “Dynamite Naksoo” promotions.

My gym is located in central Melbourne city business district, Australia, is not only a fight gym – it is also a family gym, a place where friendly people with the love of Muay Thai congregate as we all have the same passion, values and camaraderie; together we strive for our goals, assist each other and spend time as a family. Dynamite Muay Thai may not be the largest scaled gym, we do in fact have one of the largest fight teams in Melbourne. Whether their goal is fitness or to fight we emphasize on team work, respect as our core values. I am a perfectionist so we drill a lot on “ring craft”– we welcome everyone who shares the same objectives as us.
The objective behind Dynamite Naksoo promotions is rooted from the same beliefs as when I started my gym – Dynamite Muay Thai. My partner, Lily, who is also a promoter, was my driving force to initiate Dynamite Naksoo promotions from Melbourne, Australia to across South-East Asia and possibly towards Europe. 

Dynamite MuayThai, a melting pot of race and people from different background coming together for the love of martial arts and fitness

It began from her questioning why female fighters are so scarce in fight promotions; it got me thinking about ‘fairness’ in any fight game. Muay Thai is a male dominate sport; rarely do we see fight shows promoting nearly main event female fights, let a one female only fight card.

This is one of the reasons behind why I began Dynamite Naksoo Muay Thai Fight tour – I wish to create the platform to bridge fighters etc to cross borders without boundaries, provide a fair centre ring for talented fighters to show case their hard work at a place with a crowd who shares their passion and express their love of Muay Thai. This centre stage will not be limited to only one place – but be linked with multiple places, provide an equal opportunity for fighters to cross over to countries, even continents.

Tell me about yourself...your fight career, family life and as a coach.
And also tell me about your involvement in martial arts,.. when did it start & how?

What can I say about myself? Well… I am a simple man with a big dream. Very competitive by nature, Dedication to perfection in everything I set out on doing. I am performance driven. I started my Martial Arts life when I was 7 years old. I have experienced many competitive sports including Karate, Boxing, Brazilian and Japanese Jiu-Jitsu, American Kickboxing, Silat, Stick Fighting, CQC, Sanda and JKD to name a few and cross trained in many other various sports until I was introduced to Muay Thai. 

Since then, there was no turning back. I trained hard and I competed in every opportunity that was available, even as a junior competitor fighting against older participants doubles my size and height. I managed my studies with my love of Muay Thai; even after school, when I joined the army, I still continued to use the skills and discipline I acquired over the years to become a leader and continued my path as a fighter in real life theatres of combat.

Training in Indonesia

Over the 20 years since I began as a fighter to an instructor and now a promoter – I have 109 fights, with 79 wins, 32 by the way of KO and 11 draw. I have achieved multiple Titles throughout the years. However, it was the losing fights that I treasured the most; because those experiences were what fuels me ambition to learning, to keep shaping my skills and keep my fighting spirit up. I am a fighter, and I will always keep on fighting!

My family has been supportive of my choice to make Muay Thai my life. My Mum, my Dad and of course my partner – Lily; that is why we began our gym 3 and a half years ago ‘Dynamite Muay Thai’ in the first place together. As my dream turned into reality, changes to my vision also grew. As an active fighter, I progressively challenged myself further by taking the role as an instructor; and aimed to convey the same ‘hope’ to my fellow students under my wing. I love my job, because I get to do what I love most; I love my life, because I am lucky enough to be supported by my loved ones. 

When was the first Dynamite fight being organise?

Dynamite Naksoo promotions began as a concept with my partner – Lily. Our very first show was a joint promotion with another fight promoter in Melbourne, Australia, back in 2014. That was my first experience to truly put on a ‘promoter’s hat’ and took the lead in running a professional event. There sure were a lot of things I learnt along the way; I took away very important skills and knowledge from that night.

Although, I have had experience for nearly 10 years of assisting with existing promoters to help run fight promotions; I can truly say the roles and responsibilities were versatile and most certainly much more demanding on a different level, compared to when I ran that first joint promotion as the big boss!

I read in your website that the Asian Tour was suppose to be in Indonesia...but there's a lot of issue in MT now in Indonesia, can you help summaries what is happening there. And why it happens...and how can Malaysia avoid this.

Dynamite Naksoo Muay Thai Fight tour was originally planned to travel around Indonesia first off – by seeking out underground talent and showcasing them on our show, before branching out around South-East Asia. This was simply because my family background is Indonesian – what better way than to go back to begin my dream at the land of my family’s root?! There are a lot of hidden gyms and raw talent that I have met in Jakarta, let alone the other cities of Indonesia who don’ or simply can’t get the funding of exposure to compete at a high level.

However, there are lots of factors to take into considerations before a decision is made. Circumstances change and so do planning. So when the opportunity to work with my friend – Pak Muss from Boxxtomoi came up to introduce Dynamite Naksoo to Malaysia – I believe this was an opportunity to take a step closer in making my dream for Muay Thai and passionate fighters shine on this stage called “NAKSOO” that I built and them to carry on forward.

Though, the destination may have changed to Malaysia; I still wanted to live by my words – hence, I also invited talented fighters from Indonesia who caught my attention on my many talent search visits, like Citra in the Ladies Super 4 tournament and Juhedi fighting for the OCPD Cup at my next Dynamite Naksoo show on 12th December. All the fights will be action packed!!! 

In South East Asia...where do you see the standing of Malaysia in MuayThai?

The Muay Thai scene in Malaysia is one the most established I’ve seen amongst South- East Asia. There are many great talents, and I have been lucky enough to meet and corner a fair few at a handful of Malaysian Muay events in KL and Sabah this year. Tough new bloods, with no fear but passionate about MuayThai. I honour that fighting spirit; and it most certainly fits perfectly with my objective behind running Dynamite Naksoo promotions.

Dennis in Malaysia suporting D1FC

In a year how many events do you organise? Tell me about the other events that you have done.

This Dynamite Naksoo promotions happening in December at Sandakan is our 3rd NAKSOO Muay Thai Fight installment. We plan to have Dynamite Naksoo series running throughout the year at different parts across Asia. A part from running internationally, I aim to keep a good balance of building a stronger foundation of Dynamite Naksoo back in Melbourne, Australia – as this is the primarily the place where Dynamite Naksoo originates.

I have organized a fair few fights up to this point including a caged MMA fight – whether it was locally in Australia or international around Asia; I can proudly say it was all thanks to a whole big group of behind-the-scenes team that made every show possible. From my first joint promotion in Melbourne to introducing Dynamite Naksoo into Indonesia and now to Malaysia; the journey has been amazing! I only wish to see Dynamite Naksoo Muay Thai Fight series keep rising above to an even grander scale, showcase more talent and their love passion to the world!

This Asian Fight Tour, why do you choose to held it at Sandakan?

I was lucky enough to meet a lot of great people, great fighters and learn from some of the best in the business including some who originate from Sandakan. They have always recommended Sandakan to be a great tourist place to visit; so why not start my Dynamite Naksoo - Asia Fight Tour at this beautiful place in Malaysia!

What do you aim to achieve from this Asia Fight Tour?

When I began this promotion - Dynamite NAKSOO; I always had this one objective:

"Provide a fair opportunity for ALL talented fighters to fight brightly and proudly on stage and to bridge the gap between countries giving fighters opportunities for growth and travel."

Every fighter should be given a fair chance to shine brightly in a ring; show casing their hard work, endless injuries, blood, sweat and tears, and unconditional dedication was not put to waste. Their effort and their passion are and will be witnessed by a sea of audience - cheering and supporting them.

I want to be the bridge that breaches the gap between Australia and Asia, and eventually around the world. Dynamite Naksoo will provide opportunities for fighters with talent and an ambition. Whether I will fulfil this vision or not, I CAN only and WILL only continue to make Dynamite Naksoo bigger and better each step I take.


Which fight can fight fans expect to see plenty of action? And which fighter do you think will shine?

The highlight of this Dynamite Naksoo is definitely the Ladies Super 4 title fight @ 50kg. These four talented fighters are representatives of their countries - AUSTRALIA, MALAYSIA, SINGAPORE and INDONESIA. They are all uniquely skilled and are very passionate towards the sport of Muay Thai. Which works very nicely with our vision of Dynamite Naksoo of scouting and promoting emerging talent, in particular female fighters, around the world. Female fighters are still not highly regarded in the fighting scene, I want to change that. What better way than at my own show!

In addition, the OCPD Cup fight and President Cup fight are also highlighted fights of the night, featuring local fighters such as Saifullah Pon one of my favourites and Shah - I am looking forward to seeing them back in the ring for more action!!!

With his star students Yun Zia...will she emerge victorious? or will we see Mardena making a mark for herself

In your career as a coach, what is your greatest achievement to date?

I have been an instructor for over 10 years now. I believe my greatest achievement is to be able to see the fruits of my labor, continually pass on my knowledge and experience to pupils of the same passion as me, and to watch them grow and become talented fighters in this sport. Nothing beats seeing the next generation fighters develop and grow into a technical talented fighter!

In your career as a fight promoter, which events are u most happy or proud of?

I haven't been a fight promoter for a long period of time. I have always chosen to take on a more assisting role in helping existing fight promoters with their shows; whether it is to seek out potential fighters to fill in the cards, match making, lending an extra hand during the show, hosting interstate/ international team etc. - I wanted to see what it is needed to be a 'good' fight promoter before stepping into such an important role.

Every event, whether it was with Dynamite NAKSOO or as an assisting role, I have always been very happy to be part of the show. I learnt from every experience and every show I get inspired; taking my friends for instance, Pak Haj and all involved parties in D1 - at their shows, I salute them for their awesome work in Malaysia; locally, my friend Mark "Hammer", with Warriors Way promotions; let me say this, being a 'good' promoter is definitely not an easy job!

What makes you love Muaythai? Do u see it as the most effective martial arts in striking?

With MuayThai legend Saenchai

I love the fact that Muay Thai is much more than a sport. Muay Thai is a way of life, rich in culture, tradition and heritage. It teaches the importance of Respect, discipline and honour - the history and culture of how Muay Thai has been refined and passed down from master to student for generations. Useful for wellbeing and self defense, it was most importantly used for protection and preservation of King and Country.

The art is the most technically effective, practical modern day style that can be applied to combative sports as well as compliment any other martial art element.

All the knowledge I have acquired throughout the years, I wish to continually learn and pass down to my students and their pupils in the future; not only the practicality of Muay Thai but also the way of living as human beings.

Thank you Dennis for your time in answering the above questions.
Appreciate it very much.

warm regards

Wallace

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Headhunters - 5 ( 4-5 DEC 2015 )

Allen Solomon Chong is a busy man...not only is he a young father to a active toddler, he works as a resident architect in Architect KDI in Kota Kinabalu, he also heads BJJ Sabah and his own martial arts & fitness gym - Alpha MMA.

In August Allen and the team from BJJ Sabah was occupied heads to toe organising Sabah Open BJJ, then in Oct back Allen and his team from Alpha MMA was busy preparing his star students Felicia Yunus whom fought at the Grand Finals of MIMMA3.

December is again time to roll....for Headhunters 5 is here!

Headhunters is a local BJJ Tournament started in 2011 by Allen with more than 80 participants. Making itself into the record book as the 1st BJJ Tournament in Malaysia. As a pioneer of BJJ in Malaysia, Allen form Persatuan BJJ Negeri Sabah to ensure a good development of BJJ in Sabah and his ultimate goal...to get BJJ into SUKMA ( Sukan Malaysia ) and with the aim of Sabah talent leading the medal tally.
Check out my previous posting about the background of BJJ Sabah here.

Headhunters & BJJ Sabah has play such a big role in Malaysia's MMA scene, athelete such as Osman ( ONE Championship Pro fighter ), AJ Pyro ( ONE Championship Malaysian Champion ), Adrian Tham ( MIMMA1 heavyweight champion ), Darren Low ( MIMMA 2&3 Heavyweight Champion ) Samuel Lai ( JFL Finalist ), Valerian Rosario ( JFL Female Champion ), Md Hasbullah ( JFL bantamweight Champion ) have all sweat, grind and roll on the matt of Headhunters before.

Looking back in 2011 when Headhunters was first organise, ONE Fighting Championship was just launch too.

This year will see Headhunters having a green theme, matching the colours of prizes sponsors - MILO.

MILO is one of the prizes sponsors

Allen and his team working late into the late to ensure all set up is proper

Winners will also get prizes sponsor by SoDoWe Lifestyle Shop & 333 FightGear. The regular venue at Citymall will make way for IMAGO Mall.

2014 Headhunters at Citymall

This year will also see greater support from the Sabah state government with the Sabah Sports Minister himself, Datuk Tawfiq Abu Bakar Titingan, officiating the launch.


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Let's have a chat with Allen...

What made you started organising Headhunters? What's your goal?
" Our primary objective, in lieu with the Persatuan BJJ Sabah, is to ensure the progress of the sport of BJJ and ensure professionalism in its practice. we register members practicing the sport and also maintain a database of recognised and approved list of instructors and exponents in Sabah. the sport is new and anybody can throw on a belt, but we have a duty to upkeep the quality so that if gym owners come to us for recommendations of available coaches, or check on qualifications, we can give them reassurance of quality or address issues of conduct among our members. we take cue from other professional organisations. Like how established associations in Sabah arbitrates architects, engineers and also its clients. we are still learning and ironing out issues along the way, and we aim to eventually bring BJJ into SUKMA."

This year you are expecting how many participants? Any special activities this year?
" We expect to see up to 90 competitors signed up. We are being conservative on estimates as this is the first time we are experimenting with alternative rule sets for no-gi since we are having Sabah Open every year to cater for the IBJJF rule set. Understandably the ADCC type rules may be unnerving to some, but I am confident Borneo's warrior spirit always have surprises up their sleeve.

Aside from increase number of participants, what has greatly change or evolution over the years?
"The community has seen a remarkable growth stemming from how important the art is in the MMA scene and also availability of large reknowned tournaments in the Asian region. Local Sabahans are very passionate and shows great promise and character. the local tournaments like HH5 has always been the whetstone for which the locals sharpen their game before bringing it to the big scenes, and we revel to cater for the needs of the community. we hope to have a Sabahan BJJ Mundials champion one day."

In the early years what is the public reaction to BJJ?
" Contact! There is simply too much contact for the average person to fathom. we are brought up on stories of no-touch fighting and air punching training, but globalisation has now allowed us to be more well informed as to how physical altercations can unfold and how the grappling game has its niche."

What other activities BJJ Sabah organise besides Headhunters?
"Our annual tournaments include the Badak open, Sabah Open and Headhunters grappling tournaments."
We also have a youth development program and frequently send our youths to participate in major tournaments around the region. this could not happen without the support of the State Sports Ministry and the enthusiasm and unity of the athletes, training partners and coaching team."

BJJ Sabah also was very successful in Sabah BJJ Open, in the future how do you differentiate the events?
" Sabah Open will primarily operate with the International format, namely IBJJF style.
Headhunters will cater for submission grappling rules like ADCC. We will still have the gi operate in IBJJF however."

From interactions with people, many are still rather blur to BJJ, I mean they do not understand the techniques and what the athlete is trying to do and how points are scored...from my observation the way MIMMA do the live commentary it seems to educate and make the general public undertsnad MMA better, would u be thinking of such move in future?
" I believe live commentary should stay within promotional events. We aim for athlete performance and we seek not to distract the athlete's focus. We have many recognised gyms and instructors listed by the association that will be more than happy to spend the light of day to explain to prospective practitioners the nuances of the sport, personally. BJJ guys are a very friendly bunch. Our focus is on the athletes. our tournaments are for the athletes.
And if all else fails, i will advise the famous quote: google it."

Over the years who are the contestant from Headhunters that you see has achieve great success?
" The greatest success is always the success that has yet to come. look to the youths for the answer."

Which team are strong this year?
" Every team brings something special to the table. The strongest team is the most united team. We may have different factions, but we are all united in Persatuan BJJ Sabah. We are Sabah strong!"

Tell me about Alpha MMA 's youth program?
" The Persatuan has elected Alpha MMA to host its activities. As such, recognised potentials will not be charged for training and will receive sponsorships that are pending approva; by the Ministry on a case by case basis. Our list of sponsored youths are growing annually and look to see big things come out of the future generation. The new will almost always outperform the old. It is our job as peers to set the bar as high as possible for their betterment of aim."

BJJ Sabah also send athlete to participate elsewhere right? Tell me about it.
" Every tournament that we plan to enter, we make an estimated cost for the sponsored athletes. It is pending approval on a case by case basis. we are a class B sport, so we have to pay for the cost ourselves and hope to gain full approval after. We mainly hit up the Pan-Asia comp in Manila but this year we may expand our horizons to compete in the IBJJF circuit in japan. Expect insanity in training leading up to that."

Warriors of Borneo wishes BJJ Sabah and you a successful event for Headhunters 5.

Thank You Allen for your time.

Handsome Single Leg Counters - by Allen S.Chong

I will be featuring techniqes instructional by martial arts personality from Borneo & Malaysia. 

It's an honour to have Allen Solomon Chong ( TUF China Alumni / MIMMA1 Lightweight Champion ) to grace the 1st of this series in my blog

This technique, as explained by Allen himself is specially feature for Headhunters 5 which will be on from 5-6 December 2015. It's to counter when your opponent tries for a single leg take down...not just any type of single leg counters, but a...

Handsome single leg counters...

"If opponent attempts the single and you cant create space with the head push, grab the kimura grip on the far arm. Scoot your hips your low and attempt a 'sumi-gaeshi' type movement. Ensure smooth transitions throughout. It’s the secret to have good looking hair like me. Remember: good movement make your hair look good on camera.

Maintain the kimura grip and transition into a north-south top control position.

Keep the opponent’s hips at distance whilst you switch your grips as indicated in close up. I must admit, I have very sexy hands.

Grip the meaty part of the palm and wrist and pull towards his shoulders into a one arm kimura.

Key point in movement: my old coach always told me to paint his hands on the floor like a brush to visualise the good movement. Get the tap and look beautiful on camera.

Remember when drilling it out, smooth is fast, fast may not always be smooth. Train hard and train safe!"

- Allen Solomon Chong


( Check out the video of the technique in my FB page )

MIMMA3 Grand Finals Recap - part 1

Yea I know this post on MIMMA3 is late, but I guess the upside to this is I'm keeping the news warm; as all the other media coverage has died down about MIMMA3, at least my blog here still talks about it .....hehehe.

After a year long events of tryouts at Penang, Johor Selangor, Sarawak & Sabah; from Ladder match to the Contender Fights at Paradigm Mall, PJ, finally MIMMA3 reached it's climax  at Stadium Putra Bukit Jalil, KL for the Grand Finals on 10 Oct 2015.

The journey to the Grand Finals was carved in Paradigm Mall

Personally this was my first time watching a MMA event live. Much thanks to the marketing team of Tune Talk that gave me this wonderful opportunity to cover it live.

MIMMA achieved many 'First' this year. For the 1st time a partnership with RTM was inked, where many fights of season 2 was aired on TV1 and of course the Grand Finals match itself available live. This is indeed a milestone achievement because TV1 is a free channel and almost anywhere in Malaysia can watch it, including the rural area. Even Brunei, Singapore and Southern Thailand can received TV1 broadcast.

Why is this important? It's not just for advertising exposure (which is vital, as we need sponsors to keep this going)  but more importantly, to expose MMA to the suburban and even the interior folks. RTM1 doing the commentating in Malay makes the average Malaysian able to understand the sports better and with better exposure, this gives fighter a chance to build a fan base and support from their home state. Also indirectly allowing parents to see the potential in this sports and which we all hope will lead to them letting their children take up MMA...hence increasing the talent pool.

First time too this year where a Foreign Pride and Female category was introduced. We are still relying on many foreign MMA coaches in MMA. Many foreign students and expats in Malaysia are great martial artist therefore having a Foreign Pride category will give them more exposure and attract more talented athlete to come to Malaysia. The more talent coming here, the more we can learn from them and improve our standard.

As for female category, this is already a no brainer. With our Malaysian media & MMA darling Ann Osman making waves and the increase numbers of female involve in MMA, the time is right to have a female category. I believe from here, a new female star will be discovered.

First time too a Celebrity Fight was held. WWE you may say and yeah I know this is not a real fight, but again, for a relatively new sports, it needs all the publicity and exposure that it can gain. Collaboration with Hitz.FM and letting two of their popular DJ fighting each other is actually a smart move. As one of the most popular radio channel in Malaysia, these two DJs certainly can draw in new fans.

Another first: Tune Talk & ONE Championship announced a landmark partnership to promote ONE Championship and MIMMA with a multi pass ticket that fight fans could buy to attend both event back to back on 9 and 10 October. 

Hence On 9 Oct, before ONE Championship: Tigers of Asia went on show, MIMMA3 held a face-off for it's Grand Finalist. Weighing in was already done & all fighters made weigh. MIMMA team was still busy selling tickets and promoting the event via some activities to engage with the public. Participants get to win free tickets for the MIMMA fight. Center of activities is the main booth selling merchandise and on top of the booth was where the stare down occur. 

Conducting the face off was Malaysian Pro fighter Nik ' The Hound' Harris. It was a great way to hype the fights and rouse up the support for each fighter representing their respective state.

Warriors of Borneo is proud that out of the 24 Grand Finalist, 11 are representing Borneo.

10 fighters + 1 DJ (Ryan is from Sarawak - not in pix here) = 11 from Borneo

MIMMA3 may be a championship for amateur fighters but in comparison watching ONE the night before, I felt that MIMMA3 was grander. Even before the event proper inside the stadium, the atmosphere outside was also more carnival like. At least the presence of a few food trucks and ice cream seller provide relief for growling tummies and parched throat. The night before, I missed the first 3 bouts of ONE as I was in a super long Que for my order at Subway's because that was the only food available.

Promo booth from sponsors such as PowerRoot, Throwdown, KT Tape and Potosan Corner also gives the crowds some shopping opportunities

Hangin' with the boys from Discover MuayThai with Imran (center) and Ayob (in Venum shirt) at Potosan Corner booth

Inside Stadium Putra, the lighting's, the music and video display during fighters' walk in was equally fantastic for both event, but from the same seats I sat one night before, watching ONE's fights was like watching a mime show. There was no commentator, you can't hear the grunts, the landed strikes and feet shuffling of the fighters. The fights went on like a 30s TV show.

Which is why I'm glad that both Jon Nutt and Matt Pellino returned as host for MIMMA3. They played a great role in engaging the crowds and creating the electrifying atmosphere! Kudos the the charismatic duo for a job well done.

The charismatic duo of Jon Nutt (L) & matt Pellino (R).....showing some brotherly love . ( pix by YK TANG PHOTOGRAPHY)

During fights, both of them talk the crowds through on what was happening in the cage which makes the crowd understand the moves better. This is important to create new fans of MMA as most people does not fully understand the rules. And most of the times when fights go to the cage or ground, crowds gets restless for the 'inactivity'.

VIPs in the house : LtoR: Jason Lo - TuneTalk CEO, YB Khairy Jamaluddin ( Malaysia Youth & Sports Minister ) and Victor Cui ( ONE Championship CEO )

The opening fight from the Undercards certainly set the pace for the rest of the night.
I really like how after the 3 Undercard fights, all the Grand Finalist was introduced one by one and stand on the outside of the MIMMA cage with spotlight shining on them, heighten up the anticipation of the crowds. Standing around the cage, they look like Greek gods ready for war. 

Photos by YK TANG

Offical Fight Results:

Undercard:

East vs West : Adrian Tham (Sabah) def. Theeban Govindasamy (KL) via Unanimous Decision

SG vs MY : Hui Keng Fai (MY) def. Nazri Sutari (SG) via Submission (Standing Guillotine) R1 2:02

Hitz.fm Match : Ryan (Hitz Night Out) (Sarawak) def. Arnold (Hitz Morning Crew) (Selangor)via Split Decision

Main Card: Malaysian Invasion 3 Championship Bouts

Women’s Pride : Joanna Yap (Sarawak) def. Felicia Yunus (Sabah) via Unanimous Decision
Joanna Yap is now first Malaysian Invasion Women’s Champion

Heavyweight : Darren Low (Sabah) def. Niker Tan (Penang) via TKO (Punches) R1 0:13
Darren Low remains the Malaysian Invasion Heavyweight Champion.

Flyweight : Seah Zhang Yu (Penang) def. Dhiaaul Amal (KL) via Unanimous Decision

Seah Zhang Yu remains the Malaysian Invasion Flyweight Champion.

Featherweight : Mohd Aiman (Negeri Sembilan) def. Hafizul Hakim (Sabah) via TKO (Punches) R1 1:56

Mohd Aiman is the new Malaysian Invasion Featherweight Champion.

Middleweight : Muhd Meeraj (KL) def. Syafiq Jamal (KL) via TKO (Punches) R1 2:15
Muhd Meeraj is the new Malaysian Invasion Middleweight Champion.

Lightweight : Jason Law (Sarawak) def. Muhd Hasrul (Selangor) via KO R1 2:17
Jason Law defeated Season 2 champion and is now the new Malaysian Invasion Lightweight Champion.

Foreign Pride : Ahmadjon Karimov (Tajikistan - Sarawak) def. A.Karadech Seesombat (Thailand - Sarawak ) via KO R1 0:39
Ahmadjon Karimov is now first Malaysian Invasion Foreign Pride Champion.

Welterweight : Gino Tan (Penang) def. Melvin Kho (Sarawak) via Submission (Kimura) R4 2:08
Gino Tan is the new Malaysian Invasion Welterweight Champion.

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Fight review coming up soon in part 2

Special Thanks to the marketing team of Tune Talk for giving me the opportunity to cover MIMMA3

EFN3 Kuala Lumpur 31 OCT 2015

Malaysia will see another global combat sports event happening on 31 OCT 2015 at Kuala Lumpur. EFN Champion League 3, brought to you by Elite Boxing will be held at Kuala Lumpur Badminton Stadium, featuring 2 groups of Super 4 tournament in one night.

EFN has held 2 successful events in Bangkok. With this first event outside Thailand, EFN will look to expand regionally to cover other venue in Asia Pacific. For fight fans you can expect quality fights from EFN as they match up exceptional fighters that always bring their best to the ring.

EFN Champions League will be a series of four tournament in different venue across Asia, which the champion of each series will qualify for the esteemed muay thai King's Cup in Bangkok this December.

Tonight's Super 4 fight will see three fighters representing Malaysia. Kai Chee ( the pioneering MMA fighters of Malaysia ), Aiman ( Hitam Putih Muay Thai Gym ) and Bow Suweilek ( Dihnar Gym ). EFN3 also will feature 3 other Superfight at 63kg & 60kg, featuring 2 Malaysian - Kudin will fight Korean Kim Dong Hwan, and Iwan Merican vs Yod Police from Thailand.

EFN 3 - Super 4 Tournament

EFN 3 Superfight

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Warriors of Borneo will be rooting for Bow Suweilek, whom fight out of Borneo at Dihnar Gym in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. Bow is from Thailand and has live in Malaysia for close to 7 years. He came to Malaysia to coach muay thai in a few gym and early this year Dihnar under Ir Hj Nazri has brought him to Kota Kinabalu as the head coach. Hj Nazri has a vision of lifting muay thai standard in Borneo and particularly in Sabah and bringing Bow into his gym is one of the steps to achieve this. He also is the man behind D1 Fighting Championship, the leading muay thai championship in Borneo, in which Bow has won 3 tiltle.

Fighting since he was a kid in Phuket Thailand, Bow is the most experience fighter of tonight's fights. He has wealth of muay thai experience with close to 300 fights in his records and 250 of that is a win. He won his first tilte belt when he was 9.

As a coach in Dihnar, Bow is a no nonsense type and instill strict discipline to his students. He is very willing to share his vast knowledge of the fighting arts of the 8 limbs and he expect his students to have great commitment too in order to learn & improve. But outside the gym, he is casual & friendly.

Bow and his students at Dihnar Gym

Rayner Kinsiong (ONE FC fighter) will be in Bow's corner tonight 

As a fighter Bow is technically strong and has tremendous speed. With the ability to apply various techniques at many different situation makes Bow unpredictable and makes his opponent very hard to read his moves.

In Bow's group B, at bout no. 3 will see the fight of Mostafa Ashouri from Iran vs Maroof Ozcan from Germanny. Bow will be facing a young fighter - Valdimir Shulyak from Khazhakstan in bout no.4.

In group A at bout no.1 will see a Malaysia vs Malaysia, Aiman vs Kai Chee.

Group A - Super 4

Group B - Super 4

The champion of tonight's EFN Champion League 3 will earn RM15,000 and get to fight in the prestigious King's Cup ( Royal Thai King's Birthday Muay Thai Cup ).

Respond has been very good. Tickets are selling like hot curry puff, but tickets of stadium seats RM50 are still available .
Call Potosan Corner Tel : 017 6690 115 , 017 2236 230, 012 280 1129
Or you can subsrcibe to  www.eliteboxing.tv/live online to catch it on live streaming.

Flight of the Zephyrus

The state of Sabah in Malaysia, which is known as the Land Below the Wind has produce a number of  Pro MMA fighters. From the likes of pioneering Malaysian MMA athletes such as AJ Pyro ( Malaysian National Champion of ONE Championship ), Allen Solomon Chong ( The Ultimate Fighter China alumni ), to Ann Osman, Marc Marcellinus, Rayner Kinsiong ( all ONE Championship fighters ).... Sabah continues to progress in this relatively new sports.

Little is known of a young lad that has turn pro last year as a featherweight fighting in Full Metal Dojo (FMD) #3 in November 2014. Muhammad Noorhisyam Samsudin or better known as Hisyam Sams...hails from the Tawau, 3rd largest city in Sabah located at the east coast. He fights out of Borneo Tribal Squad (BTS) in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, the gym founded by AJ Pyro.

Hisyam is 25 this year and grew up in Tawau. Looking fighting fit, standing lean at 178cm and covered with a wash board abs, package with a face that would look at home in a men's magazine cover and a personality that is down to earth and cheery, you would not believe he was an overweight kid in his teenage years. At one point reaching 114kg!

Doctor advised Hisyam to lose weight as obesity would pose health risk to him at a young age. He landed at BTS doorstep in 2008. AJ put him in a muay thai program to lose weight. With zero martial arts background, Hisyam nevertheless took it seriously as his main goal is to shed the pounds.
AJ would give his students nick name...initially it was Big Tree for Hisyam as he was big and his movement rather stiff.

AJ continue to add more program for him, with boxing and MMA and Hisyam obsorbed all these new knowledge like a sponge and grew in skills, his movement became more fluid and speed increase...and with all those training obviously the pounds came off.
Hisyam needs a new nick name.
AJ changed it to Zephyrus...God of the West Wind in greek mythology, and AJ felt it's time for Zephyrus to take his first flight.

The chubby days of his childhood is now replaced with a lean, mean fighting machine

Taking on his 1st pro fight in D1FC muay thai fight and won in Sept 2014. Hisyam progress to his 1st MMA fight in Thailand's FMD #3. This was a big decision as FMD feature some really seasoned regional fighters especially muay thai fighters. Even though these fighters may have not polished their ground skills but their stand-up are usually brutally sharp as diamond.
Hisyam won the featherweight fight vs Thossawat of Thailand via submission in round 1.

Winning his first FMD in Nov 2014

Following this up, AJ signed him up at the 1st ONE SILAT Championship. A tournament featuring Pro Silat fight. Closely similar to MMA fights, ONE SILAT fights is a full contact with strikes, throws and joint manipulation allowed. Fighting at Lightweight, his fight vs Khairul Anwar of Singapore was the co-main event of the night which Hisyam won by points.

Even though he graduated with a diploma in Medical Lab but he does not like to be confined to a job in a lab. He nows work as a coach in BTS. This gives him more focus in building a full time career as a fighter. But he does put his academic experience to good use, by applying an analytical approach to his fight. Going through the movement in his mind and analyses each techniques to ensure maximum effectiveness.

Hisyam fight this Saturday 31 OCT 2015 on Holloween night is against a Thai - Veerayut Yut Uttapan. Yut possesed a muay thai fight records of over 200 fights and has also build up BJJ skills by training at Raw BJJ Bangkok. With a MMA fight record of 1-1-0, Yut has fought in FMD 4 & 6 with a submission win in the former and an unanimous decision loss in the latter.

Hisyam acknowledges Yut's formidable stand-up, and will be looking to take the fight to the ground and look for a submission win.

Hisyam will be the only Malaysian in a stacked Pro fight cards of international fighters

Halloween madness in a cage!

Fighting at FMD is trully an unforgetable experience. FMD fights are held inside nightclub. This Saturday will be at Insanity Club Bangkok. FMD is the first MMA championship in Thailand and feature many seasoned muay thai fighters from Thailand that is transitioning or trying out their first few MMA fights. Action are usually fast pace and high impact as these seasoned fighters usually have top notch stand-up game.
The founder Jon Nutt will host the event with his charismatic persona and crazy humour. With a theme of Full Metal Massacre for this coming event, expect some crazy action in the cage and some wild party happening during and after fights.

FMD does know how to grab viewers attention...well known to have the best ring girls in an 
Asian MMA promotion

Jon Nutt - FMD founder...yup you need to to have big nuts to organise a MMA promotion that is unique. Here Jon brandishing the FMD Katana that is the trophy for the champion...who needs a belt when a sword is way cooler

Favorite moves? Hisyam likes to keep it simple. 1-2 left hook. ( Left jab, right straight with a quick follow up of left hook ). He favours this technique as it can be apply easily and add on with a kick or take down in the end.
His favorite training routine is the one he hated most. It is BTS' s Spartan Training with hill sprint.
" It is the worst but it is the most useful. This training will help me the most in the ring. I always tell myself and even my teammate -if you hate it means its working, so train harder until you love it! "

Hisyam get thru this Spartan Training with his earphone blasting his favorite workout tune - Strenght of a Thousand Men by Two Steps from Hell.

On training under coach AJ Pyro: 
"AJ really teaches me a lot. He is my role model. Most of the people who train with him knows how much he love his fighters, always making sure everyone doing their best, doing the right techniques, giving reminder all the time to be healthy. He teach me how to be a better person not just for me, but for my family and everyone around me. "

with AJ Pyro, his mentor and coach

On having Ann Osman as a teammate:
" It's an honour and really great coz she is always focus and always giving good advice on how to improve. Yes she is a superstar now but she is one of the most humble person I know.

with Ann Osman - his big sista that always gives him guidance

Hisyam is constantly push to the max when training at BTS as his other teammates such as Samuel Lai, Dean Hamsah, Kelvin Ong, Mystique Nath always give their everything during training.

with his BTS teammates

Hisyam decision to make fighting his career is not an easy one because the cost to train and travelling to fight event is high. Most professional fighters in Malaysia earn a living by having another day job. But Hisyam is determined to make it work, hence having a high ambition to be a World Champion one day. To him by aiming high is the only way to push his mind & body to achieve this dream. 

Warriors of Borneo will be together charting Hisyam's journey to his dream and wishes Hisyam 'Zephyrus' Sam all the best for his Halloween night fight at FMD7. May the Zephyrus spread his wing wide and fly high!