ADRIAN 'TUCKMAN' THAM - NOMAD Brotherhood

TUCKMAN – NOMAD Brotherhood

Real name - Adrian Tham,  Job - Wealth Planner. Alter ego – TUCKMAN, the proverbial fighter.

Core member of NOMAD – a brotherhood of martial artist made up of pack of hungry & determine group of fighters/athletes, that all possesses the same goals to succeed in martial arts by means of putting in hard core training daily, having strong will & heart of pure determination.

The journey to become TUCKMAN,… began in kindergarten. Adrian’s involvement in fights during his kindergarten years moved his parents to enroll him in Taekwondo class. Thanks to Mr & Mrs Tham decision, this was the fuel that feed the fire inside Adrian. His interest in martial grew & during his teenage years he took up karate & have numerous success as a state karateka.

Graduating with a degree in Electrical Engineering, Adrian decides to follow his father’s footsteps in a career in insurance. With flexible working hours, this enables him to train more to further develop his martial arts skills. Taking Bruce Lee’s saying into his heart “Use only that which works, and take it from any place you can find it”, “Adapt what is useful, reject what is useless…” Adrian began to cross train in different martial arts such as Judo, Sanda. The old bungalow at Likas ( Kota Kinabalu ) along Jalan Tuaran became the sweating ground where these pioneering bunch of martial arts enthusiast cross train, test different techniques & learn from each other.

Eventually Adrian discovered Brazilian Jujitsu. Together with Allen Solomon Chong of BJJBorneo, they became the core members of BJJ Borneo in Sabah. As Adrian’s skill grew he participated in Pan Asian Games 2010 – Philipines & won gold. Collected another gold at Abu Dhabi Pro Jujitsu World Trails in April 2012. Subsequently he  took up Muay Thai at CORE FITNESS in Citymall Kota Kinabalu to further add to his arsenal of striking techniques.

Abu Dhabi Pro Jujitsu World Trail

Adrian’s thirst for success grew & the definitive goal of a bona fide martial artist is to be successful in MMA. Along came the opportunity to fight in an MMA event in KL - F3 Freestyle Full Contact Fight in Feb 2012. Training under AJ Pyro ( ONE FC Fighter ), Adrian represented Borneo Tribal Squad. Success came via triangle choke in round 1 over Jian Kai Chee.

ONEFC’s success spur the birth of MIMMA ( Malaysian Invasion MMA ) in 2013.  An amateur MMA tournament in Malaysia, currently touted to be the best amateur MMA scene in the world. Fighting as a heavyweight at 84kg, Adrian blaze thru the early rounds till the finals where he met Chris Leow of KL. Adrian won by TKO on round 1, winning the inaugural MIMMA1 Heavyweight belt. ( relive the fight here ).  According to Adrian, he was very focus during MIMMA, well prepared & train very hard for MIMMA1, & that frame of mind truly bring him success.

Standing proud as the first Heavyweight Champ of MIMMA

In July 2014, Adrian as MIMMA Heavyweight Champ, represented Malaysia to Las Vegas- together with fellow Sabahan , Allen Solomon Chong ( himself the MIMMA1 Light-Weight Champ), 

for the IMMAF (International MMA Federation) World Championship of Amatuer MMA.

For this fight, Adrian admitted that he was not fully prepared, due to work & personal commitment. But he still reached round 3, which he lost by TKO to American Zach Fears.

Even though he was not at 100% fighting fit for IMMAF, but to him the opportunity to participate in a world class MMA event & to fight at Las Vegas ( combat sports capital of the world!!! ) was absolutely priceless. What more when the fight was held at UFC Fan Expo!

     Memories at IMMAF World Championship 2014...training with team mates & meeting UFC superstars



MIMMA2 did not see Adrian defending his heavyweight title as he tie the knot. But married life does not slow him down as he has put in an objective to do more fights & collect wins in 2015, in-fact this motivates him more. With more important things ( aside from personal achievement ) to fight for now.

Adrian draw strength from his family, particularly his father, whom is his life inspiration.

As for fighters, Adrian look up to Lyoto Machida ( former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion ).

Drawing insight from Lyoto’s similar karate background that he apply successfully in UFC.

As a 1^st generation MMA of fighter from Sabah, he holds the respect as the ‘tai-kor’ ( Big Brother ) in the local martial arts circle. Adrian still holds true to the traditional aspect of martial arts. Discipline, respect, indomitable spirit, etiquette, self control… all these he still adheres to & he wishes to see his NOMADs brothers do the same.

NOMAD brotherhood

In the gym he is the first one in & the last one out of training. If as an accomplished fighter like him are still putting in the hard work in training, Adrian thinks any aspiring students should work harder than him. He wishes to see young fighters go through the grind & train smart from proper coaches. “ Young fighters should try to get more experience in amateur fight or BJJ/judo/submission grappling comps before jumping into pro MMA circuits.” To Adrian putting in the best effort to prepare for fights is not only to achieve personal glory but also to make sure he does not let down the people that support him ( his family & sponsors ).

Adrian is in the ‘zone’ now with JFL 3 coming up on 4 April 2015. He will be fighting in the main card vs Syafiq Akmal, an upcoming young fighter from Dihnar MMA. Then in 26 April 2015, he will fight again vs Benneto, a MuayThai specialist in FightFest K1 Superfight. Don't forget to get your tickets for both fight to see Adrian in action.

Training smart is certainly one of his virtues. Adrian is a voracious consumer of knowledge, he read up & do his own research on training & constantly learning. To him to be fighting fit, physical training & techniques must be balance with knowledge on food & supplements. 
Cutting weight, to Adrian must be done smart, safe & healthly. Adrian uses Epsom salt to cut weight ( which also gives benefit of relieving sore muscles – which is good after a hard day of training ), taking vitamins supplements & eating clean wholesome fresh food-avoiding fried food ensure his body is properly fuel & work efficiently.

For fight season, Adrian’s  typical meal :

• Breakfast - Coffee + Oats or protein shake + oats, eggs hard boiled.
• Lunch -anything. Just no fried food.
• Dinner – only protein shake after training.

One of his favourite snacks / meal replacement is Power Nut Shake from Fruto Juice Bar in Oceanus Waterfront Mall, KK. This shake is power-packed with immense energy giving nutrients like cashew milk, almond milk, bananas, peanut butter, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds and basil seeds, all blended into a perfect creamy smoothness to fuel his engine like a super warrior.

Drink like a Warrior...get your Power Nut Shake at FRUTO juice bar

Adrian’s fight record currently stand at 5 wins -1 lost ( win via 3 submissions and 2 TKO). He is looking to build up a record of more wins, & in his own words…

” I always look for the finish in my fight, I don’t want to leave it to the judges”

Warriors-of-Borneo blog thanks Adrian for his time off his busy schedule to do the interview.
Looking forward to Adrian’s fight & wishes the TUCKMAN all the best & have an awesome fight!