ABU DHABI WARRIORS: ROCKIN' KL WITH MMA ACTIONS

International Pro MMA actions thrilled KL fight fans last 8 OCT 2016 at Kuala Lumpur badminton Stadium. This was for the Abu Dhabi Warriors. After locking down semi-finals in lightweight and middleweight tournament with the events in Thailand and Bulgaria, the series move to the featherweight and welterweight division, in KL 

Fans that filled the Stadium Cheras were treated to an electrifying night of action inside the ring. Partnered with Elite Boxing who oversaw the Muay Thai part of the event. The MMA fight cards:

Featherweight Tournament
Gibum Moon (South Korea) vs. Rodolfo Marques (Brazil)

Yerzhan Estanov (Kazakhstan) vs. Ismael Padavia (Afganistan)

Welterweight Tournament
Ivica Truscek (Croatia) vs. Giovanni Melillo (Italy)
Michael Dubois (Switzerland) vs. Nayeb Hezam (Algeria)

After an EFN Muay Thai super fight that warmed up the audience in the arena it was time for the opening MMA fight of the evening with Gi Bum Moon from South Korea fighting against the experienced Brazilian Rodolfo Marques.

Marques who’s a BJJ black belt fought his 30th professional fight and cashed in the extensive ring experience compared to his opponent. There was a lot of grinding throughout the fight as Marques tried to take down Moon who proved to be a tough nut to crack. 

We have seen attempt after attempt but Moon was rock solid and kept his composure. He had his shots but in the end it was Marques who took the split decision.
Rodolfo Marques def. Gibum Moon via Split Decision, Round 3, 5:00 

Next up were Ivica Truscek from Croatia and Giovanni Melillo who represented Italy. 

Ivica Truscek (31-25-0) is definitely one of the most experienced fighters in the MMA arenas all over the world when it comes to comparing his record against all other guys in the tournament. In the last 5 years alone he has fought in over 40 fights which is something unprecedented in the world of mixed martial arts.

His unique stance has surprised many men that faced him in the ring or cage. On top of that, he’s a deadly finisher having won 65% of his fights due to KO or TKO.

Melillo who started his pro career just last year was on a perfect 4-0 run until May of this year when he encountered Karl Amoussou (1-0 as a Warrior) who has inflicted him the first defeat of his career.

Once again the fans witnessed an up-tempo fight even though Truscek had over 50 fights more on his score. The experienced Croatian whose stance is unique in the MMA world had a lot of problems with the fit and muscular Italian who started taunting him from the start. 

But Truscek is far too experienced to fall to that and didn’t show any affection at all as Melillo was inviting him to a slugfest. They exchanged some serious punches and kicks through all three rounds but no one had any real opportunity to finish his opponent. 

It was up to the judges to declare the winner and the split decision went to Melillo in the end although Truscek was also expecting the win. Melillo moved to 5-1 while Truscek will have to wait for another opportunity for his 32nd career win. 

Giovanni Melillo def. Ivica Truscek via Split Decision, Round 3, 5:00

In the second featherweight fight of the evening Estanov from Kazakhstan and Padavia from Afghanistan battled it out for a place in the semi-final and a matchup with Rodolfo Marques who clinched a spot earlier in the evening.

Although Estanov is 4 years younger than Padavia his professional record is quite impressive.

Estanov is entering the tournament riding on a 2-fights winning streak, with the last one against Chinese powerhouse Lianjie Liu at Art Of War FC event in April this year. This submission machine with a 44% submission finishing rate in his career is a renowned BJJ practitioner.

36-year old Padavia lives in France but he’s originally from Afghanistan. He’s the Cage Warriors and KOC veteran and also the reigning KOC featherweight Champion. Padavia trains with the Werdum Combat Team which is run by the former UFC heavyweight Champion Fabrizio Werdum.

Someone’s winning streak is about to be ended that night as the two meet inside the ring. The winner will advance to the Road to Abu Dhabi featherweight tournament semifinals where he will face Rodolfo Marques

On a night of split decisions it was time for a third one in a row. Padavia has shown some of his slick BJJ moves in the opening round when he nearly submitted Estanov but the Kazakhstani survived. In the next two rounds the momentum turned in Estanov’s favour who completely bounced back after the tough Round 1 and eventually celebrated his 19th career win. 

Yerzhan Estanov def. Ismael Padavia via Split Decision, Round 3, 5:00

The last fight of the evening delivered some of the much-anticipated surprise factor as 13-years younger Michael Dubois from Switzerland squared off against Nayeb Hezam from Algeria. It was Hezam’s second appearance on the Road to Abu Dhabi. 

Last year he had to shake the hands of Diego Gonzales after dominating most of the fight in Bangkok, Thailand. This time Dubois didn’t stand a chance. The young gun came out guns blazing but after a swing and a miss it was all Hezam till the end. Hezam grabbed the legs of Dubois as his punch missed and moved the fight into the red corner. 

Once he got his opponent’s back, Hezam dominated. Dubois tried to defend himself and get out of the grip but Nayeb was just too powerful. Michael tapped after 90 seconds in Round 1 giving Hezam a well-deserved victory that placed him in the semi-final where he’ll meet Melillo.
Nayeb Hezam def. Michael Dubois via. Submission (Rear Naked Choke), Round 1, 1:30

Now the Abu Dhabi Warriors are moving to Brazil for the last leg of the 2016 Road to Abu Dhabi series. On November 1 we are coming to Sao Paolo.

THIRAPHONG'S VICTORY: EFN 8 - FIGHT RECAP

Sat 8 October was a packed week of martial arts events in Kuala Lumpur. MIMMA 4 Grand finals was on in Stadium Negara. Copa De malasia was held in P.J.  It was also HARI SUKAN NEGARA ( National Sports Day ) with many Muaythai competition organised in other states.

For fight fans that craved for Pro Muaythai actions, they were rightly  treated to an electrifying night of action at Kuala Lumpur’s Badminton Stadium, as EFN Champions league 8 came to town. Alongside several exciting MMA match ups as part of the Road to Abu Dhabi series.

EFN 8 is part of a series of events organised around the world. It began in Bangkok for EFN6, followed by EFN7 in Bulgaria. KL is the 3rd installment for the 2016 series. The 4th installment - EFN 9 will be in Brazil in November and finally all the champions from these 4 installment will meet at the year end December Grand Finals in Bangkok for the Kings Cup.

Production standard was top notch and the fights was action packed!

Super 4 - 72kg

Super 4 - 65kg

The muaythai portion of the card saw two 4 man tournaments, one at 65 kilos and the other a 72 Kilo tournament to decide the 3rd contestant to go through to the Kings birthday tournament on the 5th of December in Bangkok. 

The Muaythai action opened with a super fight between local fighter Iwan Merican and Thai fighter Nonthachai Kiatkorwit. The Thai fighter forced the pace throughout and looked a bit stronger and more dominant in the clinch, managing to throw down Iwan several times. Nonthachai took the points decision at the end.

Iwan vs Nontachai

In the first of the 65 kilo semi-final fights Petsaharat Sor Kiatiwat of Thailand faced Ncedo Gomba of South Africa. It was Ncedo who started the faster, landing with some eye catching jumping knees and kicks early on, before dropping Petsaharat for an 8 count near the end of the 1st, with a sharp overhand right. Petsaharat tried to get back into the fight at the start of the second, attacking Ncedo with some sharp kicks and solid punches, but by the second half of the round seemed to have run out of gas. In the final round Ncedo was in cruise control and took a clear win at the end.

Petsaharat vs Ncedo

The second semi-final saw Amir Naseri of Iran take on Malaysia’s Wes Jaya. Wes was the more aggressive, forcing the fight from the start, but Amir showed a clever control of the clinch and some clinical elbows, cutting Wes in the opening round and dropping him for an 8 count in round 2. 

Wes kept coming forward n the last round looking to punch, but Amir was never troubled and took the decision.

Wes Jaya vs Amir

In the 72 kilo tournament the first semi-final was over fast when Thiraphong Kiatkorwit made short work of Malaysia’s Muhammed Al Saiyuti, hurting him with solid left punches before finishing the fight with a minute to go of round one with some devastating low kicks.

Thiraphong vs Muhammad

The second semi-final also failed to see the distance as Kurits Michael Allen of the UK took apart Bow Suweilek of Malaysia in the second round, dropping him early in the round with a fast high kick to the jaw and then finishing the fight with a barrage of punches shortly after.

Bow vs Kurtis

The final of the 65 kilo 4 man saw Ncedo looking aggressive in the opening round of his fight with Amir. The young Iranian looked composed though and in round two the crowd saw more of his clinical elbow work, as he drove a hard, rising elbow through the guard of Ncedo, dropping the South African down for the count. 

65kg finals: Ncedo Gomba vs Amir Naseri

In the 72 kilo 4 man final Kurtis looked to have a bit of a size advantage over Thiraphong and the Thai fighter fought a cagier fight plan this time, sitting back more and looking to pick of Kurtis with fast counters. Kurtis pushed forward well and caught Thiraphong with a few sharp punches, but Thiraphong never looked troubled and was awarded the decision at the end. Earning his place in the final 4 man on the Kings birthday and making up for the disappointment of losing in the semi final the previous year, to the tournament winner Sean Kearney.

Final 72kg: Thiraphong vs Kurtis

Next stop it's EFN 9 at Brazil on 1st November.
You can catch all the updates on EB-TV FB page or check out www.eliteboxing.tv/efn

EFN8 - NEXT STOP: MALAYSIA, ON THE TWIN ROAD TO THE KINGS CUP AND ABU DHABI WARRIORS.

EFN8 - NEXT STOP: MALAYSIA, ON THE TWIN ROAD TO THE KINGS CUP AND ABU DHABI WARRIORS.

Once again featuring both Muaythai and MMA fights on the bill, the 2016 Elite Fight Night (EFN) Series heads to Malaysia on October 8 for the third of four regional qualifiers on the road to twin year-end finales in Bangkok and Abu Dhabi.

Bow Suweilek will replace Aiman Red Army

Having launched with EFN6 in Thailand on August 12, EFN 2016 then moved on to Bulgaria for EFN7 on September 24 for the second event of the joint Muaythai and MMA series. Following EFN8 in Kuala Lumpur, the last of the qualifiers will take place in Sao Paulo, Brazil to determine the final places for the two series-end finales.

The MMA final will take place under the Abu Dhabi Warriors banner in the UAE capital on November 22, while the Kings Cup Final in Bangkok on December 5 will determine the EFN 2016 Muaythai champion.

The Road to Abu Dhabi...last Sept

The Muaythai at EFN8 will include one 4-man tournament at 72.5kg and one 4-man tournament at 65kg, with both tournament winners progressing to the Kings Cup Final.

The first semi-final fight in the 72 kilo tournament sees Malaysian fighter Muhammad Al-Salyuti face Thai opponent Thirapong Kiatkorwit. Muhammad holds several local titles and Thirapong was a contender in last year’s EFN 4 man in Kuala Lumpur, losing to the eventual winner Sean Kearney in his semi-final bout.

The second semi-final fight sees Bow Suweilek is native Thai, will be representing Malaysia, face Irish prospect Kurtis Michael Allen, who is the least experienced of all the contenders, but comes with a crowd pleasing, entertaining style and will be looking to put his name on the map with a win in this tournament. 

Bow enroute to winning the Super 4 last year in KL

Bow is a Muaythai coach attached to Borneo Combat Gym (BCG) in Labuan. He was the winner of EFN Super - 4 last year in KL. Almost contemplating hanging up his glove this year, but after BCG founder, coach Alvin Chong gave him a proper diet and nutrition plan through Usana products, Bow felt like a reborn fighter. 

In the 65 kilo tournament, the first semi-final sees Ncedo “Nintendo” Gomba of South Africa face South Korean Kim Dong Hwan. Ncedo, is a coach in TopDog factory Muaythai in Miri and he always brings an aggressive action packed fight to the table and Kim will be looking to cause an upset and make a name for himself.

The second 65 kilo semi-final sees Malaysian fighter Wes Jaya take on Iranian Amir Naseri in another intriguing match-up. Wes Jaya is the founder of Wes Gatos Muaythai in KL. He’s the Canadian Muaythai Champion and is a well sought after Muaythai trainer across Asia. Hailing from Miri Sarawak, Wes also dabbled into MMA before & holds a 3-1 records.

An exciting Super Fight on the card sees Thai fighter Nonthachai Kiatkorwit face Malaysian star and former SEA games silver medalist in Silat, Iwan Merican.

The fight card will also feature four MMA fights with the four winners earning their place at the Abu Dhabi Warriors final.

EFN brings you professional set up to give fight fans the ultimate fight experience

EFN8 has been produced by series organizers Elite Boxing in conjunction with local partner, Leko Beh, the owner of Dragon Fight Club and a passionate supporter of Muaythai in Malaysia. Elite Boxing co-founder, Toli Makris, commented
“We are really grateful for the support from Leko. We always receive a warm welcome in Malaysia and great support from sponsors, fighters and of course the local fans.”

Indeed, it is the fourth year in a row that Elite Boxing has staged an event in Malaysia. Having first brought their TVC brand to Malaysia for a Thailand VS Asia event in 2013, EB has returned with an Evolution event in 2014 and introduced EFN last year.
“We have promoted all three of our main brands here,”
said Makris.
“However, it is the first time for us to bring MMA to Malaysia. The new format of EFN will also help us to attract an MMA audience and we know that there is huge following for MMA in Malaysia.”



To find out more about the EFN Series, click here: www.eliteboxing.tv/efn

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.