MIMMA 5 : NAIMUL AMAL'S HARD WORKS PAID OFF

Standing at the backstage, Naimul ‘the Convict’ Amal Othman can hear the intro video playing in the hall, as he waited for his name to be called for the walk-out. It's the second last bout of the night. Between Naimul and Jay Muran for the vacant flyweight title. Stadium Juara has been rocked with 6 other exciting fight that night on 30 March 2018.

Naimul’s brother Dhiaaul earlier on had emerge victorious winning the Bantamweight belt. Now it’s for him to fulfil his end of the bargain, to go home together as champion.

Tupac Shakur’s Soldier came on. He listened to Tupac’s music since he was a teenager. The song Soldier meant a lot to him. It reminds him of his struggles to reach here in MIMMA 5 grand finals. Naimul calmly uttered a prayer, then breathe in deeply and began his walk-out accompanied by his coach Joe Lorenzo Kitingan and Dhiaaul.

As he walks, he felt a mixture of excitement and nervousness. But the further he walk, he felt he is leaving all the tension and stress behind. He is leaving everything to ALLAH now.

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The flyweight championship fight was 3 rounds of thriller. Jay Muran is known for his ground game, but Naimul was the one that was well rounded. He dominated the stand-up and the grappling exchanges. His gas tank was also not depleted compare to Jay.

Both engaged with some wild exchanges in early round 1, but Jay was quick to attempt take down. He scored one ala Khabib Nurmagomedov by carrying Naimul across the cage & dumped him near his corner.

But Naimul was very hard to be kept down. He managed to reverse and continue to trade blows. But it was Naimul gaining the better of the exchanges, ending round 1 with 40 seconds unleashing ground and pound on Jay Jay.

Naimul open round 2 with a feint punches that set up for his left high kick that caught Jay Jay’s chin. At one point Jay Jay got Naimul’s back but Naimul control his hands well and managed to turn into Jay Jay’s guard and gain top position. After few seconds he stood and let Jay Jay back on his feet.

As they were pacing each other, Jay Jay pointed to something on his opponent’s face, but Naimul did not acknowledge and wants the fight to continue, until ref Dana intervene and cleared what seems to be a detached contact lens from below Naimul’s left eye.

Round 2 ended with Jay Jay caught in Naimul’s body triangle.

Round 3 Jay Jay got a take down but look exhausted to keep Naimul down, a few scramble later and a weak attempt by Jay Jay on a single leg led Naimul to get on top, with knee on belly he unleashed numerous strikes from top that the ref had to stop the fight at round 3, minute 1:39

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A win that was truly emotional for Naimul as he rushes to climb on to the cage , raised his hand to acknowledge God.

In a post fight interview, Naimul remark about the fight:
" I’m not surprised of Jay's gameplan, I knew he's going to take me down and fight me on the ground. But I was prepared for any situation. Stand up or ground just bring it on. I was prepared for war."

a visibly ecstatic Joe Lorenzo celebrating Naimul's win

Ask what was on his mind each round,
"Each round what I was thinking is that I will break his heart. I will make him doubt his own ability. All of his attempt will not work until he's tired."

Who he wants to acknowledge for his victory.
"Firstly I thank Allah, I pray to Allah to give me the victory and give me the ability to go through all the obstacles in my life and everything. I thank my parents, my in-laws for blessing me in this career. My wife, the backbone, she prepared for me almost everything, motivates me, hear me, and believe me. My coach Joe Lorenzo and my brother Dhiaaul in training. All my family members and All the true friends. I thank Allah for giving me all this companion in my life."

Emotional embrace with his parents after the victory

"And a great shout out to my sponsors Hutan Ration and HEAL Studio. Thanks to Tune Talk and MIMMA; there's always something sentimental with MIMMA as this is where my MMA path kick started, it means a lot for winning the MIMMA belt. Alhamdulillah."

strong support from family and friends

strong sponsors support

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Earlier before his fight that night, Naimul was cornering Dhiaaul in his bantamweight fight vs Sabahan Effendy Kalai. Dhiaaul endured Effendy’s heavy hands and eventually got hold of Effendy's arm and locked in a tight armbar for a finish.

Naim admit he was nervous at first but he was not worried, he knew Dhiaaul could handle the initially heavy onslaught. He has been training hard with Dhiaaul under Joe Lorenzo and has the utmost confidence for Dhiaaul to be crowned the Bantamweight Champion that night.

Back in 2015, in MIMMA’s season 3 Contender Fight, Naimul had to fight Dhiaaul for a place in the grand final flyweight category. It was a difficult decision but, being in the top of the flyweight division for both, it was inevitable for them to meet each other. They were very professional and went into the cage with full commitment of a good performance.



Dhiaaul emerged winner via armlock in round 2 and went on to challenge Seah Zhang Yu.

It is certainly dream come true for the Amal brothers this year as they both emerged as champion on that night. Very emotional win for Naimul as the hardship and sacrifice he had made ( read his pre-event story here ) finally bear fruit

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In the holy month of Ramadhan Naimul took time to be closer to God. Fasting and praying and ever thankful for every blessings and challenges God has given him. He also took time to help his close friend of 12 years and fellow MMA athlete Ridzuan Dahari in business.

They operate a stall in the Ramadhan Bazaar at Kompleks PKNS and selling Ridzuan’s famous Mafioso Seafood shellout. Business is good.

Naimul (R) with Ridzuan (L) and a friend

This year Hari Raya Naimul look forward to spend quality time with family and enjoy the good food during the festive period. He will spend the first two days of Raya at Shah Alam and following 3rd day at Muar Johor, his wife’s hometown.

Food wise, during Ramadhan his favourite ‘buka puasa’ dish is Nasi Briyani Kambing! And this coming Hari Raya he is craving for ketupat palas and lemang which goes perfectly well with the delicious rendang that his mom is best known for.

With his shiny MIMMA 5 Flyweight belt on his side, this Hari Raya will definitely be a time for Naimul to cherish and remember for a long time to come.

Warriors of Borneo wishes the Amal brothers, Naimul and Dhiaaul and their family a happy and joyful Hari Raya Aidilfitri .

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Story by Tan Wallace

MIMMA 5 GRAND FINALS - NAIMUL AMAL OVERCOMING ADVERSITY TO FULLFILL HIS DREAM

Fighting in the flyweight category in MIMMA5, Naimul ‘Convict’ Amal Othman  has come a long way since his first MMA match 5 years ago and has built a reputation as a brawler and a fighter that shows no mercy.

In MIMMA 5 league matches, he only fought twice, earning a TKO win and another split decision win, another 5 times was walk over win for him, as many other fighters seems to avoid meeting him in the cage. But he still able to take the no.2 spot in the league standings. With that he qualified for the semis in Feb and took a closely contested win over Brandon Tang.

hard fought victory over Brandon Tang in the semis

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Spotting a look close to Conor McGregor, but minus the hair and the trash talk, Naimul is a veteran in Malaysian MMA scene. Fought at featherweight in MIMMA season 1 way back in 2013, losing to eventual champion Keannu Subba in the semi-finals.

Hailing from Shah Alam, his teenage years was a time of teenage angst and hot hotheadedness. Venting his energy by getting involve in plenty of street fights, resulting in police apprehending him 3 times...hence the nick name 'Convict'. Naimul's interest in martial arts started early. He took up Silat in primary school.

rebellious days

Progressing in high school to Taekwondo. Winning a silver medal in the school district tournament in 2005. That same year, he saw The Contender on TV, which sparks his interest in Boxing. He was inspired by the winner of The Contender Sergio Mora.

He wanted a pair of boxing glove so bad to start training, but he could not afford one. So the 'convict' did what a 'convict' need to...he took his father's money to buy one. Once he had it, it was raging bull from there and he started training like mad on his own. Later on, his brothers Dhiaaul and some other friends also trains with him, in his home's garage.

He won't forget his experience in MIMMA. Season 1, in 2013, without much knowledge of MMA, but armed with his own martial arts experience he took it head on but lost to Keannu via rear naked choke. MIMMA season 2, he participated again. This time lost to eventual finalist Jenarten via armbar in the quarter-finals.

In MIMMA 3, he fought all the way to The Contender Fight. Meeting his own brother Dhiaaul. Naimul lost in round 2 via armlock.

fighting in Singapore's Lion Fight

in ONE Silat

Other than MIMMA, Naimul have beaten two Singaporean before. One in Singapore's Lion Fight League vs Charles Ferroa, and another one in Johor's Ultimate Beatdown, vs Mohd Faiz. With his amateur MMA experience he was offered to fight at ONE Silat as a pro and fought for the promotions three times.

in Sabah's Jesselton Fight League

After MIMMA3 in 2015, he skipped season 4 and fought only twice in 2016. Once in Jesselton Fight League and once in ONE Silat, both time the results did not side him. Now for MIMMA 5, he is back in the game.

So what motivate you to make a return to MIMMA?
"There’s always something sentimental with MIMMA as this is where my MMA path kick start and grow. So it would mean a lot to me if I can end my amateur journey with a MIMMA belt." 

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His commitment to this championship is to the point that he quit his full time job to focus on training. He plans to fight in all the league matches, unfortunately 5 out of his 7 wins are from walk-over hence the allowance from fights were not able to sustain him. Hence he started to give personal training classes.

Leading up to semi-final fight, he had a high fever. That was one week before cutting weight week. Laying on the bed for a week unable to train was unbearable. Eventually he recovered and able to start training, but next come the issue with his motorbike tire. It was so worn out until the wire was exposed, it was very dangerous for him to ride to gym but he does not have enough money to buy new ones.

The night before his semi-finals fight… so many things went through his mind that he could not sleep at all. The next day even without rest he still make sure he step up into the cage and carry on his duty to fight.

“My journey in MIMMA5 has not been easy. There’s so many up and down. The above are just some parts of it. But through all this ; my parents, family, wife and daughter were always there. They always give me support, rain or shine, they are really my pillar of strength.” 



"I tell myself in whatever situation, I just ignore the negative parts and just keep on going forward. The true opponent is my own negative self. Physical challenges is no 2, the no.1 challenge is mental.”

Many would have given up at the first sign of challenge. But Naimul persevere. His passion is combat sports, is his true calling. And he dream of opening his own gym one day and share his knowledge and skills to produce new generations of great fighters from Malaysia.

Even though fighting currently in amateur MMA does not provide him income, he is willing to go through this tough time to live his dream. He does not want to have a regret when he is old that he never did what he love.

Currently Naimul trains with Coach Joe Lorenzo Kitingan. Together with his brother Dhiaaul Amal (Bantamweight finalist) in the Kitingan Fight Team. They train every day, 2 sessions per day, striking in the morning, grappling in the evening.

In 2015 both him and Dhiaaul fought in flyweight and eventually the best will meet the best and they faced in other in the contender fight to determine who gets to go to the finals. Dhiaaul won that day in a very emotional victory.

This year, Dhiaaul is fighting in bantamweight. Both of them has reached the finals. This time together. This will be Naimul's motivation, his dream to go home with his brother both as MIMMA Champion.

with Dhiaaul as they prepare for grand finals together

On what he thinks of his rematch with Jay in the grand finals,
"Will be interesting fight. He's a grappler. Its going to be challenging fight for me. But I will prepare for evrything.

Naimul has overccame Jay once in league 2 with a submission win and he believe he will be able to do so again in the finals

When you already hit bottom, the only direction left is up. Naimul has gone through plenty of challenges and now is on the path back to reach the top. When the cage close on 30 March, he will let his fist and kicks do the talking.

MIMMA 5 GRAND FINALS : JAY MURAN USING MARTIAL ARTS TO COMBAT LEUKEMIA

Of all the weigh division in MMA, the flyweight is the most action pack due to their lighter weight. KO may not be a regular game ender in this category but submission and fast pace techniques is a guarantee.  Jay Muran is  a fighter in this category.

Fighting in the MIMMA’s 5 league, Jay Jay Anak Muran stands above the other 7 fighters in his division with 27 points. Jay was one of the most active fighters in the division. He fought 5 times before qualifying for the semis.

In that 5 times he loss one time to Naimul Amal, all his other 4 wins are by finishes. He extend his winning streak in the semis by choking out Muhd Iskandar.

Semi-finals victory for Jay

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Let’s get to know better this small dynamite from Sarawak.

Jay Jay Anak Muran. His father is an Iban from Sarawak while his mother is Indonesian whom grew up in Tawau, with Chinese and Toraja heritage. Born in a small town call Kanowit in Sibu Sarawak with four other older siblings.

Jay holds the life principle that if you work hard, success will follow. He did well academically and enroll in Mukah Polytechnic for petroluem production studies. After graduating in 2013, he was looking forward to apply his knowledge by working in the oil fields, as he was offered to further his studies in INSTEP (Institute Teknologi Petroluem PETRONAS). This required him to pass a medical test…which he failed as he was diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia.

" End of 2013 I get offer continue my study with INSTEP but failed for medical checkup, and diagnosed with Leukemia so I went and get treatment."  

"After that I get offer again (for 2nd time) and I pass my medical test this time because my blood was stable. I studied for 1 year at INSTEP and graduated in June 2015, after that I went for Petronas interview and pass but my medical test again failed due to the condition of my blood.”

at INSTEP

He is on medication and is feeling physically fine. But the disappointment of not able to build a career in the lucrative oil and gas industry affect him emotionally. His hope was crushed and his mind was clouded with uncertainties. That was when he decided to use work out as a way to calm his mind.

He enroll in Muayfit Damansara Perdana and met his coach Lito Adiwang of Philipines, a professional MMA athlete. Lito uses martial arts to guide Jay to develop his physical health and also mental strength. Jay took on Lito’s teaching like fish to water. And soon within a year he was able to develop a career in the fitness industry as a trainer.

Jay now teaches at Fitness First iOi Mall Puchong. He has moved on from Muayfit to FightFam MMA gym lead by his captain Michael Mah. He also cross train at Marcos Escobar BJJ in Kota Damansara under Kenneth Lam.

Jay (L) having a career as a fitness trainer at Fitness First

training at MEBJJ

his fight gym at Fight Fam MMA

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vs Raziman at league 1

appearing with Azreel in HotFM promo

Jay holds a current MMA amateur record of 8-2-0. His 2 loss comes from, in 2016’s MIMMA season 4 to Eddey Kalai. The time when he barely have a few months of training under Lito.

His other loss was to Naimul during league 2.

choked out by Naimul in league 2

On how is his preparation for the rematch with Naimul, this time in the grand finals.

“I prepare more on my cardio and ground game...I know I lost to him by bulldog choke in league 1...but I believe my ground game is better than him." 

"This will be revenge time all out and I'm not even scared to get injure because this is the grand finals."

There seems to be a personal fued going on between Jay and Naimul. As both were involve in a short altercations during the shooting of the grand finals promo video.

This bad blood between the two of them is fueling Jay's determination to do his utmost best. To Jay whatever happens, he will lay it all out in the cage.

This will certainly be a bout not to be miss. Grab your tickets folks, and get ready for a busy night!

setting his eyes on the gold