JENARTEN COME BACK VICTORY IN MALAYSIAN FIGHTFEST

25 Aug 2018.
Another chapter was written in Malaysian MMA history. Malaysian Fight Fest (MYFF), an amateur MMA promotions went underway and it held it's first event at Quill City Mall with 14 bouts on the cards. (click here to read the pre-event story)



28 fighters came to showcase their skills and some very eagerly looking for the win, as we see a 64% the cards resulted in a finish.

Here are the full results:

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We see a lot of debutant entering the cage, as Henry Goh of MYFF pointed out, MYFF main aim is to be a place for newbies to test out their skills.

The two most experience fighters on the cards was Sarawakian Jay Jay Anak Muran being MIMMA5 grand finalist; and Jenarten Radhakrishnan the MIMMA2 grand finalist. As the most experience of the lot, this two was match-up in the bantamweight category.

After losing to Prabu Somainadu in MIMMA 2 grand finals, Jenarten drop off from the scene.  MYFF was Jenarten's first MMA fight in four years. But this was not his first fight after MIMMA 2, four months back he took a fight in semi-pro boxing in Muayfit series and won by round 2 TKO.

Jenarten with coach Yeow Chet (middle) & team mate Gladys Molling (left) at MuayFit series

Only 19 when he fought in MIMMA2, Jenarten had to leave the combat sports scene to focus on his studies. He now has completed his degree in IT specialising in Forensic Computing from Asia Pacific University. During his time in Uni, he still keep fit by regular martial arts training and playing futsal.

We have heard so much of the story of Agilan Thani (MIMMA2 welterweight champion); how martial arts help mould him from an overweight kid to become ONE Championship welterweight contender today. 

It was the same for Jenarten. His venture into martial arts was to loose the pounds. Throughout his schooling days he was overweight. Reaching 93kg at one point.

To overcome this, he started going to a regular gym, but soon got tired of doing the same workout. Since he always wanted to take up martial arts, he felt it's time. He started class and within 3 months, lost 25kg! Feeling ecstatic as he has been fat throughout his childhood and teenage years, he now have a healthy weight. He continued training for 8 months and then took his maiden fight in the MIMMA2 tournament.

He first started at Wuji MMA, then change to HIT Fitness as their schedule fits him better. He now trains with Titan Fight Team under coach Yeow Chet. Occasionally also train by Malaysian MMA superstar, Peter Davis of Wuji MMA.

Jenarten in 2014 MIMMA2 (left), MYFF (right)

Jenarten took us through his fight in MYFF, by rounds...
"Round 1 started and I come at him early with a spinning back kick to belly but contested by Jay Jay as groin strike and took the injury time of minutes to recover.

At the end of round 1 I new I did more than enough to secure round 1 and planned to finish the fight in round 2."

"I already knew before the start of round 2 that he was gassed out because of the body shots and took extra 30 seconds after the seconds were out."

"So I planned to strike with him a little and take him down to finish it. When I took him down I was attempting for an arm triangle but he defended, so I decided to land some ground and pound. He was defending very badly and ref had to stop the fight."

Jenarten admits that the fighters nowdays is technically more sound than when he fought in 2014 MIMMA. But during the absence from competition, he himself also has matured and made loads of improvement on his boxing and wrestling.

He wants to stay active in the combat sports scene, in his plans to turn pro in near future. 

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MYFF winners won prizes from many sponsors that Henry Goh prefer to call partners. As he felt that MYFF is a partnership between organiser and brands working together to develop and grow Malaysian MMA talent. 

organising team with referees, judges & partners

 

Note: All MYFF pictures by YK TANG Photography, 
check out his FB to see more MYFF pictures, and get yourself updated by following MYFF FB for future MYFF events and happenings

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MALAYSIAN FIGHTFEST - RISE OF THE WARRIORS

It has been relatively quiet for MMA in Malaysia after MIMMA (Malaysian Invasion MMA) season 5 crowned its champion in Mac this year. Looking at the calender of events for MMA in Klang valley it seems like there's a lack of event that focus on amatuer MMA, which seems ironic as Klang valley has the highest concentration of martial arts gym that offers MMA lessons.

The closest event MMA enthusiast in KL can head to is F3 Championship. As one of the earliest event in KL, F3 offer a diversity of fight, ie: MMA, Boxing, Muaythai & Kickboxing. But their MMA fight is inside a ring.

Head down south to Johor Bahru, you will find Ultimate Beatdown reign supreme as the pioneer and longest running promotions in Malaysia for amatuer MMA. It is still running strong today and they have introduced Kickboxing, Boxing and even grappling into their event.

Up north, we use to have Warriors FC , which has evolved into Golden Warriors and now Penang Fight Night. Also in the north, Pusaka Ultimate Fight fills in the gap for freestyle fight with hybrid Silat ruling.

Travelling to fight is a huge cost for amateur fighter hence the birth of many promotions in Borneo, to cater for local amatuer MMA fighters. The MMA scene is kept busy mostly with events in Sabah such as Rampage MMA FC, Jesselton Fight League (which has transform into Ultimate Beatdown Borneo), Fight Fest, Borneo Amatuer Challenge (in Labuan) and Borneo King of the Cage.

MIMMA was created in 2013 to unearth Malaysian MMA talent, but as the scene grows and fighters become more skillfull and the prestige of MIMMA grows, the level of standards becomes higher, which becomes a hindrance to newcomers.

For newbies in Klang Valley, it has become a norm for them to travel out of Klang Valley to seek fights to gain experience. There's a huge pool of newbies in Klang Valley that's eager to enter the cage to gain much needed experience.

This is where Malaysian FightFest (MYFF) comes into the picture.

According to the MYFF management, it is created with the objectives of :
i. To provide a platform for NEW amateur MMA athletes to gain first fight / debut experiences and improve their skills.
ii. Increase MMA awareness and the growing martial arts community in Malaysia.
iii. Create an opportunity for brand exposure and various sponsorships.

Launched in April this year by the team that brought you MIMMA, expect the same high quality management and event organising efficiency. 

Registration was open in May and ended in 31st July and the response has been encouraging. Nearly 100 fighters submitted their profile. MYFF management was busy doing the match-making to provide each fighters with the best and fairest match up possible.

According to a Henry Goh the spokeperson of MYFF, there are many applicants but adhering to the objectives to give a platform to new fighters, some applicants has to be declined due to not able to find a fair match-up.

For the inaugural event this Saturday 25 Aug, these few categories has been confirmed. Women Strawweight. Male: Strawweight, Flyweight, Bantamweight, Featherweight, Lightweight & Welterweight. Below is the bouts that has been release in MYFF Facebook page.

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Some fights to watch out for;

Male - Bantamweight.
MIMMA 5 Flyweight finalist Jay Jay Anak Muran, is back after losing his flyweight grand final fight to Naimul Amal in Mac. He will face another MIMMA alumni, Jenarten Radhakrishnan. 
This is a comeback for Jenarten in MMA after losing the title challenge fight to Prabu Somainadu in MIMMA season 2 four years ago.

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Women Strawweight will see some familiar MIMMA faces. Amirah Najwa & Ng Pei Wee will be back after their first MMA experience in MIMMA 5 League. It's worth noting that Amirah has a win over Ng Pei Wee in MIMMA 5 league 7 and a notable win over MIMMA 5 Women Champion Eunice Ong in MIMMA 5 league 1.

Colleen Augustin vs Lee Yin Mun should be a good fight. Colleen Augustin is an upcoming amateur fighter from Monarchy MMA. She has collected two win fighting out of her hometown KL, once in Rampage FC Kota Kinabalu in May and then another win in Bangkok's Bigbox Beatdown 1 in July.
Lee Yin Mun debut in MMA last year in MIMMA5 league collecting a 3-2-0 record.

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MYFF is open to all nationality. In the featherweight cards, watch out for one Japanese , Tasuku Ushigaki, this young 20 yr old BJJ prodigy from Monarchy MMA is on a two fight win streak. His most recent win is in BigBox Beatdown 1, via ground and pound. In Nov 2017 he created an impact in Copa Da Malasia Grappling when he beat BJJ exponents more senior than him.

Another international fighter, Omer Jemal a Ethiopia national will be stepping into the cage to face Nidal Mahmoud, Omer won a bout in One Silat, with hybrid MMA rules set in 2015 and most recently won a bout in Muayfit Malaysian Fighting Championship Semi-
Pro Series via ground and pound in April.

Nidal is fondly known as King Joker for his signature way of appearing in a joker mask during walk-in. He debut in MMA in 2016 winning one bout in Pesta Selangor. Last year he fought in MIMMA 5 league series. He holds a 3-3-0 record in MMA. But he has tons of experience and championship achievement in pro Kickboxing and Muaythai.

This lightweight bout can potentially be an all out stand-up war that will end up in a KO finish.

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The venue for the 1st MYFF is at Quill City Mall. An MMA cage will be set up at the centre atrium with good visibility throughout the various floor. Quill City Mall will also sponsor a LED screen next to the cage to improve viewing satisfaction to the crowd.

Viewers at home can follow MYFF action through Crap.TV . The livestream will be sponsored by Tunetalk.

According to Henry, MYFF are non profit. Many in his team are volunteers. Even the judges and referee team are volunteer. All coming together with great passion for MMA, to further grow the sports in Malaysia.

Sponsors came in as partners, sponsoring prizes for the winners and covering some operational cost.

We will also get to have the pleasure of having Jon Nutt as the emcee. His familiar voice will surely liven up MYFF and keep everyone entertain. As hectic as he is in Bangkok and Singapore but Jon truly supports grassroots development of MMA in Malaysia.

Fighters will also get their cage action captured by YK Tang, the well known combat sports photographer in Malaysia. YK will also be doing his part volunteering his professional service supporting Malaysian grassroot MMA.

MYFF is using the International MMA Federation (IMMAF) rules set and endorse by MASMMA.

As usual , Warriors of Borneo blog will also do it's part by bringing you updates and news coverage of MYFF