It was the Absolute MMA striking team’s time to shine this weekend with four of our Muay Thai team stepping into the ring at Roots 10: Sun Is Shining on Saturday (02/03/2019) and six of our Boxing team competing in a inter-club competition at Ultimate Muay Thai on Sunday (03/03/2019). Our Absolute MMA Thailand team had two Muay Thai bouts in the works, with Phillip Engeroff’s rematch against Chanajon PK Saenchai on Thai Fight, and fighter Nissanth set to appear at Bangla Stadium. In colder parts of the world, Jake “The Honey Bear” Heun flew to Siberia, Russia to fight on Sunday in a bout on RIZIN.
It was a hot weekend for Melbourne, with temperatures hitting 36°C at Roots 10: Sun Is Shining, but the community was nonetheless excited for Roots/Rebellion with the promotion moving for the first time to its new location at The Timber Yard in Port Melbourne. The Absolute MMA team was out in force to support our four Muay Thai fighters appearing on the card at Roots, Andre Nguyen, Georgia Verry, Fei Yen and Kyle Leung. Andre was up first for the team, in his debut at Roots against opponent Kiayl Bruce, and after a dominant first round, his fight was called off due to an unfortunate issue with the ring. We would like to wish all the best to Andre as he recovers from a couple of very nasty burns on the soles of his feet.
Quickly reacting to the issue with the ring, the Rebellion Muay Thai team shifted the crowd and the fighters inside the hall, where the fights resumed. Georgia “The Blonde Bomber” Verry was up next for the team (54kg), in a memorable walkout to Britney Spears ‘Oops, I did it again’ to avid cheers from the crowd. Great to see Georgia really coming into herself as a fighter, looking super relaxed and calm entering the ring. The bell sounded, with Georgia wasting no time and engaging clinch to throw multiple, devastating knees into the stomach of her opponent. The referee separated the two at around the 30 second mark of round one, however Georgia stuck to her game plan, engaging in the clinch once again to pour on those vicious knees! The stoppage was soon called by the referee, and Georgia emerged victorious in the first round against her opponent Amy Chan. Huge congratulations to Georgia, who has put in consistent training and hard work during her fight camp on a well-deserved win! We cannot wait to see what the rest of the year brings for you!
Up next for the team was Fei Yen in a 65kg bout (3 x 2 minute rounds) against opponent Justin Berberick. Coming out strong and showing great aggression, Fei wasted no time in his first round, throwing a barrage of devastating combinations and using his reach to great effect! Pushing back Berberick with a powerful right cross, Fei dropped his opponent by following up with a vicious right kick to the body. Two wins for the team, both by stoppage AND in the first round! Amazing work by Fei who has clearly improved from his last fight, taking on the lessons learned to reach a new level. Congratulations!
Finishing up for the team at Roots was Kyle Leung on fight number 11 of the card, in a 67kg bout (3 x 2 minute rounds) against opponent Ryan Shepherd. Consistently returning kicks with perfect timing, Kyle continued to give back as good as he got, landing well-timed combinations against a strong opponent. With this fight going the full three rounds, Kyle came just short in the decision. Despite the loss, nothing but respect for Kyle for getting through some hard rounds and giving back. Great to see Kyle continuing to challenge himself as a martial artist, and he is sure to gain from the experience! Well done Kyle!
We would like to extend a special thank you to Coach Laos Toohey, Albert Xavier and David Lescai for cornering the team and putting in the effort to help out our fighters at Roots. We always say it, but we are lucky to have the community that we do, and could not be more grateful for your support. Thank you to all our members who came down to support the fight team!
Not content with just the local scene, the Absolute MMA Muay Thai team had two fighters from Absolute MMA Thailand also go to war in the ring! German fighter Phillip Engeroff was first up for the team in a 74kg rematch (Kard Chuek/Rope Wrapping style) against opponent Chanajon PK Saenchai on Thai Fight. Engeroff put up a solid fight until the second round, getting caught by his opponents right hand after attempting to counter by catching a right kick. Despite sustaining a loss, we would like to congratulate Phillip on getting in there, nothing but respect for taking the rematch and plenty to take into your next bout. Looking forward to seeing you come back stronger for the experience! You can view highlights from Phillip’s bout here.
We’re happy to report that our Norwegian Muay Thai Fighter Nissanth Karunanithy took away a win at Bangla Stadium in his second professional fight via fourth round KO! After a closely fought match, Nissanth came to life in the 4th round after being cut, finishing his opponent with elbows. Having taken this fight on just three days notice, stepping in for his teammate, this was a great display of heart for Nissanth and we’d like to congratulate him on a well-deserved win! Well done Nissanth!
In Siberia, Russia, the newest member of our professional team Jake “The Honey Bear” Heun was set to fight in a bout on RIZIN against opponent Vitaly Shemetov. Up against a strong opponent in Shemetov, who has been undefeated since 2010, Jake showed great heart and fought without a corner. Despite his loss via submission, we’d like to commend Jake on his dedication to the fight game, all the work he put in his fight camp with Coach Laos Toohey and Joe Boobyer, how far he travelled and for putting in all on the line on the mat! Can’t wait to see what the rest of the year holds for Jake and we’re proud to have him on board with us.
Congratulations to all of our Boxing team who competed on Sunday! All of you performed really well, and showed good technical improvements. It was a busy day with six of our team leaving it all in the ring, shout out to Aneira, who fought twice and displayed great skill. We look forward to seeing you all move into the amateur level next! Well done!
Photography: W L Fight Photography, David Lescai, Absolute MMA Thailand and Pradeep Singh.
Written by Emilie Yap.