Minowaman & Marvellous Manhoef Added to Road FC 9!

What a welcome bit of news, from our favourite promotion in the Land of the Morning Calm.

Kickboxing & Cage Rage king Melvin “Marvellous” Manhoef, and the Super Hluk Open-Weight Champion of the World Ikuhisa Minowa (known and revered as Minowaman) have been added to a now stellar Road FC 9 card.

Minowaman, who won the most prestigious championship title in MMA circa 2009 when he took the Super Hluk Open-Weight Grand Prix belt in DREAM, will be fighting someone his own size for once, in Korea’s TEAM MAX middleweight Yuk Jin Soo (9-2).

Melvin, formerly known as “No Mercy” (an apt moniker) but now going by “Marvellous” (in the Muay Thai sense, most definitely) will also compete at middleweight in ROAD, against the stocky Kim Jae Young. The Korean is actually shorter than a well-muscled Manhoef who has to cut significant weight to reach 85kg, so for the Korean to be the smaller man he must either undertake a draining weight cut, or will be outsized and probably outgunned on fight night.

These are two interesting additions to the card, with Denis Kang already signed to Road FC. They are slowly but surely using some of the money from their immense Korean popularity (prime-time television slots and reality TV shows) and building an internationally recognisable and worthwhile middleweight division.

I look forwards to seeing what other bouts are added to Road FC 9: Beatdown on September 15, which already has a lightweight tournament planned.

JJ’ Fletch
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