Fightsport Asia News Round-Up – Muay Thai, K-1 & MMA

A quick weekly round-up of notable news from around the world of Asian fightsport.

In Muay Thai, the eeeeeeeeeeeeuge super-fight between Yodsaenklai Fairtex & Kem Sitsongpeenong has been made.

• Yodsaenklai Fairtex (176-77) vs. Kem Sitsongpeenong (109-19)

Former Lumpinee Stadium champion vs. former Rajadamnern Stadium champion. Current WMC champion vs. current WMC & Thailand champion. Arguably (in Kem’s case) a legend vs. legend fight.

I would think, despite Yodsaenklai’s most recent performance in winning the WMC middleweight title, that should he perform the way he did in his penultimate fight and the ones that preceded it, Kem has more than enough to eke out a decent decision win over the crafty and heavy-left-kicking wily Fairtex gym fighter.

Another eeeeeeeeuge match-up reportedly made will replace the Penek/Sagetdao rematch – Penek’s next fight, a rematch with Sam-A!

• Sam-A (358-43) vs. Penek Sitnumnoi (86-22-2)

Sam-A was the 2011 Fighter of the Year, and Penek is the 2012 Fighter of the Year – an award he clinched after beating Sam-A, the-then 122lbs king who stepped up to face the SingPatong fighter for the stadium’s vacant featherweight belt. The fight is an interesting one; Sam-A is the best super-bantamweight in the business, and Penek is a monstrous featherweight who has, following his Sam-A win and subsequent award triumph, fought at higher weights against Saenchai and Sagetdao, and come unstuck both times.

The question is, will Sam-A put his name back up there as the pound-for-pound best in the sport by avenging the loss that ended his eleven fight Lumpinee Stadium win streak, or will Penek rebound from his close-but-not-quite adventures at 130lbs against legends, drop back down and prove that he deserves the moniker of Fighter of the Year.

Glory are expanding into Japan, K-1 Rising be damned, and for their December tournament they named the following participants:

• Semmy Schilt
• Remy Bonjasky
• Peter Aerts
• Jerome Le Banner
• Gokhan Saki
• Errol Zimmerman
• Anderson “Braddock” Silva
• Sergei Kharitonov
• Filip Verlinden
• Ismael Londt
• Brice Guidon
• Jamal Ben Saddik
• Igor Jurkovic.

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Mixed Martial Arts.

• Legend FC

In the MMA World, it is rumoured that Rob Lisita vs. Yusuke Kawanago for the featherweight title will be the main-event of Legend FC 10.

Lisita is a Lion’s Den vet (the original Mixed Martial Arts camp, circa 1993-present) and currently training out of Phuket Top Team, Thailand.

• One Fighting Championships

One FC’s Pride of a Nation card has almost been finalised now – ironically enough, everyone except one of the main-event participants. It stands as follows;

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• Road FC

In South Korea, Ikuhisa “The Punk” “Minowaman” Minowa aka the Super Hluk Champion of the world, and Melvin “Marvellous” Manhoef, have been added to the Road FC middleweight roster. With Denis Kang already there, Road are slowly but surely building with the obvious capital they have from huge popularity in their home country, which includes a prime-time television slot and a reality TV show.

There is also talk of a Flyweight Grand Prix tournament in January, with Andrew Leone as a participant, and of course a lightweight tournament forthcoming in September.

• Shooto

As previously reported, the Vale Tudo Japan event will return (though most likely not in the classic mid-90s tournament format) as will Caol Uno, in Shooto.

That’s enough fightsport.

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