By this point,
the stadium was packed with Thais who had
come to see this unusual gathering of talent
from around the world. Many expat residents
had also come to cheer on their national fighter,
creating a great atmosphere in the stadium.
This was followed by a very exciting bout
between Jioi Orak of the Czech Republic and
Leonard Sitpholek from Thailand. This was
a great fight, with the result uncertain right
until the end. Both gave a great display of
MuayThai, with Leonard taking the fight on
points.
After this, was the first
of the 3 female fights. Erin Linley, Canada
took on Siriporn Sornpod, Thailand. This was
a rematch of the IFMA final last September
and both fighters had certainly trained very
hard for this one. Fast and furious action,
with some ferocious knees and great grappling
from both fighters. The crowd certainly enjoyed
this one – definitely a fight which made clear
how far woman’s MuayThai has come, and the
World Title went to Erin.
An equally exciting fight
followed between Chau Ying Kit from China
and Kunshibayev Tokhtasyn of Kazakhstan for the FAMA special Title Belt. Two
contrasting styles here with the Kazak boy
throwing some great punch combinations and
Kit working away with knees and kicks. The
4th round saw some great action, Kit taking
some serious punishment to the head but marching
forward with knees and kicks as the crowd
surged to their feet in excitement. A riveting
fight which went to the Kazakhstani fighter.
The second female World title
fight was also a rematch: Amy Birch, Australia
versus Daoprasuk Petchopas, Thailand. Both
fighters are very strong in the grapple and
worked on the inside for most of the fight.
This was a close fight, with a split decesion
going in Daoprasuk’s favour. The female students
in the audience certainly had their eyes opened
as to the levels of skill to which female
athletes can aspire to here !
The 67 kgs Intercontinental
title was a fantastic fight between Trevor
Symandech, Canada and Jaime Lungeo, Spain.
The first 2 rounds went to Jaime but then
Trevor came out a new fighter in the 3 round
and took the fight to him in spectacular fashion.
The crowd roared appreciation and screamed
their favourite on. A fight to remember, with
Trevor a deserving champion.
Alex Dally took the European Title at 72 kgs
in a great display of skill from Alexo Ricci,
Italy. Both fighters showed a great level
of MuayThai skill but Alex was clearly the
more skilful. Well ahead on points, he took
the fight on a TKO in the dying seconds of
the 5 round with a well-placed leg-kick.
The last title fight was
for a female Intercontinental between Niamh
Griffin, Ireland and Noppian Petchopas, Thailand.
With both girls displaying excellent all round
MuayThai techniques. The first two rounds
where very even but later on in the fight
Niamh Griffin started to dominate the Thai
and went on to win a unanimous decision.
A great day for all concerned,
with the talent and strength of international
MuayThai clearly on show for all to see. There
wasn’t a dull fight in the batch – and what
more could all the fans have asked for ?
The MuayThai Against Drugs
series will now move on to various WMC, IFMA
and FAMA member countries. This series will
continue over a 12-month period, and will
continue to showcase the amazing depth of
talent we saw this week in Bangkok.
Watch this space for news of the next MuayThai
Against Drugs show ! | 
