Boxing With Nongamm
(In this Photo: HG6-Blue, BGV6-Red)
The athletes at Fairtex box spar twice a week. They train the sweet science for 4 – 5 rounds. Each round is five minutes long. The men will spar in the rings, the women in the MMA cage.
Because of their size, Anita Karim and Nongamm box spar a lot.
“Sparring with Nongamm is good,” Karim said. “She is technical. We both improve.”
Karim came to Fairtex over a year ago. She’s waiting for her next MMA fight. In the meantime, she continues to improve her striking.
“Now I can see the punches. We’re not just hitting each other,” she said. “When she starts reading my punches then I switch my style.”
Karim is Pakistan’s first pro female MMA fighter. She’s doing it right by working with the best.
Junior Fights Dengue
(In this Photo: TV2 Body Sheild,KPLC5 Kick Pads, Fight Team Shirt)
Junior was out for the count after her last fight. While she wasn’t injured, she did pick up an illness. She got dengue. Infected mosquitoes carry dengue. She was bit and she got sick.
The disease is common in Thailand. She was hospitalized for a few days and given medicine. She beat the illness and is on the mend. However she will take time off from fighting to recover.
Dengue is not uncommon but other diseases such as staph are far more prevalent. Staph lives on the skin. When athletes get cut or have other skin injuries Staph can cause an infection. These infections will turn into boils. The boils must be looked after or they will increase in size and may lead to blood poisoning.
Going to the clinic, getting on antibiotics, and having the boil drained are common treatments. Taking care of a staph infection only takes a few days.
Kendu talks last fight
(In this Photo: BGV20, KPLC6- Gold, BS1901- Black Short)
American athlete Kendu Irving fought for the 9th time at Lumpinee Stadium.
“All of my pro career has been at Lumpinee at Fairtex Fight,” Irving said.
He’s a regular part of the promotion. He won the Thaiwasadu tournament earlier in the year. His last bout was against Krasaefai RongriangNaisipthahanbok at 67kg.
The Renzo Gracie alumni made the walk from backstage to the ring.
“I always build up the walk out moment in my head, but when I get there it’s nothing like what I have in my head.
Once in the ring, Irving made short work of his opponent. He established himself with his long jab and then used strong elbows and knees to knock out Krasaefai in the first round.
“The moment I punched him and went in for the elbows, I heard the 10 second sound, and I was like ‘finish, finish him, finish him,’” Irving said.
Irving went home with the 10,000 baht bonus from Fairtex Equipment. He’s fighting again later this month.
What It’s Like Corner Stamp Fairtex
(In this Photo: HW2-Black )
BJJ black Belt, Liisi Vaht is new to the world of MMA but is experienced as a coach. She’s taught BJJ all over the world and brought her skills to Fairtex.
Vaht works with elite level athletes like Stamp Fairtex, Jihin Radzuan, Anita Karim, and recently Smilla Sundell.
“It’s good. They learn fast. It’s a tight group,” Vaht said.
Vaht also got a chance to work with Stamp in the corner. Stamp almost finished her last opponent via arm bar.
“It was chill cornering Stamp. I was confident. She did everything I told her. She was safe the entire time and made me happy,” Vaht said.
Vaht is pushing the MMA and BJJ team forward. Recently Vaht participated in the AFG open. She won the belt in the Female No Gi Absolute Pro Lightweight division.
Pok Bill joins the team
There’s a new fighter in the house. Pokbill competed in The Challenger Reality TV series. He won the show and is a former IFMA champion.
He’s going to test himself at Lumpinee World Championship. From there he’s hoping to make it onto the big stage of ONE Championship.
Fairtex is excited to see him grow in the future.
Valentine Wants To Fight
Frenchmen Valentine Compagnon is coming off a knockout win at Superchamp. Now he wants more. He’s dropping down in weight to 66kg.
“I feel confident fighting at 66kg,” he said. “I’m taking on less powerful opponents but I maintain my strength and power.”
In his last bout, Compagnon attacked his opponent in the clinch. He drove in gutting knees.
“I like to clinch when I fight so I can elbow,” he said.
He’ll be elbowing his way to victory in the middle of November.
What Jihin Learned in Thailand
(In this Photo: HW2-Pink )
Jihin Radzuan learned a lot during her stay at Fairtex. Perhaps most importantly she learned vocabulary:
Arai na – What’s that
Monga rai – What are you looking at
Kiigiat lor – Are you lazy?
Chaa chaa – slowly
Mai dee – No good
Radzuan went home to Malaysia but is due to come back to Thailand soon.
Y2K goes and does seminars abroad
Always the entertainer, Y2K is going to Brazil for his first solo seminar. He recently went to Evolve in Singapore to help Stamp teach.
“I taught Muay Thai technique,” Y2k said. “Stamp demonstrated a front kick to the face. You have to relax and have rhythm than bang.”
Y2K will continue teaching later this month. He’ll go to Brazil for two weeks to teach what he’s learned in his many years of fighting in Thailand.
Author: Matt Lucas
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