FFMA Review of MSA's InauguralSupershow
07 November 2009

By Alan Macdonald

The faint skirl of the bagpipes, at first deadened by the tumult of bodies between the piper and the ring, grew in crescendo, cascading the stirring notes of 'Scotland the Brave' amongst the crowd like tartan confetti. Behind the piper, making his way red-faced and billowy cheeked through the gaping fans, cavorted a kilt-clad, bare-chested figure, not the ruddy, red-haired Scotsman one might expect, but a small, joyfully grinning Thai man, doing a passable impression of the Highland Fling! With an exuberant leap over the top rope of the ring he was in his arena, still 'highland flinging' and still grinning manically to the delight and roars of the crowd. Were it not for the MSA boxing gloves encasing his hands, it could have been presumed he was a crazy, mixed-up fan in the wrong traditional dress, but this was MSA's inaugural Muay Thai Supershow - and this guy was here to fight!

And fights there were in abundance. With some of the most mouth-watering match-ups ever seen in this country, the MSA team had excelled themselves in providing value for money, top class entertainment in this, their first Premier League Supershow, working tirelessly to deliver the cream of the Muay Thai fighting world to our doorstep at the Reebok De Vere Whites Premier Suite in Bolton. In the art of Muay Thai of course - the Art of Eight Limbs - not only do we have one of the most effective and deadly forms of fighting; with it comes a history, a culture and a spirituality that imbues the very core of all those involved, fighters and fans alike. In spite of its brutality, the sheer gracefulness and feline speed of a skilful opponent is wont to leave both fans and non-aficionados slack-jawed in wonder and is a spectacle to behold. And the 1500 capacity crowd in The De Vere Whites Hall was not going to be disappointed.

The capacious, balconied hall was full to capacity well before the 1.30 start. In the expectant buzz humming from the crowd, the MSA emblazoned ring stood empty and virginal, gleaming like a beacon under the Sky television arc lights, waiting for its suitors and their respective dates. Two giant screens hung astride the flaming MSA logo on one curtained wall and to one side, a neon-bordered, meccano entrance waited cavernous, ready to disgorge its contents one by one, of dynamite laden legs, fists, elbows and knees along with the torsos that would deliver them. In this Milky Way galaxy of pugilistic heaven the star and focus of the show - the ring - was orbited by some twenty-five VIP tables, whilst seating and standing room receded into the outer reaches of the hall. With officials, cameramen and presenters in place, the hum became a hush, the scene was set and the show began.

The Scottish brogued tongue of the Sky announcer set events in motion, whipping the crowd into voice, before in a whirl of colour and noise, the arena and then the ring came alive with a troupe of Thai folk drummers. Vibrant rainbow-coloured silken costumes rivalled the arc lights in intensity and the percussion instruments they struck wove a pattern of Eastern noise at once rhythmic but hypnotic at the same time. As they departed, the fading remnants of their thrumming signalled the first battle fix of the day and the hum of the crowd became a buzz once more.

Fight 1. UKMF British Junior Title Anthony Shelton v Jordan Calder 5 x 3 min rounds. 57 kilos. With a roar of applause from the crowd, Shelton entered the arena and paused to pray at the steps to the blue corner before climbing over the top rope into his canvas playroom. He stood impassively watching, as the tall, thin figure of Calder made his entrance and the Ram Muay prelude to the fight began. Wai Khru Ram Muay is a spiritual pre-fight dance each fighter can choose to do, which achieves several results from a demonstration of his prowess, through prayers for strength or as simple as a bodily warm-up. Clues can also be found in each fighter's style of Ram Muay as to who taught them and where they are from. Shelton having finished his first, again watched expressionless, as Calder stamps his foot violently in his opponents corner, signifying his dominance and sealing of his enemies grave. With a short authoritative chat from the referee it was time to christen the ring and the fight was on.

Within a short time of the bell sounding Shelton had picked himself off the canvas some five times, having been lassoed by the long limbs of Calder and tripped albeit innocuously to the floor. Shelton seemed content to concentrate on punching and clinching as if he had decreed his legs not long enough to usefully kick, but he seemed to come off worst in each exchange. Calder was happy to defend, waiting for Shelton to advance and he countered each combination with more sting, something borne out in the second round when a heavy, lancing knee had Shelton gasping winded on the canvas. It was becoming apparent that Calder was getting the upper hand, and although Shelton continued to advance gamely, his reddened ribs were testament to the knee punishment he continued to suffer in the clinch. In the fourth round a thudding front kick preceded a couple of sweet overhand rights, which Shelton answered with an incisive left hook, before again tasting canvas when his legs were taken from under him. The final round saw a revival of Shelton's fortunes, as Calder seemed to tire somewhat. Shelton rejuvenated began to throw effective combinations and gave Calder a taste of his own medicine when he closely examined the ring floor after a crunching knee. However with a jabbing front kick Calder managed to keep danger at bay and he was rewarded for his earlier success with a points win. Winner - Jordan Calder - Points.

Fight 2. Paul Grant v Phil Burke 5 x 3 min rounds. 82 kilos. The heavy set nature of these two lads precluded the sort of fast and frantic pace that could be set by smaller, lighter fighters and the pair began by probing thoughtfully, looking for openings in each others defences. Grant scored the first noticeable success with a battering-ram of a front kick to Burke's stomach, which sent him flying backwards to the floor. Dusting himself off, he responded with a barrage of roundhouses and attempted several slashing elbows, which mercifully for Grant didn't connect. He retorted with an evil combination of executioner-like downward elbows to the head but Burke wisely saw them coming and managed to take avoiding action.

After the bell and an advisory and recovery interlude between rounds Grant promptly leg swept his opponent beautifully and a slightly embarrassed but more intent Burke clambered upright again and scored with a jaw-quivering, long, rangy right hook. An exchange of ineffective elbows in the clinch was followed by a vicious leg kick by Grant, putting Burke into the horizontal once more. Grants face by now was taking on a crimson hue, as he was being roughed up in the clinch. As they probed at each other again in the third round, an attempted left hook by Grant was countered by a flashing, impacting right by Burke and Grant was down, obviously extremely stunned. On his knees struggling to focus, Grant rose at eight but Burke wasn't going to pass up on his chance and took advantage of his opponent's lax and dazed defence to land him on his back again with a brutal left hook. This time the ref had seen enough and the victory was Burkes. Winner Phil Burke - Stoppage.

Fight 3. Stevie Meikle v Jordan Watson. 5 x 3 min rounds 69 kilos. Both fighters began by throwing testing leg kicks with one crunching one from Watson almost putting Meikle on the floor. Watson seemed to produce the most clever front kicks and backed these up with some smarting punches and a good low body shot. He continued his work into the next round with a visible aura of relaxation written on his face and produced several searing leg kicks, which had Meikle's left thigh rapidly discolouring angrily. A flurry of punches to Meikle's head rocked him and a thrusting front kick catapulted him against the ropes. As he bounced back, Watson launched himself in a flying knee, which Meikle only just avoided.

By the third Watson was dominating. A body head combination lanced in before a full on heavy right elbow rendered Meikle dazed on the floor. With spirit Meikle was up quickly but Watson thudded in several heavy body shots and whip like leg kicks were by now making Meikle's left thigh like an open wound. The domination continued into the fourth too and a sickening right hook landed him once more on his back and, although he got up, he was far from compus mentus and only the bell saved him from oblivion. Summoning up all his reserves and spirit Meikle came out for the last round with some intent but by now his punches and kicks were weak and ineffective and Watson had no trouble avoiding them. Watson was by now so full of confidence, he didn't seem to want to hurt his opponent. However, as the end of the contest neared, a thrusting right elbow pole axed the unfortunate Meikle to his knees and although he struggled upright once more the merciful bell sounded and Watson was announced the winner. Winner Jordan Watson - Points.

Fight 4 - UKMF British Title Ally Smith v Marc Sergeant 5 x 3 min rounds, 76 kilos. Smith started out very much the aggressor in this title fight contest with his strong very direct punching giving Sergeant a standing count and a bloody nose. Although Sergeant tried manfully to counter, it seemed obvious the more dangerous threat was from the Scotsman. This was graphically borne out at the start of the second round when Sergeant's defences were bludgeoned aside and he was caught with a jackhammer of a right cross. He sunk to his knees with his face a picture of defeat and resignation and remained there as the ref counted him out. Winner Ally Smith - KO.

Fight 5. Rungnakom v Panikos Yusuf 5 x 3 min rounds, 62 kilos. After the whirling dervish, bekilted Rungnakom's entrance the crowd was expecting a rousing demonstration by the small Thai warrior with Scottish designs and we were not disappointed. His dark-eyed opponent from Cyprus was serious and impassive and used his longer reach to land some useful kicks and punches. Rungnakom however fought inside well and gave as good as he got in a fairly even round. Round two continued much in the same vein although Yusuf began to throw some wind milling elbows, which were avoided by some nifty infighting by the Thai. He gutsily came on to Yusuf, who by now was throwing an onslaught of blows to legs and body with some success. Each time he looked as if he was getting the upper hand the set-jawed Rungnakom would counter with effective shots of his own. In the fourth an escalation of grudge resulted in several low blows and trips with follow up kicks or knees only just being avoided. A flashing body shot suddenly peremptorily ended the fight, when Rungnakom sunk to his knees in his corner pointing at his kidneys and shaking his head in resignation. Winner Panikos Yusuf - Stoppage.

With the end of this contest and the breathless spectacle we had witnessed over the last couple of hours, there was time for some light relief and the giant screens flickered into life, after an introduction from Hollywood stuntman Phil Tan, with a celluloid testament to a remarkable man, Grandmaster Anthony Wee. The hushed hall watched in awed silence, as a demonstration of controlled breathing and mind over body mastery saw him lie supine as a 92 tonne London bus rolled slowly over him. The master himself was present on the day and we again watched in wonder as the sixty-six year was struck full-force in the stomach with a sledgehammer by Dr Swee Lip Quek, the chairman of MSA. As if that was not enough, the head of security, the ex-British heavyweight boxing champion, was called to the ring and proceeded to karate chop with terrible force to Grandmaster Wee's throat. The blows would have felled most people, that was obvious, but Grandmaster Wee soaked them up and left the ring smiling and taking a rapturous and well-deserved applause.

There was scarcely time to draw breath before four young ladies clad in black loose-fitting karate suits entered the ring. This was Chloe Bruce and her troupe, holder of the Guinness World record for the fastest kicks. At the commencement of the beating music they launched into a dazzling display of high kicking manoeuvres and powerful karate techniques before Chloe impossibly threw twenty kicks, one after the other, with her leg vertically over her head. The scintillating show drew a rapturous round of applause from the audience and left them undoubtedly wanting more. But for now it was back to the fights and a mouth-watering match-up to follow.

Fight 6. Rungravee v Andy Howson 5 x 3 min rounds, 55 kilos. A sparse opening minute of the round in which testing was limited to looking for openings, was broken when Rungravee had some success with his front teep continually pushing Howson backwards. A long sweeping left hook from Howson scored on its target but Rungravee responded with resounding leg kicks. These tree-felling kicks were repeated with ugly regularity to Howson's left thigh into round two, and it began to look very painful indeed. With the bell imminent, a thumping right hook from Rungravee put the stunned and disheartened Howson on the canvas and he made his way to his corner where he was consoled urgently by his corner. The implacable Rungravee went into the third round with lumberjack intent and began to dominate his rapidly confidence-shrinking opponent. A particularly wicked chop saw Howson's leg give way and he struggled painfully to his feet. It wasn't long before he was down again in the same way and, as the bell rang, he slumped in his corner, unable to continue. Winner Rungravee - Stoppage.

The main event of the day was only a few short minutes away, the World title fight between one of the best exponents of Muay Thai in the world Andre Kulebin, and one of the best in this country, Michael Dicks. As we waited for the announcement of this fight, two bling-covered, dark-clad figures in sunglasses bounded into the ring and began to hassle the ring girls, whilst dancing very badly to the raucous music resounding through the hall. It was Phil Tan and Grandmaster Sken's protégé, the very capable young Paul Karpovicz. As if en queue Grandmaster Sken followed them in and, seeing them hassling the two beauties, disabled them in several flying moves all in his best suit! At one point Paul and he produced the short Krabbi Krabbong swords and a scything, flashing duel was enacted with the swords sparking explosively as they clashed. This very funny but impressive routine over, the hubbub in the hall increased, as the main event drew nigh.

Fight 7. WMC World Title. Andre Kulebin v Michael Dicks 5 x 3 min rounds, 66.6 kilos. The square-jawed, hard-faced Kulebin looked in superb condition and performed his Ram Muay with balance, elegance and precision. Dicks too looked in top shape and appeared ready for one of the fights of his life. With formalities over, the bell signalled the beginning of hostilities and the hypnotic thrum of the Muay Thai music lilted through the hall. Dicks advanced on Kulebin and both fighters sized each other up. A few probing attempts were made by each fighter but with no success. Dicks then tried a punch combination, which seemed to sting his opponent into explosive and devastating action. In the blink of an eye Kulebin had thrown a left, right hand combo and had followed up with a wrecking left roundhouse to the side of Dicks' head. Dicks crumpled backwards to the floor, his right cheek angry with the imprint of Kulebin's shin, his eyes struggling to comprehend the scrambled messages from his addled brain. With tremendous fortitude he got up but, like a stilted marionette, he drunkenly wandered in one place and the referee had no option but to finish the contest. Winner Kulebin - KO.

Fight 8. WMC European Title Mehdi Zatout v Andy Thrasher 5 x 3 min rounds, 66.6 kilos The slim moustached Zatout put together some quick, zippy punch combos, with both apparent power and speed, but happily for Thrasher, they went whizzing past his nose. Thrasher knuckled visibly down and landed a couple of strong leg kicks before trying unsuccessfully to take Zatout's legs from under him. Zatout, deceptively quick, switched kicked a gem of a front kick, which sent Thrasher staggering back and to the floor. Immediately on starting round two, a superb right uppercut from Zatout had Thrasher again feeling the roughness of the canvas, where he waited for the eight count, but got up to come back well with a good leg sweep and elbow combination to hurt the Frenchman. With round three underway, Thrasher was kept fully occupied guessing where the Gallic warrior's punches were going to come from next, as awesomely fast unorthodox combinations of punches were zoning in from every angle. Zatout would then switch to leg kicks with whip-cracking success. Thrasher defended and countered well and landed some stinging kicks and punches. In round four both started off with a flurry of heavy kicks before a lightning fast series of kicks and punches from each left them grinning at each other. Zatout began an 'Ali' shuffle and dropped his guard, taunting Thrasher, who responded with solid elbows and punches but to no avail. In the final round Thrasher came out with resolute intent, perhaps sensing he was behind on points but it was both fighters who continued to score. Zatout managed to open a cut on the top of Thrasher's head with a downward elbow but Thrasher, undeterred, advanced all the more aggressively. Sadly the bell interrupted proceedings and Thrashers sense was proved right and he lost on points. Winner Zatout - Points.

Fight 9. Sakeddao v Liam Harrison 5 x 3 min rounds, 63 kilos. An absorbing first round seemed to go to Harrison, with the landing of several good leg kicks and marksman-like hooks to the head. Sakeddao throughout the fight used his right leg like a jab, prodding irritatingly, for Harrison, into the front of his thigh, a tactic to annoy and keep at bay rather than hurt. Harrison seemed to have the more power to his techniques but his poker faced opponent was still scoring. By the time round three had unfurled, Sakeddao, implacable and machine-like as ever, had continued to try and wear Harrison down, with the left roundhouse to Harrison's ribs being his favourite shot. The Englishman however, in spite of appearing a little red-faced and frustrated, was still boxing well. Round four and Sakeddao, expression unchanged, still advanced, jabbing at Harrison's leg in an infuriating, metronomic, nuisance motion. Harrison put together some great punch combinations, which rocked the Thai and he began to clinch in an attempt to land roundhouse knees to Harrison's reddened ribs. Things were looking good for the Brit. With real aggression Harrison finished the final round advancing on the visibly rattled Thai and landed some good, heavy punches and elbows. It was not enough however, as Sakeddao had scored well in the early rounds and the points victory was his. Winner Sakeddao - Points

Fight 10 Saenchi Sor Kingstar v Rob Storey. 5 x 3 min rounds, 61.5 kilos. A Thai dance entrance by Saenchi was upstaged roundly by Rob Storey, whose team came into the music track YMCA, dressed as the group that sang it, The Village People. There was no way however that Saenchi was going to be upstaged by his opponent in the fight and we were treated to an exhibition of quality and invincibility by this superstar of Muay Thai. Within a minute he had performed two cartwheel kicks and shimmied his way through the first round scoring seemingly at will. At one point he ended up grabbing his opponent and kissing him before Storey entered into the spirit of it all and kissed him back! Over the next two and a half rounds the lesson continued with Storey taking three eight counts but with fantastic bravery rising each time to resume. Saenchi had superb balance and grace and seemed to be able to pull any technique he liked from his extensive repertoire. A consolation cheer rang out in the third when Storey managed to fell Saenchi with a leg grab. But in the fourth, within seconds of the start of the round, a final thigh kick prostrated Storey for the last time and the fight was stopped. Winner Saenchi - Stoppage.

The lights came up, the screens flickered to darkness and Grandmaster Sken climbed into the ring for the final time. A short closing speech was made and thanks were offered to everyone involved - sponsors, fighters and organisers. As the fans streamed towards the exit, I made my goodbyes and, as I left, I looked back. Grandmaster Sken was there, posing with fans for photos and proffering advice unhurriedly and with grace, in spite of the long and stressful day he must have had. And I thought,' This is spirit, this is the real thing, this is MSA, this is Muay Thai!

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