Some of Mandurah’s best junior, novice, amateur and professional Muay Thai fighters will take to the ring for the Futures V fight night presented by local gym True Grit this month.
More than 30 bouts will encompass fighters from a beginners level all the way up to those with more than 300 fights of experience in the bank.
True Grit director and fight night promoter Chantel Green said the card would showcase some of Mandurah, and the state’s, finest junior talent.
“We’ve got some awesome young guys in Mandurah and it’s really good for them to get out of sparing and experience the real thing,” she said.
“A lot of the time juniors can be better to watch than the seniors. They have a real knack for it and it’s important for them to learn the sport in a safe environment.”
Headlining the junior bouts will be a state featherweight title fight between True Grit’s very own Brock Blakeney and Mark Thongchai, a rematch of a bout the two fought last year.
Following the juniors, both the semi-main event and main event will be professional fights.
The top clash will see another True Grit representative, Dechsak Sangmorakot, taking on Perth fighter Ben Worsfold.
The card also features four female bouts, an achievement Green labelled astonishing.
“It’s really good to be able to hold four female fights, which is a lot for any card,” she said.
“Overall we have some very talented people that will be in the ring, which we’re all really looking forward to.”
Green expects the show to draw a crowd upwards of 500, bringing people from the metropolitan area and Bunbury into the city.
“Our last night had about 450 people attend, and this is a bigger event so we’re hoping for 500-600 people this time around,” she said.
“It’s a win-win for everyone whenever a sporting event can draw a crowd to Mandurah.”
Thanks in large to the spiking popularity of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, mixed martial arts such as Muay Thai have experienced rapid growth in previous years.
Green said the participant numbers locally had risen significantly in recent times.
“There’s definitely more kids doing it. The rise of the UFC has been huge for all mixed martial arts,” she said.
“Numbers across the entire state have risen so it’s awesome to be able to put on quality bouts like this.”
The fight night will be held at the Halls Head Recreation Centre on Saturday, February 25 with doors opening at 3pm.
For ticket information call 0403 250 157.
Justin Rake
Sports journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, Fairfax Media.
Sports journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, Fairfax Media.
