There’s a lot of news in the world of kickboxing these days, and that’s definitely a welcome change from the way things were a year ago. Glory, K-1, and Super Kombat are all in full swing at the moment, and when you add in the international Muay Thai scene and various other regional promotions, you have quite a robust kickboxing scene with plenty to discuss. Here then are the latest headlines, including Badr Hari’s latest legal troubles, results from Super Kombat last weekend, and the return of Buakaw.
Badr Hari Allegedly Involved In Assault… Again
Badr Hari didn’t earn his reputation for being the bad boy of kickboxing for nothing. The K-1 fighter is once again involved in a serious assault case. This time, Hari was alledgedly present in a VIP box at the Amsterdam ArenA when a man was violently attacked and left with potentially permanent physical problems. It’s unclear exactly how involved Hari was, though current reports indicate that he was at the scene at the time of the assault, fled the scene, and may have participated in the attack himself. This is hardly Hari’s first run-in with the law – in 2010 he was involved in an Amsterdam nightclub assault. At that time, he fled the country, resulting in him missing a year of his kickboxing career, including the 2010 K-1 Grand Prix. There’s no doubt Badr is one of the most exciting kickboxers on the planet, and it’s a shame to see his career constantly jeopardized by these behaviors.
Buakaw Por. Pramuk Returning To Muay Thai
On to some good news – former K-1 MAX champion and Muay Thai legend Buakaw Por. Pramuk has been cleared to return to the ring. As we previously reported, Buakaw has been dealing with various legal issues resulting from his split from his longtime training camp. Because of those issues, Buakaw announced his retirement earlier this year. Now, Thai courts have ruled that he is again allowed to fight. He’ll keep using the Por. Pramuk name, though will not be training at the camp. Interestingly, there was talk of Buakaw moving to MMA, with photos and video of him training jiu jitsu and wrestling surfacing. In Thailand right now, there is a lot of fear that MMA will displace Muay Thai as the main combat sport, and apparently, the idea of losing Buakaw to MMA caused a lot of concern. Here’s a pretty great statement from the Thai government on the matter, courtesy of My Muay Thai:
The Deputy Governor of the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT), Mr. Sakol Wanphong, said that he is very disappointed & sad over the news that the top muaythai boxer Buakaw will go down the path of fighting in MMA in Hong Kong & Macau. He said that MMA is a ‘savage’ sport that involves fighting on the ground in a cage until a fighter loses consciousness, & so the SAT is against having MMA fights in Thailand. He said that ground fighting is unbecoming of a ‘real man’ & ‘ungentlemanly’.
So no Buakaw in our “ungentlemanly” sport, but at least he’s back in action. Current reports have his next fight set for August 17 on a Thai Fight card in the UK against English fighter Craig Jose.
Lots more, including Super Kombat results, in the full entry.
Super Kombat World Grand Prix Results
Super Kombat held their latest show this past weekend. The main attraction was the latest 4 man tournament to qualify for their year end Grand Prix. In something of an upset, Benjamin Adegbuyi took out favorite Mladen Brestovac en route to winning the tournament. He moves on to the year end GP in December, joining Sergei Lascenko, Ismael Londt, Erhan Deniz, Pavel Zhuravlev, Catalin Morosanu and Raul Catinas. The 8th and final participant will be determined on October 20. Other results from the show included Alexey Ignashov defeating Corneliu Rus via decision and Ismael Londt taking a decision win over Freddy Kemayo (full results here). The highlights were two absolute destructions at the hands of Raul Catinas and Andrei Stoica – the Stoica fight in particular is worth a watch, and you can check it out here. Overall, it was another entertaining card from Super Kombat – check them out if you have not already done so.
K-1 Open Tryouts
Always dreamed of being a K-1 fighter? Then this news is for you. On July 19, K-1 will be holding open tryouts for new fighters in Venice Beach, California. All the details are on their Facebook page. K-1 has taken a lot of flak for this move, but I think it’s an interesting way to gain some publicity in the US, while also working on bringing in some new talent to help build the future of K-1.
K-1 Veteran Ewerton Teixeira To Make MMA Debut
Former K-1 fighter Ewerton Teixeira has announced that he will make his MMA debut on August 4. The Brazilian kyokushin karate fighter will compete on a Dorea Fights show in Brazil. Teixeira is a two time K-1 Grand Prix final 8 participant, and is perhaps best known for being on the receiving end of a brutal Alistair Overeem lights out KO in the 2009 GP. He’s been mostly silent since the 2010 GP. I hope he’s not done with kickboxing, as he has a lot to offer, but I’m excited to see how he does in MMA.
John Wayne Parr’s Caged Muay Thai To Return
Finally, recently retired Australian Muay Thai great John Wayne Parr is bringing back his new Caged Muay Thai series. On October 13, Parr will hold the second Caged Muay Thai event, which features full Muay Thai rules fights contested in a cage and with MMA gloves. The main event is a fantastic fight as Michael “Tomahawk” Thompson faces Pornsaneh. Latest updates can be found here, and click here for video from Parr vs. Jordan Tai at the last event.
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