Results and Recap: Muaythai Premier League "Strength and Honour"

by Digo Ferrugia

 The Muaythai Premier League's (MPL) second event "Strength and Honour" took place on Saturday, October 8th in Padova, Italy. Much like the "Stars and Stripes" event that took place in Long Beach, CA it was a stacked fight card that featured some big names including Saiyok, Liam Harrison, Jordan Watson, Ky Hollenbeck and Kaoklai to name a few.

The night's lone non-league bout featured Thai fighter Kaoponglek against Fance's Charles Francois. The fight was one sided in favor of Kaoponglek who used all of his tools to pick apart Francois. The fight was eventually stopped due to a cut, but it was quite clear that Kaoponglek was on his way to earning the victory before the bout was stopped.

Kaoklai Kaennorsing was able to out point Italian fighter Roberto Cocco. It was a closely contested fight where Cocco's hands look very good, Kaoklai used his kicks to do most of his damage. Kaoklai will have a two fight win streak heading into his bout with Joe Schilling at the M-One Muay Thai event in Los Angeles on October 21st.

In one of the nights more shocking results, Mohamed Khamal defeated Liam Harrison by split decision. Harrison was considered one of the favorites in the 147lb bracket, but it was obvious Khamal didn't get the memo. The fight was extremely close, Khamal used his boxing to score points, but some nicely placed elbows also paid dividens for him as he cut Harrison. It was the reverse for Harrison who scored with kicks and knees through most of the fight, but in the judges eyes it seemed the damage that Khamal caused was more significant.

Saiyok had no trouble picking apart Mauro Serra. Despite Saiyok scoring with whatever he wanted Serra showed some real heart in the fight by going the distance while his possibility of winning the bout diminished with each passing minute. In addition Serra was a late replacement for Kevin Ross who withdrew from the league.

Another notable upset was the victory of Ky Hollenbeck over the UK's Jordan Watson. Hollenbeck is the #1 ranked North American fighter by Muay Thai Authority and has recently faced a slew of difficult fights, but has been able to win each fight placed in front of him. Hollenbeck's unusual style has proven to be difficult for traditional Muay Thai fighters. Hollenbeck likes to push the pace from start to finish and grind his opponents down. Watson was given an eight count after a spinning back fist from Hollenbeck sent him to the canvas early in the fight, but it seemed to be that Watson was more off balance than actually being hurt as he popped right back up. In the end the judges saw the fight in favor of Hollenbeck as he took home the decision.

It was another stacked event for the MPL, who will be heading to the Netherlands to continue the league action for their third event "Baptism by Fire" on November 6th. Below are the full results from "Strength and Honour".

Full Results:
140lb (63.5kg) - Super Lightweight
Ilona Wijmans (NED) def. Chantal Ughi (ITA) via Unanimous Decision
Tainara Lisboa (BRA) def. Sandra Bastian (CAN) via Split Decision

147lb (66.6kg) – Welterweight
Saiyok Pumpanmuang (THA) def. Maurro Serra (ITA) via Unanimous Decision
Mohamed Khamal (MOR) def. Liam Harrison (UK) via Split Decision

160lb (72.5kg) – Middleweight
Vladimir Moravcik (SVK) and Rosario Presti (ITA) fight to a Draw
Ky Hollenbeck (USA) def. Jordan Watson (UK) via Unanimous Decision

182lb (82.5kg) - Light Heavyweight
Marc De Bonte (AUS) def. Jiri Zak (CZE) via Split Decision
Kaoklai Kaennorsing (THA) def. Roberto Cocco (ITA) via Unanimous Decision

210lb (95kg) – Heavyweight
Ramazan Ramazanov (RUS) def. Chris Knowles (UK) via KO

Super Fight
Kaoponglek (THA) def. Charles Francois (FRA) via TKO