Omar Ahmed talks fighting and training in Thailand

Omar Ahmed is currently in Thailand fighting and training. He recently won his first fight since recently arriving in Thailand and was kind enough to take some time to talk to Muay Thai Authority about his experience over there. Omar has been going to train and fight in Thailand for the last few years but plan on staying for an extended duration this time.

MTA: You are back in Thailand Omar, how is everything going over there?

Omar: Everything is going real well. This is my 4th year in a row coming to Thailand and training at 13 coins.

MTA: What made you chose 13 coins?

Omar: I chose this camp because Saenchai trained here and he's my favorite fighter. I train with Kru Sorn who has been Saenchai’s trainer for a while.

MTA: Any idea how long you will stay?

Omar: I’m going to stay for several months and I haven't decided when I want to leave yet.

MTA: You just fought and won. Aside from the obvious joy of victory how was the fight?

Omar: The fight was awesome I felt I had one of my best performances and I feel like I have improved tremendously from my last fight.

MTA: This fight was at a higher weight than normal right, around 154, why the jump up in weight and how did you feel?

Omar: I fought a guy who was 154 because that was the only opponent they had for me. I weighed in at 148 for the fight. I felt really strong and I felt better than I did fighting at 140. I was eating healthy and wasn't eating small portions of food to make weight. I trained 2 times a day, ran 5 miles 2 times a day, hit pads two times a day. I Worked on my clinching a lot this time around and I trained hard but I wasn't struggling through it.

MTA: When do you think you will fight next?

Omar: As soon as I left the ring the promoter (One Songchai) called up my manager and told him he was impressed with my performance and he has fights for me in Lumpini and Raja.

MTA: How often are you planning on fighting out there?

Omar: I hope I can fight every 3 weeks while I'm here and get as much done as possible.

MTA: What's the main difference you see from training and living in Thailand as opposed to being back home in the states?

Omar: It's completely different here in Thailand as far as the training and living. I love my lifestyle here. I eat amazing food every day, nice weather, very nice people, I'm training with the best in the world, people are respectful, and no one is envious. When my camp took me to get matched up I asked them who am I fighting? How many fights does he have? Where is he from? What’s his name? They looked at me and said "don’t worry you just go and fight and prove yourself on the Kings Cup"...a real fighter fights whoever and I wasn't scared. I’m always prepared for the worst and I can accept any outcome of a fight. I was confident just because they picked me to fight on that night and I said to myself these people believe in me and I believe in myself as well. I went in there and didn't care what he knew or how good he was, and just executed what I do and won the fight.

MTA: Do you have any words for your supporters?

Omar: I want to thank all my supporters. I love all of them. I will continue to make them proud in the future and I want to thank the people who stuck by my side for the past 12 years. I’m far from done and I'm grateful for this blessing that I have to be healthy and to be able to do what i love for this long and still be young.

Kevin Ross talks about the historic year that 2011 has been for Muay Thai in America and his plans for 2012

Kevin Ross was a major part of the big year that was 2011 for Muay Thai. He fought two of the world’s best fighters and helped continue to push Muay Thai in America. We took some times to catch up with Kevin about the year that was 2011 as well as what he has planned for 2012. 

Kevin gives his thoughts on Saenchai and Sakkedao as well as addresses the recent news that full rules Muay Thai will now be allowed in New York. He also talks about potentially fighting Omar Ahmed who has recently expressed interest in fighting Kevin, as well as possibly heading back to Thailand.

MTA: Kevin this was a big year for Muay Thai in America, looking back at the year what are your thoughts?

Omar Ahmed talks about his upcoming fight at Lumpinee Stadium

New York’s Omar Ahmed is currently training in Thailand. He has an upcoming fight at Lumpinee Stadium this Saturday night against Ramon Kaewsamrit and was kind enough to take some time from his training to talk to Muay Thai Authority about the upcoming fight and his future plans. Omar will be moving up a weight class for the upcoming fight, after spending his entire career in the super lightweight division his next fight is in the welterweight division. 

MTA: You are fighting Ramon Kaewsamrit on Saturday night at Lumpinee Stadium. How has your training in Thailand been going?

Omar: My training has been going really well I been training hard for this fight everyday.

The Weekend Rundown: Krause, Palacios, Ahmed, and Hinds all victorious

There were two notable Muay Thai events this weekend in North America. To make things easier for our readers when there are multiple event on a weekend we like to give them the Weekend Rundown on Mondays. The two events this weekend were Stand Up Promotions "Oblonsky vs. Krause" which took place at Commerce Casino in Commerce, CA on July 9th and Take-On Productions "Battle at the Beacon Theater" which took place in at the Beacon Theater in New York, NY on July 8th.  Below is a quick break down of each event as well as the results.

Results: Take-On Productions "Battle at the Beacon Theater"

by Peeloshmee Deonarain

In the night's main event Andy Singh and Eric Ruiz were both making their professional debuts. Singh tried to keep the fight fast paced while Ruiz looked to keep a slower pace and pick his shots. The fast paced Singh looked to connect with his signature jumping knee throughout the fight. Ruiz stalked Singh connecting with heavy shots while Singh fired back with combinations landing punches in bunches which would be the deciding factor in the fight. The judges awarded Singh a majority decision.

Omar Ahmed and Holland's Nisvet Sivac immediately went to work as their fight started with both fighters exchanging punches. Ahmed was able to sweep Sivac several times and work his knees from the clinch. Sivac's nose began to bleed in the first round and continued to do so through out the entire fight. The second round saw both fighters attack to the body relentlessly and by the end of the round they were both showing signs of fatigue. In the third round Ahmed connected with a right hook that wobbled Sivac, refusing to go down Sivac was able to recover and make it to the end of the fight. The judges awarded Ahmed a unanimous decision victory over a very tough Nisvet Sivac.

Updated fight card for Battle at the Beacon Theater

Take-On Productions "Battle at the Beacon Theater" is set for July 8th in New York, however, some of the fights have been affected by injuries. Omar Ahmed and Rami Ibrahim both had the fighters they were going to be fighting pull out of their respective fights due to injury. While Ibrahim is still awaiting an opponent, Ahmed is now scheduled to face Nisvet Sivac of the Netherlands.

Sivac trains out of Haarlem Gym and brings a record of 17-3 to the fight. Sivac last competed in a K-1 rules fight in the Netherlands in which he dropped a decision to Redouane Boukerch. The fight will definitely be a test for Ahmed who holds professional record of 4-3. The
Sitan Gym fighter from New York will be seeing his first action of 2011.

Omar Ahmed talks upcoming fight at Battle at the Beacon Theater

Muay Thai Authority caught up with Omar Ahmed to chat about his upcoming fight at Take-On Productions "Battle at the Beacon Theater". Omar was originally scheduled to fight Jake Mainini on the July 8th event but will now face an unknown opponent instead.

MTA: You have an upcoming fight with Jake Mainini how has your training for the fight been going?

Omar: My training is going good. I train hard for every fight.

MTA: You were originally scheduled to fight Jake Mainini but he recently had to withdraw from the fight. Does a change in opponent a few weeks before hand affect your training at all?

Hinds, Hasanov, Ibrahim, Ahmed, and Watthanaya all in action at Take-On Productions "Battle at the Beacon Theater"

Take-On Productions July 8th event "Battle at the Beacon Theater" is shaping up with some high quality pro fights. The event will take place at the Beacon Theater in New York and will feature a main event for the WKA North American 132lb title. 

Current champion Rami Ibrahim looks to defend his WKA title for a fifth time against Thanit "Boom" Watthanaya. Ibrahim recently lost an exciting and close decision to Matt Embree as part of the Journey Fight Series 140lb tournament, while Watthanaya will be in action this weekend as he takes on Romie Adanza at WCK Muay Thai's "Road to WCK".

Take-On Productions to work with Madison Square Garden to promote Muay Thai Show in NYC

Take-On Productions which is run by promoter Eddie Cuello will team up with Madison Square Garden to promote Take-On Productions next event. The event is set for June 25th at the Beacon Theater on Broadway, and will feature several pro fighters from the New York Muay Thai scene.

According to Take-On Productions the event will have massive media coverage as well as TV commercials on the MSG and MSG Plus networks, Radio ads on ESPN radio, commercials outside the jumbo tron at Madison Square Garden, inside the Garden on the jumbo tron, Digital kiosks on the Zoom media network and a possible 30 minute spot on ESPN.

Omar Ahmed: Ready to expand abroad

If you walk into Sitan Gym in Queens, NY odds are you will find Omar Ahmed training, or coaching. The Queens, NY native is on a mission to become the best Muay Thai practitioner he can be. Like anyone looking to strive for greatness you need discipline and dedication, and Omar has let Muay Thai engulf his life.

"Muay Thai is basically my life in a lot of ways because I am a pro fighter and I do teaching and coaching as well when I'm not in the ring as my job." said Omar. "Muay Thai brings me peace, happiness, and lots of fun...and I get paid to do it so its a blessing."

New York fighters respond to Chaz Mulkey's comments

Chaz Mulkey stirred up some controversy this past week with his comments regarding New York Muay Thai. He goes as far as referring to the fights in New York as "sissy pants fights". Muay Thai Authority gathered some feedback from some of New York's top Muay Thai fighters such as Omar Ahmed, Chris Romulo, and Rami Ibrahim. Although they seem to respect Mulkey's freedom to state is own opinion, they don't agree with his statements.

Chris Romulo - 

"I think its a great way to finally get both coast on a show to prove which people work the hardest. As far as his quote, it is ignorant, disrespectful and childish. Muay Thai is not only about the art of combat, but also the art of humility which Chaz sounds like he missed out on. But I get where he is coming from, he wants to test himself just like every other "muay thai" fighter here in NY. Its on the promoters to take the padlocks off their wallets and make this scrap happen. I am up for the challenge and I am pretty sure so is everyone here in NY."

Take-On Productions results for Dec. 11th show

 In the main even Omar Ahmed improved his professional record to 5-3 with a unanimous decision victory over Kevin Molina.

In the nights co-main event Jamal Wahib kept his undefeated record in tact by knocking out debuting Sacha Hijazi in the fifth round.

The event also featured a junior bout between Destry Dalrymple and Alex Shahnazaryants. Destry Dalrymple defeated Alex Shahnazaryants via Unanimous Decision.

Full Results:

Fight Card for Dec. 11th Take-On Production show

Take-On Productions has put together its fight card for December 11th. The event will take place at The 7 Train Theater in Flushing, NY. There will be two professional bouts on the fight card, and eleven amateur bouts.

In the professional bouts undefeated Jamal Wahib will fight Sacha Hijazi, whom will be making his professional debut. The nights other pro bout will feature Omar Ahmed vs. Kevin Molina.

Gaius Ebratt and King Opaku will meet in an amateur fight for the NE Regional Title. The event starts at 6:30 pm.