Tampa, FL - On March 4, 2006, MKM Knockout Promotions, Inc
brought their 9th event of the Shin Do Kumaté to an energetic and frenzied sold
out crowd at the Bob Martinez Sports Complex in the University of Tampa. Shin Do Kumaté IX, Battle of the Warriors.
Sponsored By Tiger beer, Women Kickboxing, Man-Magazine, Real Fight Gear, Bright
House Networks, dazzled spectators
with a great light and sound show and the most exciting fights to come to
Florida in a long time. With such great fighters as Dan
Rawlings, Stefan
ButinBik, Kate Meehan, Rick
Roufus and Master Mehrdad, this event was nothing short of
spectacular.
Pro Fight #6 - Main Event - "The
Persian Warrior" Master Mehrdad vs. Rick "The Jet"
Roufus
The crowd was explosive as the
earlier fights had built up the anticipation for the main event between Master
Mehrdad "The Persian Warrior" of St.
Petersburg, FL and Rick
"The Jet" Roufus of Tempe, AZ. There has been some animosity building up
between the fighters as both of them assured everyone that at the end of the
night, they will be victorious. The first round saw Roufus wanting to go
toe to toe with the Persian Warrior until he took a couple of hard shin-kicks to
the arms and legs. After that, Roufus seemed more cautious and reverted to
his style of staying outside and peppering shots in to Master
Mehrdad.
Master Mehrdad "The Persian
Warrior"
The 2nd round saw the Persian
Warrior work his leg kicks and some hard kicks to the arms. Roufus was
able to push in his left hand, timing the round kick from the Persian
Warrior. Up to the third round, both fighters had knocked each other down
earning opponents knockdowns and the tempo of the fight was increasing.
Roufus was moving a lot more, trying to stick and move as Master Mehrdad, with a
great look of determination on his face, was walking him down.
Once the 3rd round started, both
fighters came out with no hesitation. Master Mehrdad continued to use his
leg kicks, not letting Roufus get inside. Roufus was forced to stay
outside and use his left hand. At 1:36 into the 3rd round, Master Mehrdad
took a left hand to his shoulder while delivering a kick to the inside leg of
The Jet. As Master Mehrdad stepped back, his left knee buckled under him
and gave way. The referee saw the knee buckle and would not allow the
Persian Warrior to continue, giving Roufus the win. This fight was packed
with action and excitement and no one wanted to see it end the way it
did.
On a special note from Master
Mehrdad, he writes:
"I would like to thank
Rick Roufus for coming to fight on
our card. I respect him for
stepping into the ring against me.
I am not saying that I am the baddest fighter in the world, but after all
my other opponents backed out, Rick
Roufus stepped up and fought me. I wish him the best of luck in the
upcoming K-1 USA and I look forward to the opportunity to fight him again at the
St. Pete Times Forum. This rematch
is pending the Jet's outcome in K-1 and we will announce it in May once the
contracts are signed.
I'd like to also thank Mr. Tofan
Pirani of Sweden who flew in to train me for 10
days for the Roufus fight. Tofan
will be fighting on our next card at the St. Pete Times Forum under full Muay
Thai rules.
Pro Fight #1 - Travis Crawford vs. Craig "The Hammer"
Oxley
In the first professional fight of
the night, Craig "The Hammer" Oxley of the Wolf's Den in Jacksonville, FL stepped
into the ring against Travis Crawford
of Diamond Dutchman/GriffonRawl Muay Thai of Tampa, FL. Both fighters came out very
aggressive with Crawford going to the body with his kicks and Oxley using his
boxing skills to his advantage, snapping back Crawford's head with some good
straight left hands. Crawford was using his knees inside the clinch, but
Oxley was very effective in blocking them.
The fast tempo of the first round
kept up for the rest of the fight. Neither fighter backing down but going
toe to toe. Crawford used his knees relentlessly in the clench and Oxley
repeatedly used his hands to make Crawford pay. During the later rounds,
Crawford used his inside leg kicks to repeatedly knock Oxley to the ground,
making the difference and giving Travis
Crawford the hard fought decision.
Pro Fight #2 - Vivian "Machine Gun"
Leung vs. Jenypher Lanthier
In the 2nd pro fight of the night
and making her professional debut, Vivian Leung of Scheer's Martial Arts in
Saskatoon, Canada, made short work of Jenypher Lanthier, representing Siam #1 in Toronto, Canada. At 1 minute into the
first round, Leung fired off a rapid 1-2 combination followed by a crushing knee
to the stomach of Lanthier, dropping her to the canvas and earning her first pro
win by KO.
Pro Fight #3 - Dan
Rawlings vs. Hiroshi "El Samurai" Takamatsu
Dan
Rawlings of GriffonRawl Muay Thai in
Brooksville, FL
came in against Hiroshi Takamatsu of Team Toro Muay Thai in Bolingbrook, IL. Rawlings entered the ring and
performed the traditional Wai Kru / Ram Muay ceremony before the fight, bringing
some tradition into his fight and the Shin Do Kumaté ring.
The fight started with both fighters
feeling each other out and having very crisp and clean techniques.
Rawlings was in control of the tempo and opened a cut over the left eye of
Hiroshi in the first round. Rawlings kept pushing inside to work his hands
and even got in a flying punch on Hiroshi against the ropes. At 1:30 into
the second round, the referee stepped in to examine the cut and the ringside
doctor found that Hiroshi was unable to continue, rendering the fight a No
Contest, much to the dismay of Dan Rawlings and his
corner.
Pro Fight #4 - Kate "The Killer"
Meehan vs Mercedes Medina
In the second female pro fight of
the night, MKM Elite Fight Team Member Kate Meehan showed why she is one of the
top female fighters in North America as she knocked out Mercedes Medina of
Valdez Kickboxing in East LA with a blistering
shin kick to the body at 1:54 into the 1st round. Kate Meehan is scheduled
to fight on April 15th in Holland against Dutch Dynamo Soumia for the 54
kgs WPKL World Title and will be represented by Master Mehrdad and MKM Knockout
Promotions, Inc.
Pro Fight #5 - Stefan "Shindent"
ButinBik vs. Ajahn Suchart Yodkerepauprai
The second to last fight saw
Stefan ButinBik of USA Muay Thai in
Crystal River, FL and the Shin Do Kumaté Male Lightweight Champion take on Ajahn
Suchart Yodkerepauprai of Siam #1 in Toronto, Canada. Ajahn Suchart took this
fight on less then 2 days notice when the original opponent, Christian
Allen, ripped his ACL. When asked if he was ready to
fight on such short notice, Ajahn Suchart replied with a smile and said, "I am
always ready!" Ajahn Suchart is a former Lumpinee Stadium Champion and his
last fight was a bare knuckle fight in his home country of Thailand.
The fight started off with ButinBik being very cautious and circling
constantly. Ajahn Suchart was very relaxed in the ring and even playing to
the crowd, dropping his hands and shaking his body whenever ButinBik
connected. ButinBik seemed a little uneasy as Ajahn Suchart continued to
press his attack. Then out of nowhere the fighters clinched and Ajahn
Suchart picked up ButinBik and body slammed him to the canvas! Apparently,
the slam seemed to relax ButinBik as he was now able to move more agile and let
his hands go. The crowd was definitely getting into the fight as the noise
was almost deafening. ButinBik had an excellent game plan of constantly
moving in and out and never staying in one place for too long, so as to not
allow Ajahn Suchart to land his very powerful kicks. Even with his moving,
Ajahn Suchart landed some strong kicks against ButinBik, which we later found
out broke the skin on ButinBik's hip, causing it to raise a nasty contusion and
start to bleed. The 3rd round saw ButinBik become a lot more aggressive
and catch the shin-kicks of Ajahn Suchart and then hitting him with a strong
hook to the head dropping Ajahn Suchart to the canvas, rendering ButinBik a
TKO.
OSU
In the undercard bouts of the
evening, even though they fight under the title of Amateurs, these fighters
showed tremendous heart and true potential.
In the first Undercard bout, Maro
Kim of Diamond Dutchman Muay Thai in Orlando,
FL stopped Chad Johnson of World Class Martial Arts in
Tampa, FL in the 3rd round with some
devastating knee strikes to the stomach.
Kim was in control of the whole fight and in the end Johnson couldn't
withstand the onslaught.
The next undercard bout saw local
Amateur fighter Lars Letonoff of World Shin Do Kumaté Association under Master
Mehrdad take out Gregorio Simmons of 360 Mixed Martial Arts in Daytona FL.
A cut was opened up right above the left eye of Letonoff and once he
smelled his own blood, he took the fight to Simmons, stopping him in the second
round.
The last undercard bout of the
evening saw Brian Sheaffer, who also fights under the banner of Master Mehrdad's
World Shin do Kumaté Association win a controversial decision over Brian
Eckstein of Diamond Dutchman Muay Thai in Orlando.
The deciding factor of this fight was a knockdown in the first round when
Sheaffer hit Eckstein on the side of the head with a powerful right
hook.
On September 9th, 2006, you do not
want to miss the biggest Muay Thai Event ever to hit North America as Shin Do
Kumaté X, Championship Night", comes to the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, FL.
for tickets, you can go to www.ticketmaster.com
You can catch the Shin Do Kumaté IX
on Pay Per View, Video on Demand, premiering on March 18th at
Midnight.
For more information and Pay Per
View schedules check your cable listing or, log onto www.tvn.com
or www.mkmfights.com
.
