Tiger Muay Thai News Archive

June 18th, 2012

TMT Fighter Patrick Schmid Finishes Fight in First Round with KO and goes 7-0

After three knockdowns, officials stopped the bout of Tiger Muay Thai and MMA Training Camp, Phuket, Thailand fighter Patrick Schmid mid-way through the first round at Bangla Boxing Stadium on Sunday night.

“Can’t hold anything against him, he had a hard head – I hurt my (left) hand,” Schmid said after the fight against 29-year-old Thai national Taneelek, while showing his swollen fist.

Schmid, a 25 year-old kickboxing veteran from Switzerland, started the fight with strong punches and manhandled Taneelek throughout the bout. Big Swiss would get his opponent in a clinch seemingly at will, dropping Taneelek the first time with a strong left jab.

“The first knock down he was basically out from his feet so I just had to finish him off,” Schmid, now 7-0, said.

The second knockdown came immediately after Taneelek, a veteran of over 80 fights, rose to his feet. Schmid again grabbed him in a clinch and landed two strong knees – one to the rib and one to the face as he fell.

For others that would be enough, but Taneelek got up once more only to fall for the final time again while in a clinch and took on two more strong left knees to the sternum.

“He was a strong fighter. I give him a lot of credit,” Schmid said.

Earlier in the night, 20 year-old American Ryan Spadafuce made his Muay Thai debut against 28-year-old Yodaek, who has over 60 fights under his belt. Though Spadafuce went the distance, he lost by decision.

Spadafuce came out aggressive in many instances and showed immense poise under pressure. He traded heavy kicks with Yodeak and landed several strong elbows while in a clinch.

June 18th, 2012

Zinganos Know that Families Who Train Together, Stay Together

Cat and Brayden watch as Mauricio trains with Roger Huerta

The Zingano’s are no slouches.

Even while on a family trip to Thailand, with a wedding anniversary and two birthdays to celebrate, Cat and Mauricio Zingano are each leading Mixed Martial Arts seminars at Tiger Muay Thai and MMA Training Camp in Phuket, Thailand.

To cap it all off, Cat Zingano is marking the occasion the only way she knows how – by making her Muay Thai debut at the end of June, just days before her birthday.

“We’re still trying to make this a vacation, trying to do everything sightseeing wise,” Cat said. “But as soon as you get (to TMT), it just draws you in and I want to do everything now including fight.”

Hailed as the top female MMA fighter in the world at 125-pounds (57-Kilos), Cat Zingano was also named Colorado’s “Female Professional Fighter of the Year” in 2011 by ATO Colorado MMA and Ink’d Out Apparel. Her husband, Mauricio Zingano, owns several BJJ gyms in Colorado and was also named “Coach of the Year” in 2011.

“(Zingano BJJ) only lost about two times last year out of over 60 fights I believe,” Mauricio, a 3rd degree Black Belt said. “Promoters started leaving us messages saying they didn’t want to fight our guys anymore.”

With their 5 year-old son Brayden in tow, the Zingano’s are enjoying their month-long trip to Thailand, including the three week stretch at TMT where training is always on the agenda.

Still, the family of three are marking some important occasions including Mauricio’s 36th birthday which took place only two days before the couple’s two-year wedding anniversary in mid-June. The couple met in 2007 at Mauricio’s gym while Cat was visiting a friend who was training.

“I met Mauricio as I walked all over the mat with my shoes,” Cat said with a laugh, “He convinced me to come in for a week and I loved it. We started dating about six months later and the rest is history.”

The love the two share, along with their son, helps fuel Cat as she goes through her first Muay Thai fight. Competing has become somewhat of a habit during the couple’s travels.

“It’s one of those things where she competes in the native sports on their turf,” Mauricio said, reminiscing about her BJJ fight in Brazil a while back.

Though Zingano BJJ offers world class Muay Thai training led by former world champion Sakmongkol, Cat believes the timing is right to finally to put on the gloves and compete with eight limbs.

“My family’s here, the stresses are gone, the balance is right,” Cat said, “I think it’s going to be fun. I’m excited to see what I can get out of all of it. I just want to perform at my best.”

June 16th, 2012

Tiger Alumnus Paul “Semtex” Daley Signs with Bellator Fighting Championships

Tiger Alumnus Paul “Semtex” Daley is in the news again after inking a deal with Bellator Fighting Championships. The prominent striker, who was last at Tiger Muay Thai & MMA Training Camp in Phuket, Thailand back in January, will make his welterweight debut at Bellator 72 on July 20.

“I’ve been a ‘Semtex’ fan for years,” said Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney in a release. “He’s an incredibly explosive fighter who is magic to watch inside the cage. So, when the opportunity presented itself to join forces with Paul, it was a simple decision to make. Paul’s one of those fighters I’ve always intentionally stayed home to watch, and now I can watch him cageside at Bellator.”

Tiger Muay Thai wishes to send Paul our very best and congratulate him on his new deal. Between this and his upcoming first child, things are moving onwards and upwards!

Check out the awesome highlight reel done while he was last year…bomb work by Richie Lattin!

June 15th, 2012

TMT Fighter Matt Semper Wins Bangla Stadium Belt

Tiger Muay Thai & MMA training camp in Phuket, Thailand has been home to several champions in the past, and now the camp is adding one more to the list. Bronx, New York native Matt Semper won the Bangla Boxing Stadium title in Patong on Wednesday night in a decision that was made easy by his performance.

“It’s a good feeling to have a belt around your waist,” an elated Semper said after the fight. “Once we started the fight, I knew it was going to end up going the distance.”

Joyo, of Sweden, came out with a barrage of low kicks to start the fight. The Swede attempted to outbox Semper for much of the second round as well, throwing in some elbows after the kicks became noticeably slower.

It wasn’t until the third round where things got really intense and Semper took complete control of the bout landing a strong right cross that almost knocked Joyo off his feet.

“He was really big but you have to have technique and that will overcome power anyday of the week,” Semper said after the fight.

Semper blocked several of Joyo’s powerful elbow shots and stayed calm under intense pressure at times. Picking his moments, Semper landed several punch.kck cobinations of his own. That all changed in the fourth round when Semper dished out numerous knees to the midsection and the clinch became a go-to move.

“Those knees kept landing and landing and after I threw the first one I knew it was over,” Semper said.

Though his back was on the ropes for much of the exchange, Semper’s right knee strikes were one of many reasons the judges gave the win to the young American.

The final round of the fight saw much of the same as the fourth, with both men exchanging heavy knee strikes though Joyo was apt to throw several punches as well – most of them were blocked.

June 11th, 2012

Knock-Out for Tiger Muay Thai & MMA Guest Fighter Daniel Jaime of Brazil

It only took one round for Daniel Jaime to get comfortable in the ring and one more round for him to knockout his Thai opponent. Not bad for his Muay Thai debut out of Tiger Muay Thai & MMA Training Camp in Phuket, Thailand on Friday night (June 8).

Jaime, who has had over 20 mixed martial arts fights in his career, made his way to Thailand just last week to train for his first ever Muay Thai fight in the country. The Brazilian already has a few other Muay Thai fights scheduled back in his Australia, where he currently calls home.

“I came out here to test myself and see what level I am at. This was a great opportunity,” said the 26-year-old.

Left elbow strikes was the key weapon in Jaime’s arsenal, using an aggressive style that saw him jump at his opponent, Deelerd, multiple times throughout the first round. Jaime’s ability to bob and weave his opponent’s strikes really came in handy in the second round, when Jaime forced a takedown following a barrage of combinations.

Just 15 seconds after that takedown, Jaime used a flurry of left kicks to KO his opponent winning his Thailand debut.

June 5th, 2012

Tiger Muay Thai & MMA Goes to the Kids…

Tiger Muay Thai and MMA Training Camp in Phuket, Thailand was happy to welcome VIP guests on Tuesday for a day of training, fun, and plenty of laughs. But these guests weren’t professional fighters from the UFC, Bellator or Strikeforce. They were kids…

For the second straight year, the British International School in Phuket held their end of the year celebration at Tiger. Fifty students and a handful of teachers arrived in camp with an excitement that only the conclusion of a school year and the start of vacation can bring. And they were eager to learn from Tiger’s trainers.

The first part of the morning was spent in the beginner’s Muay Thai ring, where the kids learned a series of techniques. It was a nice change of pace for the trainers – former champion fighters used to conducting strictly regimented classes – who now found themselves teaching a group of anxious primary schoolers. But big smiles on every face told the story as these new pupils practiced their punches and kicks under the mentorship of some of the best Muay Thai fighters in the world. It was a hands-on lesson in one of the most valued aspects of Thai culture—a lesson that can’t be learned in any classroom.

After Muay Thai, it was on to some mixed martial arts—something few of the students had even heard of before. This time they were under the tutelage of Tiger’s best Brazilian Jiu Jitsu instructors. Rafael Pinto and Wiktor Svensson taught the students a few basic maneuvers and allowed them to practice rolling together in Tiger’s newly unveiled MMA training facility. It was a unique thrill for the young grapplers.

“This place is way better than school!” Exclaimed one of the kids. “It was so fun learning how to kick and to punch and how to do takedowns. I learned how to do takedowns. Watch this!”

At the end of the day, the students were given a lesson in the history of Muay Thai and a demonstration of the traditional Wai Kru, wrapping up what was a rich experience for students and teachers, alike.

“We had such a great time,” said Kieren McGill, one of the teachers to participate in the day’s activities. “The lessons were all very well done and the gym has been very accommodating. We’ll definitely be back next year.”

Everyone at Tiger looks forward to it too.