Tiger Muay Thai News Archive

January 9th, 2013

NRL stars step their game up at TMT

Moey Alhaje, Willie Tonga, TMT trainer Wiktor Svensson, UFC fighter Brendan Loughnane, and Reni Maitua

With the 2013 National Rugby League season only months away, and with just two weeks of Christmas break, four of Australia’s toughest athletes made their way to Tiger Muay Thai and MMA Training Camp Phuket, Thailand for prepare and condition themselves.

“We’re expected to come back in good condition so I was expecting to do a little bit of training but this whole thing has been another level for me,” said Willie Tonga, a 29-year-old rugby league player for the Paramatta Eels.

Tonga, Sandor Earl of the Canberra Raiders, and Moey Alhaje of the rugby league premiership, were asked by their friend Reni Maitua, also of the Paramatta Eels, to join him on his return trip to the island and get fit for the upcoming six-month season. Even the Australian press took notice.

“It’s my third time back, I love it here,” Maitua said, “Training with other professionals who do other sports, you take a bit of everything and find what motivates them, keeps them going, inspires them. I love the people here, I love the culture, and I love the training.”

Both Tonga and Maitua had high praise for the CrossFit style and BodyFit workouts presented by TMT’s Kitty Teppo, Ocean Bloom, and others. Several of the workouts involve trips to Big Buddha, Promthep Cape, and Nai Harn beach.

“I gained a new appreciation for those trainers, that’s something I haven’t done much of. The stuff that they do sort of blows me away,” Tonga said.

With another six-week of pre-season training before the NRL season gets underway, the boys think they have succeeded in preparing their bodies for the bashing it takes on a regular basis in the sport.

The training that Tonga, Earl, Maitua, and Alhaje have done at TMT included everything from Muay Thai to wrestling to CrossFit style workouts and even yoga.

The commitment the players have seen at TMT even surprised Tonga

“We arrived on the 24th (of December) so we wake up Christmas day, went for a run, and I come here to yoga and see all those people on Christmas day from all over the world. They come here for the same reason that we have,” Tonga said.

What keeps Maitua specifically coming back is the hospitality of the Thai people, especially the Thai trainers who, compared to trainers in industrially developed countries, do not have as much.

“Just watching the Thai trainers, the way they live, and how hard hey work, it gives you more an appreciation of how easy we have it in life than them,” Maitua said. “That is what keeps me coming back, no matter how hard they work they always got a smile on their face.”

January 6th, 2013

A pair of wins for TMT female MMA alums

Alums from Tiger Muay Thai and MMA Training Camp Phuket, Thailand’s extended family are still making headlines around the world as two female MMA fighters, Sarah “The Monster” D’Alelio and Leslie “The Peacemaker” Smith walked away with victories at Invicta Fighting Championships 4 last Saturday.

The event, which took place at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas, USA, was available free on Invicta FC’s website after technical issues forced organizers to take down their original pay wall.

D’Alelio (7-3) took on Amanda Nunes (7-3), a Brazilian fighter who has competed in Strikeforce. Both women kept it standing for the first minute, with Nunes getting landing nice one-two punches, but D’Alelio went for a double leg takedown and slammed her opponent on the second effort. “The Monster”, who was last at TMT in early 2012, kept on top of Nunes the rest of the first round, attacking her legs.

PHOTO: INVICTA FC

The next two rounds saw much of the same, with D’Alelio looking to take Nunes back to the ground. Nunes, however, saw an opportunity for a triangle choke off her back in the second round but “The Monster” quickly countered for side control, remained on top for the rest of the second. The third round saw the same, with D’Alelio ending in a dominant position and winning by unanimous decision.

In the next fight, Smith (5-3-1) took on Raquel Pennington (3-3) who was coming off a loss to fellow TMT alum in Cat Zingano at Invicta FC 3. The bout started with both women clinching and using their knees aggressively, with Pennington eventually taking Smith, a Bellator veteran, to the ground and almost securing a rear-naked choke. Smith was able to scramble and get the fight back standing for more clinching.

The second round saw Smith roll out some mean punch/kick combinations to her opponent’s body, never letting up and dictating the pace. The third round was the same, with Smith coming out even more vicious and controlling the center of the cage, stopping several of Pennington’s attempts for a takedown and standing guillotine choke. Smith won the fight via unanimous victory.

January 4th, 2013

Look Ahead: TMT MMA Fighter Danny Mitchell

Most 26-year-olds are finally getting their foot in after university, succumbing to the nine-to-five grind of a full-time job. Danny Mitchell is preparing for his next fight.

With his record at 12-3-1, the Doncaster, England-native is set to take on KSW veteran Vitor Nobrega (12-5) on February 2 in Lisbon, Portugal at Will2Fight 8 event. Mitchell recently joined the Tiger Muay Thai Training Camp Phuket, Thailand MMA team in December after a two-day tryout period.

“I feel like I’m at a turning point. (I’ve) beaten a lot of guys domestically and am fighting in bigger shows so I think it is time to take it up to the next level,” he says.

Nobrega is a 31-year-old fighter who began his career in 2004 and has at least 15-pounds on Mitchell (usually fighting Middleweight compared to Mitchell in the Welterweight division). The Brazilian has a good mix of wins from both the ground and his fists.

Meanwhile, Mitchell has been competing regularly since 2008 and fought in everything from Tae Kwon Do to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu to bare knuckle vale tudo fights and even full-contact stick fighting.

It only took Mitchell a few years to acquire his Brown Belt in BJJ. His training has proven solid with seven of his 12 wins coming via submission, including an impressive flying armbar submission win over Dean Amasinger. Don’t count out his standup game either since he has worked on his Muay Thai with one of Tiger Muay Thai’s legendary stable of trainers in Pi Nong.

“(Nobrega is a) big guy as well. I like to fight those big guys, I’ve got good BJJ, I like to test myself against good guys,” Mitchell says.

December 29th, 2012

TMT Alum Phil Baroni to fight on New Year’s Eve

With 2013 only days away, Tiger Muay Thai and MMA Training Camp Phuket, Thailand alum Phil Baroni will be gearing up for a fight on December 31 at the DREAM 18 event in Saitama, Japan as he takes on Japanese MMA veteran Hayato Sakurai.

Baroni (15-15) is a multiple-time guest at TMT and was last at the camp in 2011 to prepare for his fight against Yoshiyuki Yoshida at the inaugural ONE FC event in September 2011. He also trained in 2010 for about two months, and held a wrestling clinic for guests and fighters.

In his last bout, Baroni finished off Rodrigo Ribeiro at ONE FC 5 in the first minute of the first round. With his record tied, he will look to use his superior wrestling ability against the tough Sakurai (36-12-2) on December 31.

Baroni is a UFC, PRIDE, DREAM, and ONE FC veteran who has trained with TMT’s own Muay Thai guru Kru Yod, who recently helped train Georges St. Pierre for his fight against Carlos Condit at UFC 154.

December 27th, 2012

Five TMT Fighters to see action this Friday

It’s a big week at Tiger Muay Thai and MMA Training Camp Phuket, Thailand, with the holiday season in full swing and our monthly BBQ Beatdown event taking place this Saturday, five our our Thai fighters will see action at Suwit Stadium here in Phuket.

Fahsuchonlek (Team), Singdam, Pakmai, Ploydang and Dendanai are all lacing up their gloves this Friday night, December 28.

Team is an eight-year-old Muay Thai fighter whose father, Fahsuchon, is a longtime trainer at Tiger Muay Thai. Check out a video on Team below!

Ploydang is a decorated fighter with impressive victories under his belt, and will take on a well-known southern Thai fighter in Nakrobdam J Prapa. Ploydang’s opponent has a win over noted Muay Thai fighter Cyrus Washington.

Meanwhile, Dendanai will enter the ring for his first fight for Tiger Muay Thai and is one of the camps newest trainers. He is a highly decorated veteran fighter who has competed against top level competition in Bangkok for several years, especially at Lumpinee Stadium.

December 21st, 2012

Look Ahead: TMT MMA Fighter Cody Stevens

The past few months have been frustrating for Cody Stevens, with several of his fights getting cancelled, including one that was scrapped just three days before the show. With a month of training under his belt at Tiger Muay Thai and MMA Training Camp Phuket, Thailand, the 30-year-old American says he is as hungry as ever.

“I think I’ve absorbed lots of new techniques through Tiger trainers Fernando (Maccachero), Wiktor (Svensson), Roger (Huerta), and all the Thai trainers” he says, “I’ve been nothing but focused on training. I’m ready to go out there to put on a good performance and get a win for Tiger (Muay Thai), Fight Farm, and all my gyms back home

Stevens (8-5) has a fight lined up on January 19 against Cory “The Irish Car Bomb” Mahon (10-5) at the Rocktagon XXIII “Journey of Champions” event in Cleveland, Ohio at 145 pounds.

Though almost all of Mahon’s victories have come from submission, Stevens is excited to use his polished arsenal of all-around skills (from striking to groundwork) in what should be an exciting match up.

“People think I’m a wrestler because I come from wrestling but my goal is to be a hybrid fighter,” he says, “my kicks got a lot of snap on them, I feel light on my feet right now, my elbows and knees are on point. If he wants to pick his poison and try to take me to the ground he can try if he wants to.”

Stevens’ last bout was a loss in July to Wilson Reis, an eight-time Bellator veteran with more than double the experience of the Mansfield, Ohio-native. His four fight losing streak doesn’t seem like it will continue, however. For a time, it was difficult for him to get fights, forcing Stevens to accept any challenge even if they were against Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belts, fighters with over double the experience, or even with just three days notice.

“I will take any fight, I’m all about the warrior spirit,” Stevens says, “You can say I made some bad choices, but in my eyes I’m out here to get experience.”

This will be Cody Stevens’ first fight as part of the newly minted Tiger Muay Thai and MMA Training Camp Fight Team. Below is the first part of our MMA Tryouts series.