Tonight’s (Aug 31st) One FC event in Manila, Philippines, will have Tiger Muay Thai and MMA Training Camp Phuket, Thailand’s imprint as three alumni compete in the event at the Smart Araneta Stadium.
Phil “New York Bad Ass” Baroni, Felipe Enomoto, and Shannon “One Shin” Wiratchai will be putting their mettle in the cage at ONE FC: Pride of a Nation tonight beginning at 7:30 PM, which you can watch here.
Baroni (14-15), a UFC and PRIDE veteran, is a multiple time guest at TMT and trained here before his first fight at ONE FC against Yoshiyuki Yoshida in September 2011. He takes on Rodrigo Ribeiro (9-8) this Friday. The NYBA has talked about training at TMT in the past, saying how therapeutic Muay Thai was for him.
“I stood like a Muay Thai fighter, fought like a Muay Thai fighter, sparred like a Muay Thai fighter. It was great – very therapeutic for me,” Baroni said. “I was in the ring and was getting really physical. Getting my body strong.”
Enomoto (6-4) has come to TMT for the past four years, putting on seminars, and taking advantage of the camp’s world class Muay Thai training. He will fight against hometown hero Eduard Folayang (11-2) with his brother, Yasubey Enomoto, in his corner along with TMT’s Rafael Lopes Pinto.
“I like the people. The training is really good. I love the weather and everything about this place,” Enomoto said recently, “(TMT) is always supporting us – always very helpful to (me and my brother).”
Wiratchai (2-0) is a recent addition to the ONE FC stable of fighters and one of the most highly regarded MMA prospects to come out of Thailand in recent years. He will be squaring off against American Mitch Chilson (3-1) and will have an entire country supporting him.
“I chose (TMT) because it has many pro fighters that can help me in my training,” Wiratchai said earlier this month as he arrived to TMT, “I would love to try and educate more (Thai’s) about MMA. I get a lot of support from them and one day I’d like to see MMA be on par with Muay Thai (in Thailand).”
