Last night saw similar results for Tiger Muay Thai and MMA training camp, Phuket, Thailand fighters Rafael Pinto and Steve Cho – both of whom ended their fights in the second round at Patong Stadium.
Twenty-one year old Cho is happy to wrap up his nine week stay at Tiger with a TKO, moving his Muay Thai record to 2-2. It’s an experience he would have been hard-pressed to imagine when he first came to Tiger straight out of highschool three years ago.
“Last time I kind of just ran away and left a note for my family,” chuckles the self-described “broke entrepreneur” from Atlanta, Georgia. “They thought I was crazy, but now they’re proud of me.”
Cho scored a nasty elbow in the first round that left him with seven stitches. He managed, however, to push through to the second round where a solid left knee followed by several punches sealed the deal against his opponent.
“It’s only a cut,” explains the fighter who plans on returning sometime this year. “It’s worth the stitches every time!”
TMT professional fighter, Rafael Pinto AKA The Brazilian Killer, was up next and he didn’t leave his fans disappointed.
The Brazilian grabbed a second round knock out thanks to some very heavy punches, moving his record to 12-4.
“I just cannot have any other job than fighting,” explains the Jui-Jitsu brown belt who’s been in Thailand for close to two years. “I can’t sit in an office all day. I don’t know what my motivation is. This is just what I like to do.”
Pinto plans on expanding into MMA and hopes to be ready for his first fight within three months.
Article by Natasha Horrelt
