Fight Geek

Contender Asia: Zach Khan Interview

Great interview by Nopstar from My Muay Thai.

Contender Asia: The Final Episode

Well it's all over :(

Unfortunately, I still haven't downloaded/watched all the fights on the undercard of the finale, so I'll limit my post to discussing the main event: Yod vs. JWP.

It was a great fight. I was conflicted over the result. As an Australian and long-time JWP fan I really wanted to see The Gunslinger take this one out. But I must admit I was pleased that Yod won and can now buy his mother a house :)

I think JWP fought the fight he had to—an aggressive one. The commentators kept saying he should change tactics, but I think they got it wrong. There was only one way JWP was going to beat Yod and that was via aggressive combos and controlling the tempo of the fight. Yod just had a good defence, great timing and scary power. Not much you can do against that skill-set!

Despite the loss, JWP got in a few good shots and did manage to dictate the pace for most the fight. He showed tremendous heart to get up after two knockdowns and keep fighting aggressively to the final bell. JWP is courage and determination personified. (I actually think the fight was a much more entertaining bout than Yod's last match-up against K1-Max Kingpin Andy Souwer).

For his part, Yod did his thing—precision power striking. It's a wonderful thing to see a talented man at the top of his game. It wasn't only his striking that impressed, his defensive work was first-rate. JWP threw everything but the kitchen sink at him and Yod wasn't phased at all. As I've said before, Yod is scary. I'm sooo ready to see him take out Buakaw!

From my perspective, Contender Asia has been an outstanding success. I think the show has really managed to capture the respect and professionalism found in Muay Thai as a sport, and at the same time provide an intimate look at those who train muay thai as a way of life. I hope the general population get behind it. To my mind it was far superior to both the boxing and mma reality shows.

I'm interested to see how the producers approach the next season. What weight division will they pick? Will they be able to get as good a mix of fighters as the first season? Will they use the same trainer and host? I think the first season has set the bar pretty high. I hope they work there arses off to maintain that standard. At any rate, I for one am sad to see it finish and very impatient for the next season to start.

Contender Asia: Episode 14

 

Sorry for the late post on this one. It took me a while to get hold of the episode.

This was easily my favorite Contender Asia to date. Ok, so my JWP-bias may have a lot to do with that, but I still think the fight was pretty bloody exciting.

I initially thought it would be the classic youth vs. experience contest—with the younger Dzhabar utilizing his power and aggression and the older JWP fighting with more cunning and skill. It didn't quite turn out that way—JWP was the more aggressive fighter, whilst Dzhabar ended up fighting a more technical battle.

Despite some good work by Dzhabar, I thought JWP won a close decision. He dictated the tempo of the fight by continually moving forward—throwing power shots and combos. (That being said, I'm the first to admit that the editing makes it impossible to know who really won). I'm sure Dzhabar has a great career ahead of him and he'll have plenty of time to make his mark on the sport.  But for now, JWP is the man of the moment. He's won the chance to face-off against Yod—again :)

It'll be a tough ask for the aging Aussie. Let's not mince words here—Yod is SCARY. But no matter what the outcome, JWP will throw down and give the young Thai an epic battle to remember.

Contender Asia: Episdode 13

This episode was pretty good. When they were getting pimped out in their suits I thought JWP came up with the best quip of the series . . .

"If I was a female and I saw me, I think I'd do myself"

LOL.

The fight went pretty much the way I thought it would. You can't expect too much from Sean, particularly against such a good opponent. That being said, I think the whole experience will better prepare him for his future muay thai career.

Yod is looking scary! I'm sure both JWP and Dzhabar will be hoping for a quick victory when they face off next week. The last thing they need is a war and then have to face Yod.

Contender Asia: Episode 12

I really enjoyed this episode. It had a good mix of drama and excitement. I like both Soren and Dzhabar. Soren comes across as a quiet, humble guy, who happens to spank the bejesus out of people for a living. How can you not like him? Whilst Dzhabar comes across as a joker, but with a very serious inner-commitment to his faith. [And he peaks just like Borat . . . niiiice!] He has really made me laugh a lot throughout the series.

When it came to the fight I was impressed with Dzhabar's power. That was one nasty knockout. In my last contender asia review I said the longer the fight went on the better Soren's chances of winning—Dzhabar must've read it :)

It's sad to see Soren go—and in such a devastating manner. I hope he can pick himself up and jump back in the ring asap. His loss also meant that there's only one Aussie left in the competition—JWP.

The next fights should be very interesting. I hope that JWP and Yod don't have to fight one another—that would really annoy me. I think the best match-ups would be JWP vs. Sean and Yod vs Dzhabar.

It's getting to the business end of the competition now and I'm loving it :)

Contender Asia: Episode 11

I really enjoyed this episode of the Contender Asia. Finally, JWP lived up to his reputation and put on a serious fight clinic. Admittedly, it was a mis-match, but we got to see JWPs skills (and a few flashy techniques he doesn't usually do).

I was also very impressed with Zidov. It took a lot of courage to keep getting back up after getting hammered like that. I hope he sticks with his muay thai. As he improves the technical side of his game, he'll become much more competitive.

Next week we get to see if another Australian, Soren, can make it through to the next round. He has to fight Dzhabar—a tought and competitive opponent. I'm conflicted over the outcome—but I think the longer it goes the more likely Soren will win.

Contender Asia: Episode 10

This wasn't one of the better episodes. I didn't like the fight much. Don't get me wrong, I think Sean did a great job to finish the fight early, but I really wanted to see him fight for a few more rounds. I hope he doesn't get over confident. He's had a lucky draw. His next opponent will be a significant step up for him.

I also thought it was interesting to find out that JWP is a little superstitious. I hope when it's time for him to fight he trusts in his skills rather than 'fortune telling' by Zidov!

Contender Asia: Episode 9

I think this was both the best and worst episode yet. It was the best because it really showed the human side of the fighters, particularly when they were reunited with their families. I found it both amusing and touching to see Yodsanklai, one of the most feared nak muays on the planet, turn into a super-soppy mummy's boy.

The other thing I really appreciated about this episode was how it subtly showed the harsh realities of muay thai fighting. To most westerners, muay thai is a sport—an activity you choose to do because you enjoy it. Yod and Narapol, like most nak muays in Thailand, fight muay thai to try and help their families escape from poverty. When Yod's mother revealed that he always sent his prize money home without spending any of it, I got a bit choked-up.

I also thought it was the worst episode so far because the two thais had to fight one another. How unlucky is that? I really wanted to see both these guys make it at least to the next round. And when it came to the fight, Narapol didn't have his head or heart in the game. So it wasn't even a good bout.

At any rate, I hope there's a better match-up next time.

Contender Asia: Episode 8

This episode once again showed the respect that the fighters have for one another. I was impressed with JWP asking the Wild Boars to share in the prize after the Tiger Kings won another competition.

I was disappointed in Joachim going out on the piss. I hope he doesn't take his remaining bouts so lightly. That being said, his drinking really did screw with Pitu's head. The way Pitu was talking and acting before the fight, I think he had set himself up for a bad performance. To me it looked like he was putting too much pressure on himself.

I was shocked to hear the news about JWPs illness. I hope it doesn't force him out of the competition. His first fight wasn't his best. It'd be a shame for him to go without another chance to show his true ability.

Next week the second round of fights start. I wonder how the fights are going to be decided? I really hope that the better fighters don't have to fight one another yet (Yod, JWP and Narupol). I'd like to see the less experienced fighters have to fight the bigger names.

Contender Asia: Episode 7

This was a good (but sad) episode. When Zak dislocated his shoulder it made me whince. I've popped both my shoulders—not fun. I was impressed with Zak's determination to keep fighting through the injury; he showed a lot of heart. But I was relieved when the ref stopped the fight. Up to that point, I thought Zak had the better of Zidov, so it must've been doubly disappointing for Zak.

I'm looking forward to next week (the last of the first round match-ups)—I wonder if Pitu can fight as good as he can cook?