Nik “The Bloodhound” Harris Putting Malaysia On the Map

Nik “The Bloodhound” Harris Putting Malaysia On the Map

Published on April 23, 2012 by The Coffee Boy in Gods FC, Malaysia FC, NEWS, Opinion

Nik ‘The Bloodhound’ Harris: “I intend to put Malaysia on the map

Gary Maclay picked Nik Harris up and slammed him into the canvas for the third time that night at Gods Fighting Championship, and it seemed as if Maclay had this one in the bag.

“Truth be told, I was hurt by the slams,” Nik would later reflect to me. “The first slam knocked the wind outta’ me and the fact that my opponent drove his shoulder into my rib accentuated the pain.”

After reversing his position and landing on top, Nik Harris unleashed some ground and pound, got the fight standing, and unloaded on Maclay a barrage of unanswered knees and punches. Nik took the win by way of TKO.

“I’m not entirely sure how many of my shots were landing”, Nik says, “but I wasn’t going to stop until the referee jumped in.” And that’s exactly what happened.

Nik Harris bin Nik Ahmad Huzlan, or more commonly known as just Nik Harris, fights out of Muayfit after having been exposed to the sport of MMA just a few years ago. He got his first taste of live MMA action at Muayfit’s Mayhem 2, supporting his friend.

“Though I went there to support my friend, I also wanted to scope out the talent,” Nik explained. “I realized that it was growing fast and that this was my opportunity to take a chance at mixed martial arts.”

Soon after, he got absorbed into Muayfit after spending a little bit of time at Alex’s Gym doing boxing. One thing lead to another, and he ended up working for them as a sales consultant to pay his bills and fund his passion.

Anyone who knows Nik Harris would be pleasantly surprised to find out that he wants to pursue this growing but very new combat sport in this country. The son of a man recently retired from working in the aviation industry and woman who is an airline stewardess, one would expect him to follow in his families footsteps.

“I was supposed to be stuck in a boring 9-5 job punching paper instead of punching faces” Nik joked. But martial arts is what he does best, and this is not entirely new to him.

“I was a pretty hyper kid growing up, and I decided to channel my energy into Tae Kwon Do when I was about 9 years old” Nik explained. “After awhile I quit because I just wouldn’t focus. But I still loved martial arts, and years later I got into boxing at Alex’s Gym.

“Growing up I was always a big fan of professional wrestling. My idol was The Rock, I had a cardboard cutout of the champion. The way he would walk down that aisle with his music and that belt over his shoulders… I always knew I wanted to be a champion like him one day.”

Soon enough, back in the real world of MMA, he got his first fight against Mahariff Mahali at Malaysian Fighting Championship 2. He won in the second round by way of TKO.

A lot of buzz started surrounding Nik Harris in the local MMA scene, and many were already saying he was the best light heavyweight around. Unfortunately for him, Antonio Graceffo’s name started popping up, and soon both fighters were scheduled to fight each other.

“He called me out to a fight for bragging rights and pride,” Nik says. “I accepted the fight knowing his abilities and accomplishments and all that. I lost that fight, but I knew what had to be done.”

He started training more regularly, changed his regime, and made it a short-term goal to avenge his loss against Graceffo one day, saying “…there will definitely be a Graceffo vs Harris II.” What came next though was Gods Fighting Championship.

He was matched up against Penang Top Team’s Gary Maclay. In what would turn out to be a very tough match for him, it turned out that Nik didn’t know anything about his opponent.

“There was very little information about my opponent, so I didn’t know what to expect,” Nik explained. “I literally went into the fight not knowing what my opponent was going to bring to the table.”

They met in the middle of the cage and Nik Harris, normally a funny, charming young man, went into beast mode and had the most intense stare-down of the night against Gary. What came next was the two fighters going right at it and before Nik knew what had happened, he was slammed to the canvas.

After being slammed and taken down several times, Nik managed to turn the tables on Gary, and worked a little ground and pound in his guard. Soon they were standing in front of each other, and Nik was chasing him down, throwing hooks and knees to the body and head. It wasn’t long before the referee jumped in, and Nik Harris took the win.

“I knew he was hurt from the head kick I landed,” Nik says, “And I smelled blood, and went in for the kill. I wasn’t going to stop until the referee jumped in.”

The fight won him Fight of the Night honors at Gods FC, and many walked away thoroughly impressed with his aggressive style and bravado. While he is still green and has room for improvement, it seems though that Nik Harris has a pretty bright future ahead of him in MMA.

“In the long run, I want to conquer Asian MMA, and one day make a move to the Ultimate Fighting Championship,” Nik beamed. “I want to fight the very best out there… to show the world what the Malaysian fighting spirit is all about.”

During my interview with him, I could tell that he was ambitious, driven, motivated, all that. But he also had a higher purpose, one that came above his own desire for glory.

“I intend to put Malaysia on the map, by showing the world that we are tough as nails.”

Training hard with Muayfit, he has a bunch of solid fighters behind him helping him achieve that goal. “We train as a team, and they welcome me like family. I am very grateful for them.” The Muayfit team includes Arnaud Lepont, Mark Striegl, Will Chope, Jian Kai Chee, Raymond Tiew, and Sam Chan.

When asked about any fights he had coming up, all he had to say was “…most probably in June for the next MFC, and hopefully Gods FC again.” He doesn’t have any inclination towards any particular promotion; he just wants to fight.

Nik Harris is that one guy people will either love or love to hate. He’s got so much passion and so much drive to be a “bloodhound”. He wants to fight for his country, for his team, and for glory.

Call him crazy, cheesy, over-the-top, whatever you want – Nik Harris is the real deal.