MMA Action in Sabah

MMA Action from Malaysian Borneo

It's very easy to think that all the MMA in Malaysia is centered around Kuala Lumpur, the majority of MMA gyms are there, the majority of events are there and of course the majority of the fighters are there. But.....

That's changing,  of course, there is the long established Ultimate MMA in Johor and the fast growing Ultimate Beatdown events.

Penang is on the map with gyms and more to come but what of that other part of Malaysia, Malaysian Borneo?

Well, It's got it's own MMA scene it's small but it's strong and it's respected.

For instance: AJ Lias of Borneo Tribal Squad is so well respected as a trainer that he regularly goes over to the Philippines to help train one of Asia's hottest up and coming prospects the undefeated Mark Striegl (10-0)

The boys from Borneo have occasionally sent fighters out to fight in events, AJ Lias himself has fought at both DARE and ONE FC.

But now we have news of Sabah's First MMA Event.

It was held at Kinabalu Fighters Martial Art & Fitness Centre

Our Thanks to Julian Lee for all the details: 

There were 14 bouts (3 MMA, 2 Boxing & 9 Muaythai).

1st Bout: Maxwell (Kinabalu Fighters) (black shirt) Vs David (Monarch MMA)  

Maxwell has been  doing kickboxing for 1 year & has done a few BJJ/MMA seminar classes with coaches brought in. 

David is a considered to have better BJJ experience.

Round 1:



Round 2:

The 2nd Bout:  Hugo Vs Norman  (AllFit Gym) (Black Shorts) 

Hugo is a student that recently returned from Russia & has trained a little bit of Sambo.
Norman is a Sabah Judoka 

Round 1:



Round 2:



Round 3:





The 3rd Bout is Neil (BJJ Borneo Academy) vs Zaki (wearing black shirt)

Neil is a Blue Belt BJJ holder while Zaki is a state level judoka

Round 1:




So there you go the boys from Borneo are coming!

Don't forget the Ultimate Fightnight (Now Ultimate Beatdown) started out as a gym based event (in Johor) and now is in a bigger venue attracting up to 400 fans.

This is just the beginning for MMA competitions in Borneo and we wish the fighters over there all the best.

To find out much, much more about the Borneo MMA scene and also details of the many MMA gyms please check out Julian Lee's MMA Blog HERE

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