Wushu vs. Muaythai

Yet another major event took place in China on the 11^th of June 2011, following the 2010 SportAccord Combat Games, under patronage of the IOC. Muaythai is growing throughout China at an exponential rate as a consequence of the Thai-Chinese collaboration and the MOU that was signed between the two countries in order to promote sports and cultural exchange.

The Heifei Olympic Sports Centre came alive with thousands of cheering fans to watch the Chinese National Team face off with the best professional muaythai fighters from around the world.

The China-Thailand Championship is the only official competition between China and Thailand and after 10 years of development, it has now become the most famous brand in fighting and has gained great reputation from the whole world.

The event was an international class A tournament, which was authorized by the General Administration of Sport of China, and sanctioned by the WMC, the Wushu Management of the General Administration of Sports of China, and the Government of Hefei, and saw a total of five title belts up for grabs.

The event proved to be a great rematch of the first event held on December the 18th, 2010, in Shunde, Guangdong, where the outcome saw China leading 3 to 2 over Thailand. On this occasion China won 3 times by points, with John Wayne Parr losing by the Chinese Superstar, while Thailand had the best with 2 KOs.

This year’s lineup was just as phenomenal, as it saw the return of big names such as Artem Levin, WMC, IFMA and EMF Champion, and Simon Marcus, the “Bad Boy”, gold medalist at the 2010 SportAccord Combat Games and who had previously won against the local Superstar Guo Hang Hang.

The first fight of the evening was the 63KG bout between China’s Zhang Jun Yong VS Thailand’s Jomthong. Jomthong came out with iron leg kicks which proved to be more than the local China opponent could handle ending in a heart stopping KO. The home crowd showed their moral support for their local boy as they applauded him upon his departure from the stadium.

The next fight was in the 73KG division which saw China’s Ye Bin Xiang up against Thailand superstar Diesellek. The local boy came out of the gate strong and fast delivering a barrage of unending punches and fantastic combinations displaying a truly skilled performance. Thailand’s Diesellek came back strong in the 3^rd round landing some solid knees, knocking down his opponent several times. In the following rounds Xiang adjusted his attack and came back to win the bout on points after 5 rounds of intense action! Adoring female fans screamed with elation as their muaythai idol took the win. “He was so handsome!! We love him!” -said one of the female fans in the stadium excitedfly which just goes to show that muaythai has a great following of female fans in China as well!

The 3^rd fight of the evening saw Guo Hang Hang VS Simon Marcus in the 79KG divison. The roar in the stadium was a true reflection on the anticipation from the audience for this bout, as it was a rematch between the two fighters from 6 months prior in which Marcus took the win by fracturing the rib of Guo Hang Hang in the first minute of the bout. Now recovered and back for more, Guo Hang Hang had the hopes of the thousands in the crowd behind him. Despite the home crowd advantage, Marcus showed no pity, and took his A-game to the local boy, landing some fierce leg kicks, the sound of which had the crowd cringing with anticipation. Guo Hang Hang preservered with a big heart and never-die attitude taking the fight the full 5 rounds. The decision came down to the score cards, and Marcus took the win.

The penultimate match of the night saw China’s FuGaoFeng up against the Russian WMC superstar Artem Levin fighting in the 82KG division. Another stunning display of pure action over 5 rounds. Artem with the height andvantage took the win after the going to the judge’s score cards.

The last fight of the night was in the 85 KG division pitting China’s Man Jian-Gang up against the Iranian Majid Razani. Jian-Gang came out strong in the opening rounds striking Razani with an artillery of lethal leg kicks, taking the Persian down several times. In the final round Razani attempted to counterattack with a punch, after getting up from a knock down and the auditorium was on fire. At the end of the final round the China boy’s hand was raised and the thunderous applaude and cheers could be heard for miles! A stunning victory for China!

And so concluded yet another world class event in China, showing the rapid rate of growth and development of the sport under the auspices of the WMC.