Dip Muay Thai invaded Broadbeach this past Saturday for the John Wayne Parr Amateur Tournament. Wayne Parr is a top-ranked Middleweight fighter in the world of Muay Thai and the most successful exponent of Muay Thai here in Australia, and is trained by our very own world-class instructor Samnang “Dip” Yuanjit.

Every fighter on this massive card fought tremendously; from 8 year-old boys, to the awesome main-event title fights (more on them later)... the 42 fighters can hold their heads high. Crispian Osbourne lost via TKO to a skilled opponent; Crispy has the heart of a lion and we’ll no doubt see him back and ten-times the fighter he is today. Stephen Cornish lost a close decision to Boonchu export Rick Montalva in what was a very clean and entertaining exhibition of Muay Thai. Marshall “Shogun” Dore lost a decision to another Boonchu export who was vastly more experienced than him. It was a battle, with Marshall displaying superior boxing skills and the Boonchu fighter controlling the range when he could with kicks.

Ray Irwin stepped up and took a decision victory over Jamie Young from Miami Fight Center. Young displayed good boxing skills, but Ray was just too much for him, dumping him continuously and landing shots, and displayed an iron chin and a "never-say-die" attitude that the crowd loved. Colin Eatcheler fought Odin Daniels from Urban Fight Center, winning a unanimous decision with an intense work-rate and throwing around 2000 head-kicks a round! Lastly, Claire Fryer showed off her aggressive side, taking a decision over Stephanie Taylor from Ultimate Gym.

A special mention to the Flip Street – Yodphed title fight; easily the most thrilling and entertaining fight I’ve ever seen. It was an absolute war, with the crowd going insane for the entire five rounds. At one point Flip Street was head-kicked against the ropes, back-flipped over the ropes, landed on his feet and jumped straight back in to continue fighting. In the end Flip Street was awarded the split decision to take the World Title.

All in all every fighter from Dip Muay Thai deserves a big congratulations from everyone at the gym.

Merry Christmas!