(Photo via Queensland Times)
2010 Commonwealth Games Boxer “King” Dane Mulivai will make his long awaited MMA debut on the Xtreme Fighting Championships 19 card scheduled to be held at the Mansfield Tavern in Queensland, Australia
Mulivai will jump straight into the mix with the welterweight fighter scheduled to face the experienced Jay “Freight Train” Cobain (7-8) who will come into the fight on a two fight winning streak.
Mulivai is undefeated as a pro-boxer with all three of his wins coming via either KO or TKO. He also has a 1-0 record in kickboxing and competed under the Combat8 Rules where he defeated Matt Stapleford via KO.
There is a lot of hype surrounding Mulivai, however that doesn’t seem to worry Mulivai who told Fight News Australia, “Hype? That’s the first I’ve heard. haha. As for pressure, none whatsoever. I’m just excited to fight again!”
His stand-up credentials can not been questioned, but Mulivai will be looking to prove that his grappling skills are also not to be underestimated.
“It’s not really a big test. It’s only a new environment with rules in place because I started on the street where grappling and wrestling was sometimes needed to win a fight and that was just straight raw aggresive wrestling for survival. Now I’ve been trained properly at Infinity MMA and my wrestling techniques have improved big time but the will to win is still the same.”
“Wrestling won’t be a problem come fight time, so where ever the fight goes it won’t matter. Like any other sport I’ve competed in, my goal is to be the best.”
Cobain is coming off a submission victory over Ryan Yanz at the last Nitro MMA 8 card, with his only loss in his last five outing coming to the highly regarded Corey Nelson. Pressure will be on Cobain who has all to lose facing a 0-0 fighter.
“I feel all the pressure is on Dane. There is a lot of hype around him to perform well,” Cobain told Fight News Australia.
“Most stand-up fighters struggle with their ground game. I have a strong background in wrestling and BJJ. I think too much for Dane to deal with.”
“I have a lot of respect for Dane and wish him all the best,” Cobain added.
The event will be headlined by a Featherweight Title fight when Michael Tobin (4-0) returns to face Adrian Rodriguez (4-1) from the Impact MMA gym.
