Tum ‘Hollywood’ Sityodtong put on a convincing and dominant display this past Saturday night when he beat Pat ‘Tech8’ Richards in the main event of Warriors Way 17 to capture the Warriors Way WMC 66kg title via unanimous points decision.
The action took place in front of a capacity crowd at Doncaster Shopping Hotel and was also lived stream via Go Fight Live.
A slow, calculated start was seen from both Sityodtong and Richards as they eased their way into their five round title fight. Sityodtong showed early just how strong and viscous his kicks are while also avoiding Richard’s skilled boxing early in this fight with his impressive footwork. Richards continued to throw some strong boxing combinations throughout the second round but most were unable to get through Sityodtong’s tight guard. That was until late in the second when Richard’s landed a strong body shot that at a glance seemed to both hurt and annoy Sityodtong all in one. After this he opened up with an impressive flurry of hard roundhouse kicks and precise elbows.
The third round saw Sityodtong firmly in control of the pace, constantly moving forward with devastating leg kicks that had Richard’s on the back foot. With his trademark grin on during most of the fight Sityodtong was able to get into the head of his opponent and press forward with a slew of effective strikes. Into the fourth round and Richards was using some fast footwork to avoid his opponent at all costs, while still trying to land his four punch combinations. The moment came for Sityodtong and he managed to floor Richards with a strong left hand resulting in a standing eight count. Only a short time later and again Richards was on the canvas with a big left hand and follow up knee, another eight count placed on him. It was looking like it would come down to referee stoppage late in the fourth, but Richards managed to hold on and was saved by the bell. Richards went searching for the KO in the fifth with more handy boxing, but was unable to land on Sityodtong who again controlled the round with multiple dumps. Sityodtong then went on to win a unanimous decision and take the strap.
The semi-main event featured a bout for the World Muaythai Council (WMC) Victorian Professional 72.5kg title between Chris ‘Butcher’ Harrington and John “Biscuits’ McKenna. An issue with the gloves McKenna was wearing delayed the start of the bout as he was made to change into a new pair, but this seemed to have little effect on the fight overall. An even start to the fight in the first round with both fighters finding their rhythm ended with a small cut above the right eye to Harrington. A strong defense and clinical counter fighting led McKenna to take the most of the second round, while it was Harrington who ended the third round with a flurry of strong punches.
Back and forth action was on the agenda for much of the fourth round as Harrington and McKenna looked to find an advantage. Both boys were out on the hunt looking for a big KO, but no opportunity presented itself. It was a stronger finish from Harrington that gave him the advantage in that round. There was very little to separate both fighters in the fifth and final round and it was left in the hands of the judges who called Chris Harrington as the winner via a Split Points Decision. After the fight Harrington said that he would rematch McKenna straight away if he wanted it.
The other highlight fight of the night was the Muaythai Australia (MTA) Victorian 63.5kg title fight between ‘Ruthless’ River Daz and Albert ‘The Timorese Assassin’ Xavier in what would be Daz’s first defence of his title. The crowd was in fine form during this fight, doing their best to lift the roof off the venue and certainly getting behind both fighters. A cautious start to the first round saw Xavier gaining the slight advantage over his opponent while the second round was marked by an incredibly fast pace with Xavier landing a raft of strong body shots and knees to Daz.
With Xavier taking the first two rounds, it was crucial for Daz to start pushing the pace early on in the third round. Daz was able to land more clean shots in the constant back and forth battle and had clearly begun to mount a comeback. Very early on in the fourth round and Daz was able to drop Xavier with a barrage of punches in the corner that was followed by a standing eight count from the referee. Soon after came another four-to-five unanswered punches and Xavier was out cold. Daz had successfully defended his title with a strong KO victory in the fourth round, much to the joy of the raucous crowd in attendance.
In other notable fights on the card Michael Bacalja scored a stunning spinning elbow TKO victory over Riccardo Guglietti and David Lawton and Jacob Gelston put on an absolute war that resulted in a majority draw.
Results:
- Tum Sityodtong def. Pat Richards via unanimous decision — 66kg title fight.
- Chris Harrington def. John McKenna via split decision — 72.5kg title fight.
- David Lawton drew with Jacob Geltson (Majority draw).
- River Daz def. Albert Xavier via KO, Rd 4 — 63.5kg title fight.
- Jacon O’Connor def. Ash Powell via TKO, Rd 2
- Will Smallwood def. Rhyd Lenne via split decision
- Corey Barret def. Dylan Walker via unanimous decision
- Michael Bacalja def. Riccardo Gugleietti via TKO, Rd 1
- Sam Himing def. Mitch Oats via unanimous decision
- Kelly Ramsbottom def. Catherine Santos via unanimous decision
- Justin Bretherick def. Nathan Culhane via unanimous decision
- Yogi Alfred def. Cody Thorp via unanimous decision
- Nicole Avo def. Breanna Leone via unanimous decision
- Van Huu Phan def. Jackson Harrison via unanimous decision
