By Dan Riley, Phnom Penh Post
Cambodian mixed martial arts fans had some early reasons to rejoice ahead of next month’s epic ONE FC fight night at Koh Pich Theatre, with A Fighter club’s Ki Chong Tran emerging victorious from his battle in the cage on Saturday at Full Metal Dojo in Phuket.
Ki Chong Tran (centre) stands with his A Fighter trainer Chan Reach (right) and Thai opponent Kritsada ‘Dream Man’ Konsrichai after their Full Metal Dojo bout. (Phnom Penh Post)
American-born Tran had been slated to face Muay Thai expert Siwa “Mike” Kontieng in a featherweight contest at the Seduction nightclub, but the Thai striker had contracted conjunctivitis in his eyes and was forced to make a last-minute withdraw.
Fortunately, Mike’s compatriot Kritsada “Dream Man” Konsrichai agreed to stand in, despite giving up a full six kilograms in weight to his Cambodian opponent.
“[Dream Man is] a judo practitioner/wrestler, so even though it was the opposite of what we trained for, a lot of respect to Dream Man for stepping up and taking the fight,” Tran told the Post.
Some rapid clashes of punches and kicks were followed up with acrobatic takedowns, much to the approval of the crowd. Tran appeared to hold the edge on the ground, isolating Dream Man’s limbs to land some vicious looking elbows to his head.
In the second round, Dream Man exposed his back to Tran as they grappled, which signaled the beginning of the end for the home fighter.
Read the full story HERE.
