Welcome to the fifth edition of the kickfighting roundup, where fights outside major promotions such as GLORY, ONE, RISE, and K-1 are given the spotlight. This month saw Taimu Hisai deliver a knockout-of-the-year contender, and Debora Evora make a remarkable comeback from a rough start to 2024 by claiming the WAKO World Kickboxing title.
TAIMU HISAI VS. CHUUT SERYVANTHONG
August 3, 2024 – KNOCKOUT ace Taimu Hisai made his return to the Kun Khmer ruleset in Japan this month. Coming off a sensational upset win against KNOCKOUT Black Featherweight champion Ryusei in June to claim the inaugural KNOCKOUT Black Super Featherweight title, the young prospect Hisai once again showed that he is a fighter to look out for by delivering a knockout of the year contender against Cambodian fighter Chuut Seryvanthong. The 18 year old Japanese fighter planted the Cambodian to the canvas with a lightning fast rolling thunder with a second left in the first round.
DEBORA EVORA VS. ZELAL SENGUR
August 10, 2024 – Portugal's Debora Evora made her return to the MFC ring, fighting for the WAKO World Kickboxing title against Turkey's Zekiye Zelal Sengur. Fourth months prior in April, Evora bounced back from a rough start to 2024 with a knockout win against Italy's Pagliaroli to defend her WAKO European kickboxing title. Evora beat Sengur over three rounds to score a unanimous decision over to claim the WAKO World title.
WU LIN FENG 547 - MAX QUALIFIERS
August 31, 2024 – China's top promotion, Wu Lin Feng, kicked off the inaugural qualifying tournament for their year end MAX 70 kg World tournament. The qualifier involved four proven fighters from the 70 kg division, two from China, Han Wenbao and Meng Lingkuo, and two international mainstays, Dzianis Zuev and Jomthong Chuwattana. The tournament marked fan favourite Han Wenbao's return to the 70 kg limit after a stretch of fights at catchweights.
In the first semifinals match, Han Wenbao started off the card against Belarus' Dzianis Zuev, showcasing his signature toughness, high pace, and athleticism to dog on the veteran Zuev in nonstop firefights to claim a unanimous decision victory after three, tough rounds.
In Jomthong's semifinal match, he made short work of Meng Lingkuo, stopping the Chinese fighter in the first round with low kicks.
In the finals of the tournament, Han and Jomthong immediately began exchanging at a high in the first round, with Jomthong finding some success, but Han ultimately being the fresher of the two at the end of the round owing to the damage Han inflicted to the left leg of the Thai veteran, and despite having fought three full rounds prior. Past the first round, the fight was all one way traffic for Han Wenbao, with the Chinese fighter swarming and stunning Jomthong with endless volume and pressure to claim a wide unanimous decision victory over the aging veteran.
