Ten members of Exeter and Honiton Muay Thai club recently completed at the Wrath of the Thaitans event at Club Rococo Exeter.

The event action saw no fewer than 8 out 10 competitors victorious against Muay Thai and MMA gyms from all over Britain and Ireland. Shane ‘the ginger wolverine’ Quick took part in his Muay Thai contest against Dan O’Hara from Project Mayhem Exeter.

Round one was even with O’Hara using his boxing skills and Quick using his clinch. In round 2 after landing some knees Quick opened up with an unexpected flurry of hands which sent O’Hara crashing to the canvas. Honiton’s Shane Quick won by knock out.

Honiton’s Kier Richens was next into the ring against his opponent from Koncept MMA gym in Newquay. Richens fought well over the three rounds but was frustrated by his southpaw opponent’s awkward style. At the end of the contest Kier’s opponent was declared the winner.

Naomi Brownsell from Honiton gym took on the unbeaten Anya Baker from Rama Cardiff. This was a very closely fought battle with Anya landing effective body’s icky and the shorter Brownsell demonstrating her prowess and ferocity in the clinch as well as landing the more effective punches. After 3 rounds Naomi was jubilant as she was declared the winner.

Next into the ring was ‘Dangerous’ Dave Kotik who trains at both Honiton and Exeter gyms but hails from Cullompton. Dave is unbeaten in 2 contests and took on the more seasoned Luke Barbour who has had 5 contests from Fightworx academy in Torquay. This contest was fought over 5 rounds with the more seasoned Barbour ultimately scoring more effectively overall. Kotik fought well over 5 rounds in this challenging contest with Barbour being declared the winner on points. Kotik makes his return to the ring on April 28th in Sheffield.

At 40 years old local postman and Shane’s older brother also Paul Quick made his ring debut to fight for the vacant EFC area title against Brent Page from SWABBA in Ilminster. It was clear that both fighters had prepared well, in round 1 page landed some effective punches, while Quick scored heavily with low kicks and clinch knees. In round 2 Quick landed a volley of knees to cheers from the assembled fight fans. Page was unable to answer the bell at the beginning of round 3 and Paul Quick was declared the winner by TKO at the end of round 2 and new EFC Amateur Heavyweight Area champion.

Jake ‘the comeback kid’ from Cullompton who has had 7 wins 1 loss stepped into the ring against the highly regarded Mustapha from Eagles gym in Cardiff. This contest was fought over 5x2 minute rounds under B class rules. Mustapha had a reputation as a knockout specialist, Purdy a southpaw has a classic Thai style. This promised to be an exciting ‘fire and ice’ match. However contrary to expectations Mustapha fought a very technical fight out scoring Purdy in the clinch in round 2. However, Purddey moved up a gear in rounds 3-5 landing successive bodykicks and switching to boxing leaving the brave Mustapha to take two 8 counts. At the end of the contest Cullompton’s Purdy added the Celtic title to his collection of belts.

Two of the main events saw local Honiton and Exeter fighters victorious and bringing back title honours in hard fought contests. For the European title Scott Sykes took on 2 times British MMA champion Rikki Gullis from Dragonslair in Melksham. Dragonslair gym has recently produced Bradley Scott who was the runner up in the UFC Contender and who now has a contract with the UFC so is therefore considered as on of the most successful MMA gyms in the UK. After a long layoff Sykes had recently scored an impressive KO win over Parisian Quentin Monce in Sheffield.

It promised to be a dramatic event and it didn’t disappoint.

After even exchanges in round 1 Sykes connected with a thunderous right hand which sent Gullis crashing to the canvas. All credit to Gullis who managed to clear his head and finish the round. Round 2 was again hard fought with Sykes clearly dominating the action. It clearly seemed to be victory for FSC’s Sykes. Then disaster struck.

At the end of round 2 at Sykes went in for a low kick he tore his calf, he limped back to the corner in agony. Sykes demonstrating the true heart of a champion carried on for the third and final round weathering the unbelievable onslaught of Gullis who targeted the injured leg as well as landing barrages of devastating punches. However Sykes by sheer grit, willpower and determination managed to weather the storm and not only won the fight on points but won over the hearts of the crowd with his tenacity, pluck and sportsmanship. Sykes was declared the new European K1 champion.

The finale of the evening was ‘The Pride of Exeter’ Prince Shani vs Patrick Blight from Fighting Fit Northern Ireland. This was the 3rd time these rivals have met the first being on the Sky televised TFC event, the second time in Nothern Ireland. Each fight has been closely fought with Shani emerging the victor. After 5 rounds of action the judges ruled the contest a draw which was a controversial decision for both camps. As is standard in K1 title fights in the event of a draw in a title fight a sudden death round is fought to decide the champion. This round saw a much more animated Shani take control of the action, with Blight fighting gamely, but Shani clearly dominated the round. Finally The judges ruled Shani to be the winner and new champion. Blight was disappointed with the decision to say the least, so a Shani Blight IV is still not out of the question!

If you are interested in learning Muay Thai for fitness contact three times Muay Thai champion Sonny Perez on 07791607735.