After more than 20 years and 200 professional bouts, the Muay Thai legend Lerdsila Chumpairtour is getting ready for…
After more than 20 years and 200 professional bouts, the Muay Thai legend Lerdsila Chumpairtour is getting ready for retirement but has one last match left in him. Lerdsila is set to fight on November 14 at Karate Combat: Kickback 3.
Muay Thai Legend Lerdsila
The icon of ‘The Art of Eight Limbs’ Lerdsila has had a tremendous career decorated with illustrious titles. The Thai-born athlete has picked up titles in WLF, WMC, and three Stadium crowns at Rajadamnern. His advice for the next generation of fighters is simple, do what you love. In an exclusive interview, he explained:
“Love Muay Thai, do your best, and fight with heart. Winning or losing doesn’t matter—just do what you love… This is my last fight—20 years in Muay Thai, and this will be the final one… It’s emotional. Muay Thai has been my life, but I’ll still be teaching and passing on the traditions to young fighters. I’ll keep training every day.”
Lerdsila translates to ‘Slippery Eel’ but to his evasive style. The Muay Thai striker is one of the most popular figures in Muay Thai history due to how incredibly skilled he is defensively.
At the Karate CombatKickback 3 event, on November 14, he will be facing Russia’s Turach Novurov, who is a national Kickboxing world champion. The Thai-born athlete is not defensive about his sport and is happy to see Thailand’s national sport be popularized around the world, Lerdsila explained:
“I’m very happy about it. Fifteen or twenty years ago, Muay Thai was only popular in Thailand, but now it’s known worldwide.”
Aline Pereira’s upcoming fight at Karate Combat 50 has hit a snag due to weight issues with her opponent,…
Aline Pereira’s upcoming fight at Karate Combat 50 has hit a snag due to weight issues with her opponent, Dee Begley. Initially contracted to fight at 125 pounds, Begley requested a catchweight of 130 pounds earlier this week.
Dee Begley Misses Weight for Aline Pereira Fight
However, she failed to make even this higher weight limit, coming in at 134 pounds – a full 3.6 pounds over the newly agreed catchweight. This significant miss has put the fight in jeopardy, with negotiations now underway to salvage the bout. As of now, it’s unclear whether the fight will proceed as planned or if further adjustments will be necessary to ensure it takes place. It has been revealed by Karate Combat president Asim Zaidi in a conversation with Low Kick MMA.
Aline Pereira and Dee Begley were set to face off in a matchup at Karate Combat 50 this Friday live from Salt Lake City, which broadcasts on UFC Fight Pass.
.@DeeBegleyMMA had an intense stare down with Aline Pereira after their turn on the press conference panel.
Brazil’s Aline Pereira, the younger sister of UFC champion Alex Pereira, brings an impressive kickboxing background to the fight in Karate Combat. She’s a former GLORY Kickboxing competitor with a 6-2 professional record and even challenged for their super bantamweight title. After her kickboxing career, Aline tried her hand at MMA, competing in LFA with mixed results, going 1-2 in her first three bouts.
Aline Pereira prepping herself for KC50
Nothing else to say.. Tune in Friday Oct 11th at 7PM ET – It’s free, it’s on YouTube, you won’t be disappointed #KC50pic.twitter.com/0HNkCUwBc3
Dee Begley, from Ireland, trains at the famous SBG Ireland gym under John Kavanagh, alongside notable fighters such as Conor McGregor and others. She comes into this fight with a 4-6 record in MMA and recently made her boxing debut, losing by unanimous decision.
Karate Combat 50
Oddsmakers seem to favor Aline Pereira in this bout, with opening odds placing her as the -240 favorite, while Dee Begley comes in as the +190 underdog. That is if the Karate Combat 50 matchup goes forward at all.
Following his recent viral knockout loss during his venture with Karate Combat, former UFC lightweight contender, James Vick was…
Following his recent viral knockout loss during his venture with Karate Combat, former UFC lightweight contender, James Vick was placed into a medically-induced coma according to the promotional’s leader, who confirmed he had no plans to book the Texan into another fight.
Vick, a former lightweight contender during his time with the UFC, called time on his storied mixed martial arts career back in 2021, following his departure from the Octagon, where he suffered a fractured orbital after another knockout defeat against Andre Fialho.
And exiting the UFC in the midst of a high-profile losing skid against Paul Felder, Justin Gaethje, Dan Hooker, and Niko Price — which included brutal knockout losses against the most recent trio, Vick made the transition to Karate Combat back in June suffering another hellacious stoppage via high-kick against fellow UFC alum, Rafael Alves.
Karate Combat leader reveals UFC alum James Vick placed in coma after last KO loss
Discussing Vick’s devastating knockout finish, Karate Combat leader, Asim Zaidi revealed the veteran was placed in a medically-induced coma following the loss, and confirmed he had no plans to book him to compete again, despite the former’s wishes.
“I was there live, and it was such a successful event,” Zaidi said during an appearance on the JAXXON podcast. “[The knockout] ruined my whole mood. I just couldn’t be happy after that. [James Vick was unconscious] for a couple days. They put him in a self-induced coma. And he had a respiratory [machine] to make sure he stays breathing.”
“I went to him when he woke up, and he’s like, ‘What did he catch me with?’” Zaidi said of James Vick. Switch kick, and he’s like, ‘Oh, man, I want to get back in there. Thank God he’s okay, man. But, I can’t morally want to do that. I’m not gonna put him back in there.”
During his tenure with the UFC, Vick would land himself victories over the likes of Ramsey Nijem, Jake Matthews, Joseph Duffy and Francisco Trinaldo to name a few.
The president of Karate Combat Asim Zaidi, AKA President Awesome, recently spoke with Michael Bisping about ONE Championship and…
The president of Karate Combat Asim Zaidi, AKA President Awesome, recently spoke with Michael Bisping about ONE Championship and how openly their fighters are champions growing unhappy with the organizations. Various fighters and managers have spoken to Zaidi looking to leave ONE.
Karate Combat and the War on ONE Championship
Recently, Karate Combat declared war on ONE Championship, the organization will be hosting an event in ONE’s former home of Singapore on September 18. ONE spent most of its years in Singapore but has been inactive there for some time instead focusing on Thailand and the USA. But, Asim Zaidi with Karate Combat is enraged and looking to push in on their territory.
According to the Karate Combat president, there are multiple champions, fighters, and managers who are dissatisfied with their dealings with ONE Championship. Speaking in an interview with Bisping, the Karate Combat leader explained:
“As time passed, more and more champions from ONE FC reached out, saying they’d rather retire in their prime than continue fighting for ONE FC. I had four or five current champions express their desire to fight for Karate Combat, but I couldn’t assist them while they were under contract.
“Then, more fighters started approaching me, complaining about their careers being stalled. Some fighters were only fighting once every two or three years, which was deeply troubling. I was receiving constant messages from managers and fighters, sharing their frustrations.”
The feud began when Karate Combat looked to book a ONE fighter who was inactive. ONE then threatened the entire gym with litigation if anything were to happen. Zaidi added:
“Chatri threatened them, saying if they allowed their fighter to compete for Karate Combat, they would pull all opportunities from their gym. Essentially, it felt like they blackballed us, putting immense pressure on us.”
Managers are disgruntled in working with ONE as their fighters are unable to get booked for fights, he continued:
“A big-time manager reached out to me and revealed that ONE Championship was signing fighters to lucrative contracts, only to keep them inactive. The fighters would become desperate, and ONE FC would then offer them much lower fight purses. This practice allegedly kept fighters locked up without using them, effectively preventing them from signing with other promotions.”
There have been several fighters who worked with ONE Championship and openly complained about them. Such names include kickboxing champion Jonathan Di Bella, former two-division champion Reinier de Ridder, kickboxing great Anissa Meksen, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu great Marcus Buchecha, and kickboxing world champion Chingiz Allazov.
With various sponsors and investors being unhappy with ONE, to add to their unhappy fighters, the organization ahs been forced to change their direction. Originally they were doing nearly all of their operations in Singapore, now it seems they are shifting to the USA and Thailand.
The president of Karate Combat had some choice words for ONE Championship. According to Asim Zaidi, AKA President Awesome,…
The president of Karate Combat had some choice words for ONE Championship. According to Asim Zaidi, AKA President Awesome, Qatar invested in ONE earlier but since has regretted partnering with them.
ONE Championship in Qatar
ONE Championship had a sizeable investment from Qatar in 2021 and later hosted a 2024 event in the country with ONE 166: Qatar. Qatari-based sponsors such as Qatar Airways and Ooredoo have withdrawn their support for the organization. Additionally, the Karate Combat President explained that the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) is not happy with their investment.
Karate Combat has recently declared war on ONE Championship and is hosting an event in ONE’s former home of Singapore. On September 18, Karate Combat will go down in Singapore.
Speaking in an interview with former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping, Asim Zaidi, AKA President Awesome, explained:
“To add to this, Qatar, one of ONE Championship’s major investors, publicly stated their embarrassment over investing in ONE FC. You can find articles about this if you look it up. This was the final straw for me. They weren’t just messing with me; they were impacting fighters’ careers during their prime. So, I decided to take action. We’re throwing an event on September 18th in Singapore, aiming to provide opportunities for former ONE FC fighters and Asian fighters and show them that there’s an alternative to what I see as a dictatorship.”
According to DealStreetAsia, ONE Championship may not be in a great financial position. The company also had multiple rounds of layoffs in 2023. Several fighters and former employees are openly complaining about their contracts with ONE and being unable to get a fight. This included names such as Jiu Jitsu talent Marcus Buchecha, former two-division champion Reinier de Ridder, and kickboxing world champion Chingiz Allazov.
Currently, ONE is mainly focused on Muay Thai in Thailand and promoting events in the USA. A shift from their former strategy of working in Singapore. Only time will tell if they are successful.
Welcome to MMA News Today, a daily feature running down the most interesting stories in the world of mixed martial arts. For July 26, 2024, we’re taking a look at: Tom Aspinall Finally Admits That Strange Pre-Fight Preparations Was A Joke Ahead of his interim heavyweight title defense at UFC 304, Tom Aspinall revealed a unique pre-fight process […]
Welcome to MMA News Today, a daily feature running down the most interesting stories in the world of mixed martial arts. For July 26, 2024, we’re taking a look at:
Aspinall finally puts the petrol rumors to rest
Sterling got his hand raised after clutching the match in the final seconds
Holloway gives massive praise to UFC 304 fighter
Tom Aspinall Finally Admits That Strange Pre-Fight Preparations Was A Joke
The Brit told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour that he was following the methods of classic bare knuckle boxers by shadow boxing around haybales and dipping his hands in petrol each night.
Some instantly called it out that Aspinall was in fact trying to trick Helwani but after he didn’t crack a smile at any point, others thought the champion might be telling the truth.
A video posted on fight week shows one half of this weekend’s co-main event calling Helwani in the middle of the night to provide evidence of his preparations.
After leading him on for a bit longer, Aspinall confessed that it was all a joke and that he’s having to tell the truth after people thought he was being serious about it.
Aljamain Sterling Pulls Off A Clutch Win In Karate Combat Grappling Debut
Former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling made his Karate Combat debut on July 25, where he got his hand raised in the final seconds of the contest.
Competing in the Pit Submission Series, he secured the win over Jay Jay Wilson at Karate Combat 48 in Nashville.
The contest was nearly about to end in a points draw but with the clock ticking down to the final seconds, Sterling was able to pass guard and take his opponent’s back to score the winning point in the dying moments.
With a fight like this, it will come down to which man is able to implement their approach the best and with that in mind, Holloway is backing the champ to retain in Manchester.
He broke down the card during a recent YouTube video where “Blessed” spoke extremely high of Edwards’s ability to read and control a fight.
“Belal is a tactician. he’s a gameplanner. He does not stray away from his gameplan,” Holloway said. “But so does Leon, bro. Leon is a tactician. He’s a gameplanner. He sticks to his gameplan no matter what. … A lot of people were counting Leon out (ahead of the Covington fight) like he was gonna get grappled.
“Leon is one of the very few IQs in this game that I respect, man,” Holloway continued. “His fight IQ is super high, super smart. It’s just hard to go against the champ here, bro. I think Belal puts on a fight. Early in the fight, I think it’s a tough fight. But then when we get to the third and then the championship rounds, I think Leon is gonna take over.”
Aline Pereira’s upcoming fight at Karate Combat 50 has hit a snag due to weight issues with her opponent,…
Following his recent viral knockout loss during his venture with Karate Combat, former UFC lightweight contender, James Vick was…
The president of Karate Combat Asim Zaidi, AKA President Awesome, recently spoke with Michael Bisping about ONE Championship and…
The president of Karate Combat had some choice words for ONE Championship. According to Asim Zaidi, AKA President Awesome,…
