Melbourne-based muay thai fighter Claire Foreman made her successful debut on the Chinese kickboxing promotion Kunlun Fight this past Saturday with a win against local favourite Zhang Meng.
In a three-by-three minute round fight under kickboxing rules, Foreman was able to come out on top of her Chinese opponent with a tough, but unanimous points decision, winning the bout 30-27.
Talking to Fight News Australia after the fight Foreman remarked, “it was hard fight for me and it was intense every minute. She kept coming at me and I couldn’t get a good rhythm like I would in a Thai style fight. I need to tweak my fitness to go flat out for three rounds instead of peaking over five rounds with more breaks”.
I took a lot of punches but landed hard long knees on her. I thought I must be hurting her but she kept coming at me with hard boxing combos.
Originally booked to fight on Lion Fight 35 in Las Vegas but unable to fight a suitable opponent, Foreman was able to secure a bout on the large Chinese promotion.
“It’s been a crazy experience, the whole show is massive. The media, the fans, everything! The Chinese people here have been so welcoming and kind to us. Whenever we went for a walk we got swamped by people wanting photos or just filming us randomly”.
A potential matchup with Estonian fighter Andra Aho beckons on the next Lion Fight show in June, but this is yet to be confirmed by the organisation. Whether or not a bout on Lion Fight comes together, Foreman would be happy to make her return to China and Kunlun in the near future.
“It’s a highly professional promotion and I really hope I get invited back as I would love to build my name up in China. I don’t think in Australia we realise how big it is over here but they have fighters from every corner of the world”.
