Warriors Way 17 Preview: Sityodtong vs Richards
Warriors Way returns this Saturday 12th November for their final show of 2016 live from the Doncaster Shopping Hotel. Headlining what is sure to be a massive card is recently crowned Lion Fight Super Lightweight World Champion Tum “Hollywood’ Sityodtong (76-22-3) in a rematch against Geelong’s very own Pat ‘Tech8’ Richards (21-12-3) for the prestigious Warrior Ways 66kg title belt.
The event will be streamed live here at Go Fight Live.
Fresh off his Lion Fight world title victory against rising star, and recently signed Bellator fighter Gaston Bolanos at Lion Fight 31 in September, Tum will be looking to continue his impressive run of late and prove that he is not only one of Australia’s best, but that he is deserving of his recent world title crown. A win against Richards will keep the momentum going and ensure that his next matchup, whether it is in Australia or overseas, will help the new World Champion gain further exposure and opportunities after many years of fighting.
Coming off a split decision draw against technician Alexi Petroulias on Warriors Way 16 in August of this year, Pat will be looking to get back into the winners circle and redeem himself in what should be a tough rematch against Tum. Having spent time at both Jackson/Wink MMA in the US and Sitsongpeenong Muaythai in Thailand this year, Pat has been exposed to some of the best fighters in the world and will no doubt be ready to face Tum in what should be an exciting main event. A win in this fight will put him in strong contention for an opportunity to fight on Warriors Way partner promotion, Lion Fight Muaythai, in the United States.
In addition to the main event an exciting title fight for the WMC Victorian Pro 72.5kg title has been booked between two Victorian favourites in Chris ‘The Butcher’ Harrington (22-2-0) and John ‘Biscuits’ McKenna (13-2-1). Fighting out of Hammer’s Gym and Absolute MMA respectively, both fighters have proven over the years that they are two of the best middleweights in Victoria and this fight should go a long way to settling that argument. Coming off a tough loss to Alex Ilijoski on Road to Rebellion 6 in May, in which he suffered a hand injury during the fight, Harrington is fit, healthy and looking to end the year back in the winner’s circle. McKenna, who currently holds the WMC 72.5kg amateur Victorian title, will be looking to secure another belt following his recent UPD win against David Petralito at Power Play on the 8th October.
The other highlight fight of this card is one not to be ignored and that is between two of the top Victorian lightweights in a bout that will go a long way to deciding just who is the best in this weight class in the state. The fight will be between the undefeated and current WMC Victorian 62kg title holder ‘Ruthless’ River Daz (11-0-1) and WBC Victorian lightweight champion Albert ‘The Timorese Assasin’ Xavier (15-6-1). Both fighters have been heavily active this year with their most recent bouts coming in the last month. Xavier is coming off a KO victory over tough Victorian veteran Tumay Hamza, while Daz is getting ready to use his eight weapons again after a recent stint in the pro boxing ring with a UPD decision of Ryan Robertson. At stake will be River’s WMC Victorian title which will be his first defence of the belt.
Talking about his upcoming show, promoter Mark ‘The Hammer’ Castagnini singles out the main event between Tum Sidyodtong and Pat Richards as a potential highlight.
“The fight will be a cracker with Pat wanting to get his chance now on Lion Fight, a good showing will put him in the running to head to Vegas in 2017,” Castagnini told Fight News Australia.
Having seen the partnership with Lion Fight in the United States already bear fruit with Tum’s successful title win Castagnini said “having Warriors Way as part of a global collective is great for all, and there will be great future opportunities for our Aussie fighters.”
With an undercard of local and interstate match-ups, Warriors Way is shaping up to be a stacked night of Muay Thai action to round out the year.
0 comments