Muay Thai for Life 8.0 broke new ground for the promotion, returning to the home base in Gothenburg but breaking in a new venue at Rondo at Liseberg this past weekend, Saturday May 25th.
Though a debut at a new venue can be tricky, the results and reactions speak for themselves and MTFL will surely be returning to Rondo following the success of the latest event, which saw eager fans pack a stylized, classy venue that seemed destined for combat sports.
The event was headlined by a massive Nordic derby between Danish-Morrocan world champion Youssef Assouik, and fast-rising contender Anton “Pain City” Sjöqvist. For all that hung in the balance, the build up was almost longer than the fight.
Assouik would connect with a hard punch early, following up with vicious knees. Sjöqvist’s vision would be impeded, forcing the fight to be stopped.
El-Dakkak suffers setback against Sanbria
The fight displayed Assouiks deadly combination of accuracy and power and he surely wont be far from reaching the absolute pinnacle of the sport of Muay Thai. For Sjöqvist it’s a tough setback, however his vision has recovered since and he is eager to return.
The co-main event would see budding star Amir E-Dakkak make his return after his hectic bout with Nasim Kazem at MTFL 6.0. El-Dakkak would face grizzled Colombian Nico Sanabria – who did not come all the way to Sweden to be someone else’s stepping stone.
Sanabria put on heavy pressure, not giving El-Dakkak the space to land his flashy kicks and explosive attacks. Though El-Dakkak certainly had his moments, Sanabria was constantly swarming his opponent and moved forward seemingly unbothered by the offense coming his way.
After five full rounds Sanabria was deemed the victor by unanimous decision, making such a strong impression that MTFL 8.0 may not be the last time the Colombian i the promotion.
“The Croatian Sensation” delivers another classic performance
Gothenburg’s native son; Zvonimir “The Croatian Sensation” Kralj also returned, following his epic “Fight of the Year” contender with Hassan Osseini at MTFL 6.0. Kralj took on 2024 Swedish Muay Thai heavyweight champ Mattias Lunkvist in another explosively entertaining battle.
Kralj took the lead early on, but just when things started getting one-sided Lundkvist worked his way back into the bout, landing effective combinations. Kralj would land a huge knockdown, though, and subsequent knees would lead to a cut opening up on Lundkvist, leading to a doctor stoppage.
While somewhat anticlimactic, Kralj gave the fans an entertaining thrill ride of a fight, as always, alongside his more than willing dance partner in Lundkvist.
In other notable bouts, Sam Ghoroghi edged out Sam Wingqvist in a closely contested, technical fight, Lisa Larsson delivered another huge win in another breakout performance, defeating world champion Ewin Ates via decision, and Poramin Atsa had a short night at the office, finishing Alexander Jansson via first round TKO.
MTFL 8.0 official results
- Youssef Assouik def. Anton Sjöqvist via TKO (punch and knees), round 1
- Nico Sanabria def. Amir El-Dakkak via unanimous domslut (50-45, 49-46, 49-46)
- Zvonimir Kralj def. Mattias Lundkvist via TKO (doctor stoppage), round 2
- Sam Ghorghi def. Sam Wingkvist via split (30-28, 28-30, 30-29)
- Lisa Larsson def. Ewin Ates via unanimous decision (30, 27, 29-28 30-28)
- Poramin Atsa def. Alexander Jansson via TKO (knee and punches), round 1
- Andreas Hall def. Peter Wallin TKO (high kick), round 1
- Cedrik von Heiroth def. Viktor Schiller via majority decision (47-47 48-46 47-46)
- Simon Vinterskog def. Oscar Lindkvist via TKO (kicks and punches), round 3
- Janet Kling def. Joanna Camacho via TKO (punches), round 4
- Noak Wollsäter def. Filip Lindgren via majority decision (48-48, 49-47, 48-47)
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