The Star Late Edition

‘Battle Royale’ expected at Cape Muay Thai fight night

- JULIAN KIEWIETZ julian.kiewietz@inl.co.za

MUAY Thai fans in the Mother City have good reason to get excited, as one of South Africa’s most well-run events returns to Cape Town this weekend.

Thaiholics Fight Promotions (TFP) is back with its ninth show since its inception, and its first for the year.

#TFP9: Battle Royale takes place tomorrow at the Sunningdal­e Sports Complex and will roll out a stacked 13-fight card.

With the lack of Muay Thai events, TFP has been a saving grace for many Muay Thai practition­ers as it offers an elite platform for fighters at various stages in their martial arts journey.

This weekend’s event will showcase bouts ranging from junior amateur to senior profession­al divisions on a card that brings some of the country’s top fighters together under one roof.

Fans are also set to enjoy three title fights on the night.

The main event is a World Muay Thai Organizati­on profession­al title clash between Cape Town’s Shane Deacon and Johannesbu­rg’s Thabo Chauke, as these two square off to prove who is the country’s number one profession­al super welterweig­ht.

There will be two pro-am titles up for grabs as Cape Town’s firecracke­r star Brian Ncube squares off against Altaaf Armien for the SA featherwei­ght title, and PFA’s Justin February takes on Durban’s Stavon Lewis in their WMO SA middleweig­ht title clash.

The co-main event sees two Cape favourites go head-to-head in a catchweigh­t bout between Thaiholics Cape Town’s Rafel Wozniak and Iron Tiger’s Timothy Steenkamp.

Based on these two athletes’ past showings, you can expect a fightof-the-night contender from this one, as both gladiators know how to put on a show. The main card will be supported by a jam-packed undercard, with fighters from around the country looking to earn their TFP stripes, including a welterweig­ht title eliminator between Thaiholics Cape Town’s George Thanathara and Johannesbu­rg’s Nkuli Sibanyoni.

Another barn burner is set to keep fans on the edge of their seats as heavyweigh­ts Yusuf Gharbi and Matthew Harley take to the ring in yet another Cape Town versus Joburg clash.

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