Thai combat attracting plenty ofattention on east coast of America

New York City and its neighbouring states have emerged as the new fighting hub for Muay Thai.

Super-welterweight champion Kem Sitsongpeenong is expected to fight at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut.

While the Big Apple's sports administrators consider allowing the full rules Thai weaponry of knees, elbows and grappling in public arenas, the New Jersey and Connecticut states have put out the welcome mat for Muay Thai.

The 18th edition of the Muay Thai Warriors Cup will be held at Schuetzen Park, New Jersey on Sept 7. The main event will be an all-American super-middleweight WBC showdown between Marcus Fisher and the ever-popular Cyrus Washington.

Fisher comes back to full rules Thai fighting after finishing a stint in the no-elbows Glory USA kickboxing series with a 1-1 record. Washington won his last Muay Thai fight in sensational style with a body kick knockout of JR Hines.

The co-main event will see Thai expat and Canadian citizen Thanit Wattanaya take on Rami Ibrahim, one of the USA's rising Muay Thai stars in a WBC international challenge championship.

Muay Thai's run in New York will finish the year on a high when Thailand's BEC Tero stages their second Battle for the Belts WBC championships at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut on Dec 27.

The Mohegan Sun, which is the second-biggest casino in the USA, is less than three hours drive from New York City, where first-class boxing and mixed martial arts (MMA) events are regularly staged.

The BEC Tero WBC Muay Thai championships will be held two days after Christmas Day and will be the biggest Muay Thai showcase ever brought to America's East Coast.

The Mohegan casino, containing a 12,000-seat arena, is on 240 acres and towers over the Thames River. The Battle for the Belts event will feature an authentic Thai boxing band that will play traditional Thai fighting music live throughout the championship contests to create a combat atmosphere.

The top seven American fighters will be matched against Europeans and Thai stars, likely to include super-welterweight champion Kem Sitsongpeenong and lightweight WBC All-Asia boxing star and Muay Thai world champion Jomthong Chuwattana.

The Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas is another casino that is attracting some of the better-known Thai fighters, including Yodsaenklai Fairtex, Malaipet Sasiprapa and Coke Chunhawat.

Yodsaenklai made his second appearance in Las Vegas on July 26, when he unanimously outpointed American Chike Lindsay.

The popular Fairtex fighter is back to his peak and on a winning streak after knocking out Kem and then French fighters Yohan Lidon and Gregory Choplin.

Yodsaenklai was the first Thai to win a WBC Muay Thai world title, beating Australia's top gun John Wayne Parr. He went on to beat JWP in the Asian Contender TV series final. Yodsaenklai's record against JWP stands at two wins and one loss.