Lanna MMA Represents Strongly At The Muay Thai Ontario Provincial Championships

By Ryan McKinnon

100 athletes participated in 60 fights inside 2 rings in 1 day at the Muay Thai Ontario Provincial Championships at the Woodbine Racetrack & OLG Slots on Saturday

June 10, 2017. Out of all the gyms in attendance, Lanna MMA came to the tournament style

event with something to prove. Lanna hasnʼt been this active at kickboxing and

Muay Thai events in a long time. We had made significant waves in the community

leading up to the provincials, but on Saturday, our athletes crashed inside the Woodbine

stables like a tidal wave.

Andrea, our 65 lbs ball of ferocity and smiles did an amazing job to win his fight

and the gold medal in his category. Andrea faced a serious opponent in Marshall Steele

from Kru Joe Tippingʼs gym, Fifth Round. Just like his previous fight at the York Muay

Thai demo night, Andrea listened to his coaches, and used really good clinch to keep

his opponent off balance. He received more praise from spectators, and earned a new

fan in Ajahn Suchart who said that he enjoyed watching Andrea fight. The fight was so

good that Kru Joe Tipping has requested a rematch between these two Nak /Muay on

the Fifth Round Fight Promotion show in Stratford on August 26. Way to go Andrea!!

Leon also won gold on Saturday by defeating two opponents in his category. First

was Sudesh from Diamond Muay Thai, a promotion run by Tony Manoharan and

Thomas Jensen. Sudesh was making his way back to the ring after nearly two years off

due to a knee surgery. It was bad timing for Sudesh, as Leon is coming off a huge win in

Ottawa, and showing significant improvement in his Muay Thai game. Leonʼs second

fight was against a tough opponent who gave him a serious challenge, especially in the

first round when he dropped Leon, scoring an 8-count and therefore a 10-8 round. Leon

battled from behind for two more rounds, scoring his own 8-counts, and ultimately

winning the fight, and the gold.

Kevon ʻBadmonʼ Singh was Lannaʼs lone ʻAʼ class fighter on Saturday when he

took on a tough competitor from World Championship Martial Arts (WCMA). Kevon had

lost 2 previous times to his opponent, and was hoping to make the third time a charm

with his new skill set. Unfortunately Saturday was just not Kevonʼs day. His opponent

won the first round by staying busy and outside of Kevonʼs kicks. Kevon won the second

round by pushing the pace and scoring a mix of combinations and techniques in the

clinch. The third and decisive round went to his opponent. It was a close round that saw

Kevon on the losing end. He showed an improvement in certain areas of his game, but

lacked that extra push that weʼve seen from him in his previous fights like his

performance against Zack Connolly at Destiny 3. Luckily Kevon came out of that fight

injury free and ready to take on North Americaʼs best at the TBAs.

Perhaps Lanna MMAʼs biggest performance of the night goes to Tyya Emberley

who absolutely dominated in her gold medal fight against a very game opponent from

Kawartha Combat. Coming off of a spectacular win at SheFights Tyya looked extremely focused yet relaxed leading up to the fight.

Once the bell rang, she was a whirlwind inside the ring. She had an answer for every

technique that came her way. Her clinch was superb, as she swept her opponent

somewhere close to 10 times within 3 rounds. She threw a hook that was so clean and

fast, that the referee didnʼt realize it was even a knockdown. Thereʼs wasnʼt a single

moment in the fight where Tyya looked tired or in danger. She took complete control of

the entire 9 minutes. It was like she was seeing things in slow motion. You could literally

see her ʻlevel upʼ as she was fighting. Job well done Tyya!

Lanna MMA went 4 out of 5 on Saturday, an impressive day that was missing

Brenda, Malik and Omid in the tournament. Had they been able to participate we would

have brought home the Best Team Trophy, but weʼll have to wait another year. We have

the TBAs coming up on June 22 in Des Moines, Iowa to think about, as well as the

Muaythai Canada National Championships in November. Lanna is on a serious roll right

now thanks to the commitment from both our fighters and coaching staff. 2017 is

shaping up to be the year that Lanna MMA makes a triumphant return to amateur

kickboxing and muaythai in the province. Congrats to all of our fighters for representing

the school like true professionals this weekend!

Check out https://muaythaiontario.org/2017/06/2017-provincials-results-awards/ for more results.