Amateur Muay Thai launches its first event in the Mother City

Luan Venter and George Thanatara square off during the final fight of the night at Elite MMA in Melkbosstrand. Photo: Kristin Clarke

Luan Venter and George Thanatara square off during the final fight of the night at Elite MMA in Melkbosstrand. Photo: Kristin Clarke

Published Mar 14, 2024

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Western Cape Amateur Muay Thai ticked off its first calendar event this month when Elite MMA rolled out its inaugural event.

Spearheaded by Dave Venter, the show was wildly successful as Muay Thai fanatics filled up the Venters MMA gym in one of Cape Town's most beautiful towns, Melkbosstrand.

Most notably, the gyms in attendance included Thaiholics, Brothers Combat Institute, Iron Tiger, Fighterz Inc., and Top Primate.

The card had seven fights, boasting both amateur and pro-am talent.

This Muay Thai event bodes well for the Muay Thai scene in Cape Town and South Africa as it offers practitioners another opportunity to showcase their talents and skills in addition to the Thaiholics Fight Promotions production, which runs throughout the year.

TFP has been the sole Muay Thai tournament body since 2021, showcasing pro-am and professional fighters. Elite MMA’s Muay Thai event establishes the niche of hosting a platform for prospective amateur Nak Muay with a grassroots-level approach. With the success of this particular event, hopefully, more will be hosted as this will serve as an integral part of the development of amateur Nak Muay and help immensely in their transition to fighting on platforms such as TFP.

The bouts were exhilarating from the first to the last, with the crowd screaming with every clean strike that landed - a direct imitation of the stadium atmosphere that one would find in Thailand.

The final fight was deservedly labelled “Fight of the Night”, as Thaiholics’ George Thanatara delivered a clinical performance against an explosive Luan Venter from Brothers Combat Institute.

Results

Fight 1:

Ismaeel Booley wins via Unanimous Decision

Fight 2:

Jordan Everleigh versus Jordan Cohen.

Jordan Everleigh wins via Unanimous Decision

Fight 3:

Zaahir Abrahams versus Likhaya Hansie.

Zaahir wins via Unanimous Decision

Fight 4:

Musa Ismail versus Andre Beukes.

Musa wins via Unanimous Decision

Fight 5:

Yann Lenvo versus Zaakir Parker.

Yann wins via Unanimous Decision

Fight 6:

Ali Nyerere wins via KO (Round 1)

Fight 7:

George Thanatara versus Luan Venter

George wins via Unanimous Decision

Disclaimer: The opponents of Fights 1 and 6 are omitted due to inaccessibility

@juliankiewietz

IOL Sport

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