DARE – Rebels of MMA Full Fight Card!

The wait is finally over, as Thailand’s largest Mixed Martial Arts organization, Dare Fight Sports is back with Asia’s most anticipated fight event of 2013 – DARE – Rebels of MMA. Dare Fight Sports presents their first event since their official endorsement from The Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) to mark the return of MMA to one of the original homes of Mixed Martial Arts.

Since their launch in 2011, DARE quickly established themselves as The Rockstars of MMA, with the most original and stylish production, coming out of a nightclub in the heart of Bangkok, the Coolest City on the Planet. The October event will see the continuation of DARE’s Million Dollar Tournament, with fighters in 8 weight divisions competing in 8 simultaneous knock-out tournaments, the winners of which will collect their share of the Million Dollar Prize. The DARE – Million Dollar Tournament is broadcasted to over 700 million households worldwide on TRUE Sports in Thailand, CCTV5 in China and NBC Sports in USA.

IRON FIST (Ole Baguio Laursen, 6-3) VS THE JOE RAY (Joe Ray, 10-3)

Opening Round / Welterweight Division

 

SWAMP (Moise Rimbon, 19-9) VS LOKOMOTIV (Alexander Gladkov, 4-0)

Opening Round / Heavyweight Division

 

STRANGLER (Murad Machaev, 12-1) VS TURK (Gokhan Turkyilmaz, 9-8)

Opening Round / Lightweight Division

 

NOSTROVIA! (Rasul Mirzaev, 6-0) VS SCRAPS (James Saville, 11-6)

Opening Round / Featherweight Division

 

RONIN (Shane Wiggand, 6-8) VS KREEPY KRIS (Kristoffer Persson, 1-3)

Quarterfinals / Lightweight Division

 

BIG BAD (Brad Terrey, 2-3) VS BABBIE (Rachanon Ngaongam, 4-0)

Opening Round / Lightweight Division

 

SNIPER (Stephen Loman, 3-0) VS THE ASKER (Asker Baragunov, 1-4)

Opening Round / Flyweight Division

 

 October 12, 2013 – Club Insanity, Sukhumvit Soi 12, Bangkok, Thailand.

 Warm-up party starts at 4PM, Doors Open at 5PM – Fights start at 6PM.

 

Click here to book your tickets

 

Live text, photos and results available during the event:

http://www.facebook.com/DARE

twitter.com/@DareFightSports

http://www.darefightsports.com

 

GAME ON.

DARE’s statement on getting banned in Thailand

Welcome to Thailand

DARE is doing great in their previous events and grown tremendously in popularity in Thailand. They are showcasing numerous exciting fights and fighters, but this past weekend has been a nightmare for DARE.

The government of Thailand banned the Bangkok based mma promotion which is the first organization to use the octagonal cage that is now MMA’s trademark. There are no clear reasons why the Thai government banned the promotion but there are speculations that  one of the main reasons why they prohibited DARE (or mixed martial arts in general) is to preserve their cultural heritage or in other words, they are protecting the national sport of Thailand which is Muay Thai.

Muay Thai is kind of popular fifteen years ago, but we must admit that some of us don’t have any idea what muay thai is until mixed martial burst into the scene. MMA encouraged us to know more about different martial arts discipline such as Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, catch wrestling, Judo, Muay Thai, etc.

Is the Thai government frightened about DARE because it is gaining tons of popularity in Thailand and it can really be a big threat to their national sport? I honestly do think so, yes. Because if you look at the bigger picture, many Thai fighters are getting hooked into mma and in fact, most of them are Muay Thai world champions who, because of poverty, are encouraged to work overseas and teaches muay thai in several foreign mma gyms. As I have observed, those who do best in mma are those fighters who has a very good muay thai background. Muay Thai is very essential into the sport of mixed martial arts because it is proven to be very effective.

I think if the Thai government will support mixed martial arts in its own country, we will definitely see loads of Thai mma world champions in the future.

Here is DARE’s statement about getting banned in Thailand:

The ban on DARE by the Sports Authority of Thailand was obviously a big surprise for the rapidly growing martial arts community of Thailand.

What ever the reasons behind the ban might actually be, it turned out to be the greatest expansion opportunity for DARE as we have since received numerous new invitations, partnership requests and business proposals from all directions.

We are rollin!

HOW DO WE SEE THE FUTURE OF MMA IN THAILAND?

As one of the safest and fastest growing combat sports in the world, once more audience and officials are being educated about Mixed Martial Arts it is inevitable that MMA will grown into a mainstream sport. Wether the events are held here in the Kingdom or not.

Rathti Thitidonpipat

President,

Dare Fight Sports

So what will happen to those fighters who already advanced to the One Million Dollar Prize tournament?

Stay tuned for the latest updates guys.

Follow me on Twitter: @zikey09

French Phenom Arnaud Lepont Overcomes Unbeaten Krzysztof Hajtalowicz at DARE Championship 2/12

DARE Championship, Thailand’s only professional mixed martial arts organization, was formed last year and is already going from strength to strength. The card for the fourth event, held at Insomnia Night Club in Bangkok,  was the best to date featuring 14 fighters from the region all of whom had professional experience and headlined by the historic clash between Arnaud Lepont and Krzysztof Hajtalowicz.

Both Lepont and Hajtalowicz are long term residents of Thailand, although the Frenchman recently moved to Malaysia to join the team of Muayfit. Hajtalowicz, from Poland, booked his spot in the quarter finals of the DARE welterweight tournament courtesy of a second round submission win over Wiktor Svensson while Lepont got past Jian Kai Chee.

The fight between the two was the most eagerly anticipated MMA match ever held in Thailand and a capacity crowd gathered at the Insomnia Night Club to see which of these two warriors would book their spot in the semi finals and take a step closer to winning the $125,000 USD prize money.

Loud music and lasers were the order of the day as the fans were treated to the sort of intense audio visual experience which they have come to associate with DARE. Hajtalowicz has won numerous BJJ competitions and is renowned for his ground game while Lepont has more experience in the cage and has a reputation as being an extremely aggressive fighter.

The Frenchman landed a couple of hooks early in the fight and Hajtalowicz ended up on his back with Lepont doing some damage from within his guard. However the Polish fighter was extremely active and after multiple submission attempts was able to reverse the position.

Lepont looked a little uncomfortable and ate a few hard shots but was able to survive strikes and submissions and work his way to his feet. Hajtalowicz obviously had a gameplan and used his superior height to clinch and land a series of devastating knees some of which connected clean with the face of the French fighter.

It appeared that the Polish submission specialist was getting the better of the stand up exchanges as he clasped his hands around his opponent’s neck and dominated him in the clinch, landing shots which seemed to leave Lepont on wobbly legs.

A Hajtalowicz win seemed inevitable at this stage but just when Lepont looked a spent force he was able to somehow sink in a standing guillotine choke while defending a takedown. The fight veered spectacularly, as only an MMA contest can, mere seconds after he had seemed to be firmly in the driving seat Hajtalowicz found himself forced to tap as Lepont pulled guard and squeezed for all he was worth.

Arnaud Lepont celebrates his come from behind win against Krzysztof Hajtalowicz

It was an incredible come from behind performance which saw Lepont pull out the guillotine from nowhere just as he appeared to be on the brink of defeat. With his fifth consecutive win the French fighter improved to 8-1 and progressed to the semi finals, sending out the following warning,

“I will never give up and as long as I am alive the fight is never over because I am prepared to die in the cage. I knew I was losing the round but I was patient and waited for my opportunity. People think he is going to beat me because he is good on the ground but it is not Ju Jitsu it is MMA. He was very strong in the clinch, I didn’t think he would have the balls to strike with me but he did. This is my last fight as a welterweight, it is not my natural weight and after this I will be dropping to 155 lbs.”

Also celebrating was up and coming Thai fighter Shannon Wiratchai who is winning himself a lot of fans with his fun fighting style and willingness to adapt and learn the MMA game. He took on TDR Panjabutra who was looking for a little vengeance after Wiratchai defeated his brother at DARE 2/11.

Wiratchai was appearing in the cage for only the second time but already has a significant fan following in Thailand. He made a slow start not really coming to life until the closing seconds of the opening round when he launched a flurry of punches and kicks.

The second round was a different story as Wiratchai landed a couple of perfectly timed counter hooks which rocked Panjabutra and allowed him to take the fight to the floor. From there he was able to work diligently to take his opponent’s back and sink in a rear naked choke which forced the tap.

The win saw Wiratchai progress to the semi finals of the featherweight tournament and put him two victories away from the $125,000 prize money. The other five fights where all in the opening round and saw five more fighters book quarter final spots.

Mark Striegl is one of the most exciting young fighters in the region and the 23 year old Filipino showed why he is so highly rated by dominating Marko Huusansaari. The tenacious Finnish fighter showed off a sophisticated submission defence to survive an opening round which he spent almost entirely on his back but in round two he was finally forced to tap to a modified arm bar.

Striegl’s friend and training partner Will Chope was fortunate to have been allowed to fight after missing weight by almost 5 kgs. In the end he was able to submit Saengchot Parkaiphet with a rear naked choke in the opening round and afterwards, to his credit, apologized profusely for his struggles with the scales.

American Will Chope locks in a guillotine choke against Thai fighter Saengchot Parkaiphet

The rematch between Bruce Loh and Shodiyor Jurabekov ended in disappointment as Loh was unable to continue after damaging his hamstring after some exciting early exchanges. Alexandro Machado was outpowered by Kristoff Petersson who stopped him with strikes in round two while Dan Kerr was submitted by the significantly larger Andre Marcolla.

Results:

Shodiyor Jurabekov defeated Loh Kainkai via TKO (injury)

Will TheKill Chope defeated Saengchot Parkaiphet via submission (rear naked choke)

Shannon Wiratchai defeated Tondamrong Panjabutra via submission (rear naked choke)

Kristoffer Persson defeated Alexandro Machado via TKO (strikes)

Mark Striegl defeated Marko Huusansaari via submission (modified armbar)

Andre Marcolla defeated Daniel Kerr via submission (armbar)

Arnaud Lepont defeated Krzysztof Hajtalowicz via submission (guillotine choke)

For more information about DARE Championship visit: www.darefightsports.com.

Follow DARE on Twitter: @DareFightSports

Follow me on Twitter: @zikey09

DARE 2/12 TV Commercial

DARE 1/12 highlights

 

JAPANESE MMA LEGEND DAIJU “TAKASE” TAKASE WINS BY DECISION AT DARE 1/12

Takase

Daiju Takase, who holds a submission win over UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva, won a hard fought decision over Brandon “BK” Kesler in the main event of DARE Championship’s DARE 1/12 event at the Club Insomnia Bangkok.

The Japanese MMA legend was returning to action after an absence of almost two years. He was up against a local favorite in Kesler, an American who is based in Bangkok and is a very familiar face to MMA fans in Thailand.

In the end it was the much more experienced Takase who prevailed and advanced to the quarter finals of the DARE Championship’s Middleweight Tournament, bringing him one step closer to claiming his part of the $1,000,000 Dollar Grand Bonus for the first group of Champions in DARE.

It was the biggest fight of BK’s life but he did not let the occasion get to him, starting slowly before exploding into action with a superman punch. Takase was equally patient and an uneventful first round probably went the Americans way courtesy of an eye catching takedown.

Kesler was also able to get the Japanese veteran to the floor in the second round but this time Takase showed off his submission skills, using a Kimura attempt to sweep and move into mount. It was a maneuver he also used to good effect in the third round which along with a solid hook landed at the start of the round, probably propelled him to a closely contested decision win.

Given the gulf in experience BK can be proud of himself for having gone the distance and after the fight Takase paid tribute to his opponent, “He was tough, I wanted to submit him but he was very strong. I have been out of action for a long time so it is good to get back in the cage and to win a fight. I am looking forward to fighting again for DARE and also want the people who have been flooded in Thailand to know that Japanese people are thinking of you and that we are all together.”

All the profits from DARE Championship 1/12, the third event to be put on by Thailand’s only MMA promotion, will be donated to helping victims of the flooding which struck large areas of Thailand towards the end of 2011.

All the DARE 1/12 fights are available online at www.darelive.tv and www.gfl.tv.

 

RONIN vs MAD DOG

 

Ronin vs Mad Dog

Earlier in the night two seasoned warriors went head to head when Bangkok based American Shane “RONIN” Wiggand collided with Finish fighter Marko “MAD DOG” Huusansaari from Pattaya in what turned out to be the fight of the night.

The American started the stronger, dominating the stand up exchanges until Mad Dog caught a kick and took the fight to the ground. He was able to take Ronin’s back but unable to sink in the choke and once the fighters returned to their feet he continued to take punishment.

The doctor had a good look at Mad Dog Huusansaari between rounds but deemed him eligible to continue and he demonstrated an iron chin as Wiggand continued to press forwards, utilizing his jab to good effect.  To his credit the Finnish fighter survived long enough to hear the bell at the end of the third round but it was a dominant performance from Wiggand who immediately announced his retirement from competitive fighting.

 

LATINO vs JON NUTT

DARE Championships like to do things a little bit differently and they sprung a surprise when MC / commentator Jon Nutt announced that he would be taking part in an unscheduled contest with Brazilian Muay Thai Champion Marcelo “LATINO” Tenorio (Muay Thai record of 50-1 where 40 of the wins coming via KO).

The crowd were expecting to see Takase fight Kesler in the main event of the night when the charismatic commentator suddenly declared that he was going backstage to get his hands wrapped and would be back in ten minutes to fight.

Both men had already been weighed and completed all the pre fight medicals but no-one knew that this catch weight contest had been added to the card to replace the bout between Arnaud “THE GAME” Lepont and Krysztof “HAJA” Hajtalowicz which had been cancelled due to injury.

After a dramatic entrance which got the crowd on his side Nutt went to work with some solid combinations, landing a few punches and kicks before taking the fight to the floor. Despite being at a significant size disadvantage Tenorio was able to tie him up and neutralize him so effectively that the fight was stood up despite the smaller fighter being mounted at the time.

It was a dominant round for Nutt but it clearly took its toll on someone who is an MC and commentator rather than a full time fighter. He was able to come out for the second round but only just and, after just a few seconds of frantic action, he was forced to tap due to sheer exhaustion.

Also on the seven fight card was an eagerly anticipated contest between Japanese American Major “MAJOR” Overall and Malaysian AJ “PYRO” Vaa. Both fighters looked in fantastic shape for this featherweight match up which had been expected to be one of the closest fights of the night but in the end it took Overall less than a minute to land a clean combination and finish his stunned opponent off with a rear naked choke.

Jussi Saloranta, a founder of DARE Championship paid tribute to Nutt for stepping up at such short notice and putting on a show for the fans, “We promised our fans seven fights so when HAJA got injured and we couldn’t find a replacement we didn’t want to let them down. Fortunately Jon Nutt, our MC and commentator stepped up at two days notice to take a really tough fight against a Brazilian Muay Thai champion and even though he lost he put on a great show for the fans, which is what DARE is all about.”

 

Full Fight Results:

FIGHT ONE

ROCK –  Ammar Rock Tchalabi VS CAPO – Andrea Signorini.
Winner: ROCK via Verbal Submission – 1:34 seconds/ Round 1

FIGHT TWO

THE BEAST – Mangthus Rewtawee – vs. LANNA WARRIOR – Tanaphong Khunhankaew
Winner: LANNA WARRIOR via KO  – 3.32 seconds/ Round 1

FIGHT THREE

RONIN – Shane Wiggand vs MAD DOG – Marko Huusansaari.
30/27, 29/28, 30/27
Winner: RONIN via UNANIMOUS DECISION

FIGHT FOUR

MAJOR – Major Overall vs PYRO – AJ Vaa.
Winner: MAJOR via Submission REAR NAKED CHOKE – 1.38 seconds/ Round 1

FIGHT FIVE

EZ2DJ – Teerapak Saetae  vs TDR – Tondamrong Panjabutra.
Winner: TDR via TKO (Ref. Stoppage) 2.38 seconds/ Round 2

FIGHT SIX

LATINO – Marcelo Tenorio vs JON NUTT – Jonathan Nutt
Winner: LATINO via Verbal Submission 34 seconds/ Round 2

FIGHT SEVEN

BK – Brandon Kesler vs TAKASE – Daiju Takase
29/28, 29/28, 29/28
Winner: TAKASE via UNANIMOUS DECISION

 

DARE wishes to thank all the Event Partners and Sponsors of the DARE 1/12 event:

Club Insomnia Bangkok (DARE event venue)

PK Boxing (DARE cages)

TUFF (Fight Apparel)

DUBUIT – Fight the Floods (Welfare partner of DARE)

Dymatize Thailand (Nutrition Partner of DARE)

Fairtex (DARE fight gloves)

Xstream (Video Production)

Media Agility (Online Partner)

Spankys Bangkok and Pattaya (Entertainment Partner)

Go Fight Live (Online broadcasting Partner)

XPLY (DARE clothing)

http://darefightsports.com/

Facebook: Dare Championship

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/Darechampionship

Twitter: @DareFightSports

Follow me on Twitter: @zikey09

 

DARE Championship – SHOGUN vs. KIM (DARE 2/11 – September 2011) fight video

Next DARE event, “DARE 1/2012” on the 7th of January 2012 at Club Insomnia Bangkok. See it live at http://www.darelive.tv for just 9.99 Dollars!

http://darefightsports.com/

Follow me on Twitter: @zikey09

Dare reschedules its 3rd event due to the flood situation in Bangkok – Donates Event Profits for flood victims

According to Dare’s Facbook account:

Dear friends,

Dare Fight Sports has made the decision to reschedule its third event,
“DARE 3/11” with one month, due to the flood situation in Bangkok.

At the same time DARE wishes to express its condolences for all the
families, individuals and companies that have been effected by the
floods in Thailand.

“DARE 3/11” NOW BECOMES “DARE 1/12 – FIGHT THE FLOODS”

The third DARE event, now called “DARE 1/12” will be held on January
7th 2012 at the Club Insomnia Bangkok.

Doors will open 3pm and fights will start 4pm.

The event will be broadcasted live on www.darelive.tv

The fight card of the DARE 1/12 is going to be the most spectacular
MMA card ever seen in Thailand with several fights, worth the Main
Event status.

Information of the card will be released soon.

FIGHT THE FLOODS

All the profits of the “DARE 1/12” event will be donated to the
support of the flood victims.

We hope to see you all at DARE 1/12 at Club Insomnia Bangkok on the
7th of January or by joining us online at www.darelive.tv

Thank you all.

With kindest regards,

DARE Team

Dare Fight Sports’ Second Event Coming on September 24!

Dare Fight Sports, the first MMA event in Thailand where fights are fought inside a cage, is gearing up for their second event which will be held in less than two weeks.

‘Dare’ had their inaugural event last June and garnered great reviews from the fight fans. The event was sold out and featured 7 bouts.

This coming 24^th of September Dare will be holding another event in Bangkok, Thailand. Just recently, the promotion announced a 1 Million Dollar pot for the winners of  each of the eight tournaments (one for each weight class).  The succeeding Dare events will feature bouts that are part of the tournaments until winners are crowned.

Wiktor Svensson and Krysztof Hajtalowicz are set to face-off as Dare 2/11’s main event. Svensson (3-0) is from Sweden and is purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu while “Haja” (2-0) has a gold medal from the Never Tap Asia submission-fighting tournament in Phuket.

Another fight that has been announced is between Adam Kayoom (1-1), a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt and a Muay Thai World Champion; and Seok Mo Kim (2-2), a top prospect from South Korea who also has a background in wrestling and kickboxing.

Fights will be fought under the Unified Rules of MMA.

Obviously, Dare Fight Sports needs to raise up more experienced fighters and draw more crowds (as of now, only 350 people can fit inside their venue). But Dare looks promising and will definitely help with the growth of Mixed Martial Arts in Asia, most especially in Thailand.