Melvin “Overkill” Yeoh is a full time school teacher who trains in his spare time. His MMA record is 6-1 and one of the top prospects in Malaysia.
This slugger could make 135 lbs. but he chooses to compete at 145 lbs. because he wants to win the Malaysian national title at ONE FC 7 – Return of Warriors against a familiar opponent in Raymond “The Rocket” Tiew on 2 February 2013 in Malaysia.
MMA Orient: How are you going to be able to divide your time between training for this fight and teaching?
Yeoh:
I teach in school from 7am to 2pm, my training time is 6pm to 10pm. I also teach P.E in school and doing my fitness training at the same time while teaching my students during P.E classes.
MMA Orient: What do your students think about you being a fighter?
Yeoh:
Most of them knew I fought a lot already. However, I recently moved to a new school, I didn’t tell my students anything about martial arts and fights; some of them just “googled” it and found out that their school teacher is actually a fighter. So the news just spread so fast and every one of them already knew. It’s good because I am a discipline teacher in my school, those problematic students listen to me and some of them look me up as their hero.
MMA Orient: You have already beaten Raymond Tiew once; does that make you confident you can beat him again.
Yeoh:
I am confident because last time I fought Raymond Tiew, I was 50% because I had a tough fight with Sam Chan first before facing him and my neck was badly hurt a week before the fight due to injury while training wrestling. I am sure Raymond will come with new game plan for this fight. Raymond and I have been asking for this fight for a long time and we even talked about it on Facebook chat. We never expect our second fight will happen at the biggest MMA organization in Asia – One FC. I am sure this will be a historical fight for both of us!
MMA Orient: What would it mean to you to be the first ever Malaysian National MMA Champion?
Yeoh:
It means a lot for me as I can figure out how my skills are going to beat Raymond Tiew and most important thing is I can inspire teenagers that as long as u believe and work hard for something, You will get your reward one day.
MMA Orient: How excited are you to be making your ONE FC debut?
Yeoh:
I wish the fight is right now! Every time I close my eyes I imagine I finally step into the One FC cage with 500million eyes on me; man, it’s unbelievable and it’s like a dream come true.
MMA Orient: Are you nervous about fighting in front of so many people?
Yeoh:
I am a showman; I like to give a good show every time I fight. If people ever watch my previous fights they will know it. So I don’t think being nervous will be my problem.
MMA Orient: Raymond Tiew was very aggressive when he made his ONE FC debut. Are you expecting a similar approach in this fight?
Yeoh:
Raymond Tiew is always an aggressive fighter and I am sure this is one of the reasons why he is the crowd favorite in Malaysia. I remember our first fight, the first whole round Raymond keep pushing the pace trying to finish the fight. But he made a mistake in the second round and I caught him. This time Raymond is hungry for a fight, hungry for a win. I am sure he will come to me very aggressive.
MMA Orient: Will any of your students be travelling from JB to watch you fight?
Yeoh:
Yes, many of my students will travel from Johor Bahru to watch my fight. But most of them are still underage so parents might not allow them. But I am sure they will support me via watching the live stream.
MMA Orient: Are you surprised by how rapidly MMA is growing in popularity in Malaysia?
Yeoh:
Yes, especially with Tune Talk joined forces with One FC and I heard Genting Highland resort is interested to work something out with One FC too. I definitely cannot imagine how MMA in Malaysia will boom in 2013.
MMA Orient: Did you watched the first ONE FC show in Malaysia and what did you think? Did it make you want to sign with ONE FC?
Yeoh:
I brought 15 of my students to the first One FC show in Malaysia, thanks to Vctor Cui who sponsored those tickets for my students. The show was awesome and my fist was really itching to go into the cage and fight at that time! One of the main reasons I signed with One FC is I always wanted to fight in front of my home crowd. Only One fc can do that and that is the reason I signed with them.
mmaorient.wordpress.com 