The Rebellion card is stacked with talent. The massive Qest Infrastructure 8 Man Eliminator contestants are the best 70kg athletes in the world.
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The tournament is structured on weigh in days. There is a combination of strategy and luck involved with the draw. Each athlete will pick their name. Then they pick their seed in the quarter finals. Boxers choose available opponents creating another level of strategy in the tournament.
In between tournament bouts are 8 high level fights. Here is the full lineup and schedule.
Bout 1: Daniel Matthews vs Murray Brockman at 67kg 3 x 3
Matthews is a recent graduate to the Rebellion show. His left kick fired off at Roots 22. Now he’s facing Murray Brockman.
Brockman is the more experienced of the two.
“But Daniel’s going to be a little bigger,” Nadji said. “Murray can make 65 whereas Daniel’s definitely at 67kg. There’s a little bit of weight for experience trade there.”
It will be a question of who can negotiate their way to the win.
Bout 2: Quang Pham vs Steven Morales at 63.5 3 x 3
It’s talent versus grit for this one. As Morales is moving up to the main card. He appeared on the last Roots show.
“Pham has a cleaner Thai style,” Nadji said. “Steve's got a little bit more dog in him.”
Can the determination of Morales be enough to run over the style of Pham?
Bout 3: Michelle Russell vs Tia Ford at 53kg 3 x 3
Russell wants to fight. The athlete fought 6 times of late. She lost only one. There was a period where she couldn’t get a bout. So she picked up an MMA fight.
Now she’s back to Muay Thai to take on Tia Ford.
Ford meanwhile is driving tough. She’s undefeated with seven bouts to her record. She trains with Adam Bailey at Pursuit Muay Thai in WA.
Bout 4: Jack Matthews vs Van Phan at 60kg 3 x 3
Matthews is a Rebellion veteran. His last outing was against the skilled Singnoom PTJ. Matthews is moving down in weight to face Phan.
“In the last few years we've haven't given him an easy fight to Phan,” Nadji said.
The tough experience will show as he takes on Matthews in this clash.
Bout 5: Tim Nguyen vs Jason Scott at 70kg 3 x 3
The Rhino, Tim Nguyen out of Sukhari is always on the charge. His dynamite hands detonate his opponents. He took on a tough Alfie Smith in his last Rebellion Showing.
He battles Jason Scott out of Pinky Muay Thai. Scott is very experienced in his amateur career. A southpaw clinch and knee fighter he’s looking to stop Nguyen from laying hands.
A classic battle between Muay Mat and Muay Khao.
8 Man Eliminator Quarter Finals Bouts 6-9
Bout 10: Ramesh Habib vs Carter Lawrance at welterweight 5 x 3
Lawrance is active as you can get. He’s coming off a win against Samuel Bielen at Rebellion. The Melbourne fighter picked up a couple wins at Rajadamnern as well. He trained at the famed FA Group in Bangkok. He’ll need the experience as he takes on Ramesh Habib.
“Ramesh is now moving up to welterweight,” Nadji said. “He’s fought Sean Clancy on Lion Fight. He battled Roy Wills, Alexi Petroulias and others.
A seasoned veteran at a new weight takes on an up and comer.
8 Man Eliminator Semi Finals: Bout 11 & 12
Bout 13: Tum Winner Muay Thai vs Adam Noi at 61kg 5 x 3
It’s technician versus technician for this bout. Noi is known on the stadium scene. He fought exclusively at Rajadmnern and Lumpinee early on in his career. He transitioned to Venum Muay Thai and appeared at Rebellion 4 years ago. He battled and defeated Ramesh Habib. A regular on the RWS and ONE Championship circuit he’s going against Australian legend Tum.
Training out of SMAC gym in Melbourne, Tum went on a massive run of wins. His tricky style made it hard for most foreign fighters to deal with. HE battled up in weight and was recently dropped by Tyson Harrison. Tum is going down in weight for this one.
“Because Tum fought in Australia a lot of people underestimate his ability. He fought Jordan Godtfredsen comfortably though,” Nadji said.
It’s going to be a high level technical battle.
Main Event: 8 Man Eliminator Final
