Australia’s biggest Muay Thai event is set to get even bigger in December when Evolution hosts a qualifying tournament for a place on series two of The Contender Asia.
December 6 is set to be one of the biggest nights of Muay Thai action Australia has seen, when Evolution hosts a four man tournament to decide one of the 16 highly coveted places in The Contender Asia series two loft, along with some massive superfightsfeaturing John Wayne Parr, Carnage, Preacher, Soren Monkongtong, Daddy Cool, and The Contender Asia’s Sean Wright and Dzhaber Askerov.
The four-man qualifier will see some of Australia’s best middleweights going toe-to-toe for the chance in a lifetime to appear on the reality series and have a shot at the $300,000 prize money.
In huge news for the sport, former WMC World Champion Warren Elson will be coming out of retirement for his shot at the Contender crown. Elson has beaten the likes of Preacher and Soren, and is sure to show some of the newer guys how it’s done.
Next up is Eli ‘Mad Dog’ Madigan, who has been going from strength-to strength recently, and has already beaten two of The Contender Asia season one’s contestants in Soren Monkongtong and Zidov Dominik.
The third spot in the tournament will be taken by NSW’s Jason Scerri. The ‘Maltese Mauler’, who has been fighting shootboxing in Japan, is a hungry up-and-comer who recently made short work of New Zealand’s Prince Hamid and could be the real darkhorse in this contest.
The final spot in the four-man will be a mystery fighter chosen by the promoters. “Australia got represented very well last time in The Contender, so now we have to make sure we back it up,” says Evolution promoter Josh Sexton. “Firstly, they have to cut the mustard in the ring and also, with it being on television, personality will go a long way.”
After fighting off two others for the spot, the tournament winner will have only a month before they pack their bags and head off to Singapore to mix it with some of the best fighters in the world.
“Who in Australia wants to step up?” says Sexton. “We’ve got guys that have already put their name down, but we’re hoping someone might come out of leftfield and blow us away.”
