Legacy brilliance in Benchalak

Last night, in the small sub-district of Benchalak, in Sisaket province, a trio of Legacy fighters turned in impressive performances to seal what has been a great opening week to 2011. In the 5th bout of the night, Aidan "The Yardman" from Ireland had his first ever fight against local fighter Fardaisay. Aidan has been training part-time at Legacy for 5 months and was eager to see the results of his hard work. Like most first fights, this fight wasn't exactly technical, but The Yardman showed great punching power, some very hard knees in the clinch, and pushed the fight to an incredibly high pace from the first bell. He floored his opponent early in round 2, and finished him off soon after by KO. He was ecstatic with the victory and says he can't wait to get in the ring again in February.

Later the same night, in what was billed as one of the main events, Thalita "Mad Dog" Vergilio took on the well supported and highly regarded local fighter Banchom. Thalita had a very hard fought 5 round battle against an opponent who she considered to be her strongest to date. In a fight that really seemed to get the crowd going, both girls threw a huge amount of kicks and punches, and Thalita also landed some very nasty elbows. Mad Dog's performance gained her a few new fans as, after she got the decision, a number of spectators came to congratulate her and her trainer, Ajarn Nimnuan.

To round off the night, the "retired" Ajarn Nuay had his second fight in just over a week! He stepped up to replace a friend of his who had come down sick a couple of days before the fight. With very little pre-fight training, "Mongkol Kao" still managed to get the decision after 5 hard-hitting rounds. Both he and his opponent were obviously in a league of their own, with speed and technique that outshone the rest of the card. The fight was very close, with both fighters exchanging lightning quick combos in the opening rounds. It was only when Ajarn Nuay dropped his opponent with a clean rib-cracking body kick in the 3rd round that the balance tipped firmly in his favour.

After the fights were over, the event sponsors presented both Ajarn Nuay and Thalita with trophies for their impressive performances. All in all, it's been a pretty good week for Legacy Gym.

Videos of last night's fights will follow soon.