Four Sabahans fighting to be Mixed Martial Arts champions
Published on: Saturday, October 10, 2015
Kota Kinabalu: The stage is set for the Malaysian Invasion Mixed Martial Arts (Mimma) Grand Finals and the four Sabahan fighters who will be competing tonight (Saturday) are banking on their determination and experience to emerge as champions at Stadium Putra, Kuala Lumpur.Darren Low will once again enter Mimma's cage to defend his heavyweight belt which he won last year, while Effendy Kalai and first-timers Hafizul Hakim and Felicia Yunus will see action in bantamweight, featherweight and women's pride division respectively.Women's pride is one of the two new divisions introduced in the third season of Mimma, aside from foreign pride division and there will be a total of 13 bouts tonight, featuring the best of home grown MMA talents.
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Low has been training consistently, especially on his striking skills after winning his belt in the previous edition."I've been working a lot on my striking fundamentals over the last year and now I'm more of a well rounded fighter than in my last fight, at least defensively."This will be the first time I'm meeting my opponent Niker Tan in the cage but I've seen him fight in the local MMA scene," Low told Daily Express.Preparation has been good for him with the only hindrance to his training being work related and "the recent haze had messed up my sinuses."
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Initially, 28-year-old Felicia was merely joining Mimma for fun, She will be entering the cage tonight fighting Joanna Yap from Sarawak."I'm really proud to represent Sabah and I'm the sole Sabahan woman that had made it to this stage of the competition. I'll do my best to bring the title belt home," said the Tuaran lass who has been actively involved in combat sports since the age of 13.
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Another first-timer, 20-year-old Hafizul from Sipitang is also excited with the opportunity to showcase his skills tonight."Mimma 3 is the first for me as I was only a spectator in the previous editions. I did preparation all year long because Mimma conducted stage fights once in alternate months," Hafizul said.Effendy, 25, is no stranger in the local combat sports scene as he used to represent the country in boxing."This is my second try in Mimma and last year I was defeated in the semis. This year, I'm all out to win the belt and God willing, I could achieve it as I'm only a step away."I've also been very active this year… joined other competitions as well to gain more experience before the bigger fight," Effendy said.Hafizul and Effendy will be battling it out with Muhammad Aiman and Tee Jac Yoe, respectively.Former Mimma heavyweight champion Adrian Tham from Sabah will also make a comeback in the East vs West showdown tonight representing East Malaysia against Theeban G. from Kuala Lumpur who will be representing the Peninsula. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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