JFL ladder match February 7
Published on: Saturday, January 24, 2015
Kota Kinabalu: Fans and exponents of mixed martial arts (MMA) who have been waiting patiently for the ladder match of the Jesselton Fight League (JFL), can breathe a sigh of relief when the organisers announced it will be held on Feb 7.JFL founder, Rayner Kinsiong, said the ladder match would be held at the Mini Putrajaya Auditorium Hall starting 9am.The tryout or initial round of the JFL was held on Oct 18, last year, where more than 100 aspiring MMA fighters signed up for the ultimate test.
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"We had meant to organise the ladder match sooner," he said."But we had some problems securing a venue since most of them were already fully booked. "However, we are so grateful to we managed to secure the Mini Putrajaya Auditorium Hall as our venue this round. "It's more than what we could ask for and there are plenty of car park space for the spectators and fans," he said.
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Rayner, who is a former national-level karate exponent and professional MMA fighter, is currently signed up with the biggest MMA promotion in Asia – One Fighting Championship (ONEFC).In the tryout in October last year, he said, some of the weight divisions received more participation compared to other weight divisions.
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And because of this, he said, the JFL has decided to reopen some of its weight classes for participation in the first ladder match."We have re-introduced the bantamweight (max 61kg), light-heavyweight (max 93kg), heavyweight (max 120.2kg) and women's atomweight (max 48kg) divisions for the ladder match since these divisions can still accommodate more participation," he said.After the ladder match in February, he said, JFL will no longer be accepting new entry."So, aspiring fighters will have to wait for the next season to take part," he said.About 70 fighters this February are expected to slug it out to qualify for the quarterfinals, which is tentatively scheduled to take place in May. With more time to prepare for in between fights, Rayner said he is expecting the fighters to show improved performance this time around. In addition to local Sabahan fighters, JFL has also received entries from Sarawak, Peninsular Malaysia, and other Asian countries. The JFL ladder match will have a 3x3 minute-round format in which fighters will fight for three rounds of three minutes each. Fighters who emerge as division champions of the Jesselton Fight League will win cash and other prizes worth RM20,000 as well as a championship belt for each bout.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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