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Kota Kinabalu: Combat sports fans are set for another treat when 20 exponents shake the grounds of the City in Fight Fest: King Of Kings on April 26. The Kota Kinabalu Community Centre will witness a hybrid combat sports event that features amateur K1 kickboxing and amateur mixed martial arts (MMA) all in one day.

Fight Fest is presented by the creators of Kinabalu Fighters Friday Fight Night and Borneo Fighting Championship in collaboration with the City Hall.

"The event is a platform for combat sport fans to test their skills and also to gather the various fight fans to mingle and learn other fighting styles," the Fight Fest organiser, Julian Lee said.

The highlights of Fight Fest will be the amateur K1 Super 4 and amateur MMA Super 4 championship bout, where fighters who win two fights back to back will be crowned champion.

There will also be single elimination, exhibition matches as side shows, among them includes Malaysian Invasion Mixed Martial Arts (MIMMA) Season 1 heavyweight champion Adrian Tham competing in K1 for the first time.

"K1 kickboxing is a combat style introduced for the first time in Sabah. It is considerably new here as most of the K1 contenders in Fight Fest only have Muaythai background.

"I chose to introduce K1 kickboxing as previously there are many Muaythai competitions held in the State, and martial artists from different disciplines are a bit hesitant to join them. With K1, it is more friendlier to all fighting sport.

"The uniqueness of the style makes it that any striking sport either from Muaythai, boxing, Karate, Taekwondo, Sanda Wushu or Silat can join this fighting format.

"The rules are balanced and the rounds are short – two minutes, three rounds – making the fight a much more action-packed affair. The K1 amateur fights are also sanctioned by the International Sports Kickboxing Association (ISKA)," Julian explained.

He added, MMA is one of the fastest growing sport in the world, and Fight Fest is working together with the Sabah MMA Association, the International MMA Federation (IMMAF) and also the Malaysian MMA Association to host a quality amateur circuit for local contenders.

"Fight Fest plans to grow its fighting platform slowly with the inclusion of amateur Super 4 Muaythai bouts in the future, submission grappling competitions and a possible weapon fighting tournament."

More details can be obtained by contacting Julian at 016-8311440 or via Fight Fest's Facebook for the latest updates.