Saturday, Sep. 7th, Maximus Promotions held it’s 12th event, consisting of Muay Thai and MMA fights. The promotion has become one of the most reputable in the U.S. Midwest and a go-to destination for top amateur Muay Thai fighters in the country. As has been the case with their past events, the show sold out yet again Saturday night.
In the main event, the first ever amateur MMA title was up for grabs, with California’s Andrew Priolo taking on Illinois native Martin Ruckschlos. Ruckschlos took the fight on a day’s notice after the original main event fighter, Colton Emmerich, had to drop out due to weight issues.
Priolo dominated the tough Ruckschlos, consistently getting him down to the mat and dominating from top position. Eventually, Priolo was able secure the TKO stoppage via ground-and-pound, becoming the inaugural Maximus 185-pound champ.
In the co-feature of the night, two of the best female Thai fighters in the country squared off in a rematch, as 20-year-old Teddy Mandala took on longtime top-dog Angela Bahr for the vacant 110-pound title. In what was a very competitive, back-and-forth war, Mandala avenged an earlier career loss to Bahr via unanimous decision, adding another piece of hardware to her trophy case.
Elsewhere, former Maximus Champion Josue Gomez won a razor-thin decision over Javier Huerta in a Muay Thai bout, which clinched him a title shot and rematch against champion Ezequiel Latchman. Latchman defeated Gomez at Maximus 11 to capture that title in an excellent showcase of Muay Thai. That fight is expected to go down at Maximus 13, though not officially confirmed.
Post-fight, Maximus promoter Richard Abraham was very happy with the event, which saw finishes via head kick, spinning backfist and triangle choke, among other various methods. Abraham mapped out the future of the promotion and American Muay Thai in general, which Abraham is looking to grow in the United States.
At the end of September, Abraham will be holding an event under the National Muay Thai Association (NMTA). At this event, fighters of all levels can compete in exhibition bouts wearing head gear, chest protectors and shin guards. The NMTA is helping to spread Muay Thai competition in the United States, and competitors from multiple states will show up at the NMTA event to compete. The fights, being exhibition bouts, means they do not count on a fighter’s record, but are rather used to give fighters more meaningful experience in the squared circle.
Past that, Abraham’s next Maximus Promotions event will take place in December. While no fights are officially announced, there will be multiple title fights at the event featuring some of the top Muay Thai fighters in the United States. This will likely be the last Maximus show to utilize a ring before the promotion introduces a cage as a setting for the fights. It’s also expected to be the biggest event in the promotion’s history, continuing to show the rapid ascent that Abraham’s Maximus Promotions has had in a relatively short time.
MMA Title Fight: Andrew Priolo def. Martin Ruckschlos by TKO (punches). Round 3
Muay Thai Title Fight: Teddy Mandala def. Angela Bahr by unanimous decision
Muay Thai: Josue Gomez def. Javier Huerta by split decision
MMA: Jacob Juda def. Juan Avila by submission (triangle choke). Round 1
MMA: Austin Cloe def. Charlie Gonzalez by submission (arm-triangle choke). Round 1
Muay Thai: Majestic Henderson def. Mike Jones by split decision
MMA: Damonte Wells def. George Rizo by TKO (punches). Round 3
Muay Thai: Benard Harvey def. Arthur Walas by TKO (punches). Round 3
MMA: Aiden Ploski def. Adrian Gallegos by submission (guillotine choke). Round 3
Muay Thai: Rayquan Coleman def. Antonio Salas by TKO (punches). Round 3
Muay Thai: Kenneth Stahl def. Jacob Babiarz by unanimous decision
MMA: Jake Muellner def. Sultan Uluu by submission (rear-naked choke). Round 1
Muay Thai: Henri Jones def. Roosevelt Williams by KO (punch)
Muay Thai: Austin Brown def. Brian Erlenbach by split decision
Muay Thai: Osman Elkheir def. David Wells by KO (spinning backfist). Round 2
Muay Thai: Eli Avery def. Harmony Romano by unanimous decision
Muay Thai: Logan Sahlen def. Jamie Espitia by KO (head kick). Round 3