Jomhod wins MMA debut at Full Metal Dojo 4 (video)

PHUKET: Muaythai legend Jomhod Kiatadisak won his first foray into mixed martial arts (MMA) by defeating Cambodian Vorn “Kun Khmer” Viva at the Full Metal Dojo 4 fight event in Bangkok on Saturday.

Jomhod, a former Lumpinee and Rajadamnern muaythai champion who now trains at Tiger Muay Thai in Phuket, defeated Vorn by unanimous decision after three rounds.

The fight delivered a spectacular display of years of striking skills between two highly decorated fighters, reported Joanna Ash of Asia Sports Network.

“Jomhod Kiatadisak showed off some fancy spinning back kicks and flying front kicks. While he managed to deliver a few takedowns successfully, he was clearly more comfortable standing up, so he promptly took the fight off the ground as quickly as he could,” she said.

“The fight was clearly not a walk in the park as anticipated by Jomhod, but he defeated Vorn Viva via unanimous decision nonetheless.”

Jomhod’s trainer, George Hickman, was impressed with the muaythai legend’s first MMA display.

“I thought for sure he was going to win, I was very confident in that – but more than anything, I just wanted him to have a good performance and really do what he did,” Hickman told the Phuket Gazette.

“He executed the skills he had learned, such as wrestling and jujitsu, and I believe he got three takedowns. He won all aspects of the fight, and for him to be able to do that was great.”

Looking forward, Hickman wants to improve on Jomhod’s MMA-specific skills.

“Obviously – as he’s a muaythai legend – his standup is fine, and he understands that MMA is a little bit faster than muaythai, but his ground game and wrestling we have to improve on, and that’s only going to come with time,” Hickman said.

“We only had six weeks with him before his first MMA fight ever and I think he had not done MMA before at all. For him to go out and do the things he did on only six weeks was great, and I look forward to working with him more and help him to advance his game.”