KING IN THE RING - 8 man Eliminator Series - Heavyweight!
Tonight the 'King in the Ring' 8 man eliminator series goes down at the ASB Stadium in Kohimarama and it's an all Polynesian main card!
With fighters of Maori, Cook Island, Samoan & Tongan descent these heavyweights are ready to prove who is the New Zealand King of the 100kg weight division.
Israel 'Style Bender' Adesanya took out the first King in the Ring 100kg Trans-Tasman event in 2015 and now the eliminator series returns to its own shores to find the top fighter of this weight division in New Zealand.
The event was founded and is run by New Zealand born Samoan, Jason Suttie (Founder of ETK - Elite Thai Kickboxing gym, 6x World Champion & K-1 New Zealand champion) and his wife Arna.
Eight contenders go head to head in a survival series of three-round elimination bouts, battling it out for the coveted King in the Ring crown and the $10,000 grand prize.
Eight men. One will be King!
Meet the fighters:
TAFA "THUMPER" MISIPATI
NATIONALITY: Samoan
HOMETOWN: South Auckland
GYM: Elite Thai Kickboxing Gym
TITLES: 2x King in the Ring Super Heavyweight Champion
HEIGHT: 179cm
WEIGHT: 110Kg
W = 1, L = 2, D = 0
.
SIGIFILI PESALELI
NATIONALITY: Samoan
HOMETOWN: Otara
GYM: SMAC
TITLES: Current NZ BJJ GI & NO GI Champion
HEIGHT: 183cm
WEIGHT: 92Kg
W = 8, L = 1, D = 0
.
JORDAN "LE SIFI" MAROROA
NATIONALITY: Cook Island/Samoan
HOMETOWN: Clendon
GYM: South Auckland Lee Gar
TITLES: NA
HEIGHT: 178cm
WEIGHT: 92Kg
W = 10, L = 2, D = 2
.
NATO "HARD KNOCKS" LA'AULI
NATIONALITY: Samoan
HOMETOWN: Titahi Bay
GYM: Elite Thai Kickboxing
TITLES: Former TBA Heavyweight, IKBF Pro Heavyweight & WMC Pro Super Heavyweight
HEIGHT: 189cm
WEIGHT: 95Kg
W = 29, L = 9, D = 0
.
DANIEL TAI
NATIONALITY: Cook Island Maori
HOMETOWN: Auckland
GYM: City Kickboxing
TITLES: NA
HEIGHT: 173cm
WEIGHT: 100Kg
W = 50, L = 10, D = 2
.
ATA "SMILING ASSASIN" FAKALELU
NATIONALITY: Tongan
HOMETOWN: Wellington
GYM: The Lions Pit
TITLES: WMC NZ Super heavyweight champion
HEIGHT: 185cm
WEIGHT: 100Kg
W = 17, L = 3, D = 0
.
DAN KIDWELL
NATIONALITY: NZ Maori
HOMETOWN: Rotorua
GYM: Ngakaunui Thai Boxing
TITLES: Former IKBF Cruiserweight Champ
HEIGHT: 173cm
WEIGHT: 100Kg
W = 10, L = 10, D = 0
.
CARLOS ULBERG
Familiar face to the CoconetTV and Game of Bros!
NATIONALITY: Samoan/Maori
HOMETOWN: Auckland
GYM: City Kickboxing
TITLES: NA
HEIGHT: 191cm
WEIGHT: 100Kg
W = 7, L = 1, D = 0
.
The boys had their weigh-in last night and are ready to go tonight.
If you're keen to get along to see the fights, tickets are still available here: https://www.iticket.co.nz/events/2017/jun/king-in-the-ring-100iii
Watch it live at ASB Stadium in Kohimarama or on Sky Sport 1. The first fight is 7.30pm and is scheduled to finish just after 11pm.
