Omondi stuns Contai in Muay Thai bout

Dickson Omondi produced a dominant display of counter punching and straight kicking to to earn a unanimous decision win over Joseph Contai during the National Amateur Muay Thai Championship held at the Pal Pal Gym in Pumwani.

Dominant from the onset, Omondi stunned the much fancied Contai and ground him down with sheer hand speed and impeccable kicking that had the capacity crowd off their feet for much of the bout.

Like an impenetrable garrison, Omondi restricted Contai to hopeful long kicks that seldom hit the target. It would have been impossible to notice that the former was only just making his Muay Thai debut.

Muay Thai, which has been christened, ‘The Art of The Eight Limbs’ as it allows fighters to use fists, elbows, shins and knees has enjoyed a recent surge of popularity with combat sports fans in the country.

Speaking at the end of his fight, a jubilant Omondi made it clear that there was more to come from him.
“I have had boxing matches before, but this was my first Muay Thai fight. I am happy with the result and there is more to come from me.”, he stated.

Another bruising encounter saw Michael Otieno battle to a hard earned draw against Kevin Ndung’u. In what was a seesaw affair, Ndung’u dominated the first round before being pegged back in the second.

This set up an enthralling third and final round where the two fighters went at each other like ancient gladiators but the judges just could not separate their efforts and scored the fight a draw.

In what was a day of upsets, Abdi Nahip stunned Diani Fight Club’s, Mohammed Safari with a points decision win after an entertaining three rounds.

Despite their size difference, Safari, who stands at over 6ft 2 inches, just could not land a decisive blow and was constantly outsmarted by his opponent’s swiftness and counter punching.

The Kenya Oriental Combat Sports Federation President, Alphonce Wanzala, hailed the tournament a success and could not hide his excitement at the number of hopeful fighters who turned out to exhibit their prowess and potential.

“We have had a decent turn out and I am happy with that. We want to identify good amateur fighters in the country and hopefully groom them for selection to the national team,” He explained.

With the next round of fights scheduled for the 12th of November, Mr Wanzala remains hopeful that with more support from the Ministry of Sports,the event will grow to be a bigger success in the future.

-Report by Allen Riale