UCL remain Varsity champions after a dramatic final bout, bringing the night to a close with an electric extra final round that saw UCL’s Jonathan Ho secure a hard-fought win over KCL President Vir Kanwar.
The lineup consisted of 10 fights, each made up of three two-minute rounds. Seven were non-decision fights which included a range of fighters from UCL, KCL, and Queen Mary’s Muay Thai clubs.
The three decision fights were scored 2-1 to UCL. Dramatically, the final fight was scored as a draw, causing the judge and referee to ask for an extra round to decide the winner, which led to UCL retaining their title for yet another year.
The fights ranged from scrappy beatdowns to solid technical fights, but one thing was consistent amongst them all: everyone brought 100% to the ring.
With an incredibly lively crowd of both UCL and Kings fans, the atmosphere did not fail to disappoint. Although the announcer did allow his KCL bias to show — joining in on chants and even dissing Jeremy Beartham during the break — it was a largely respectful affair.
Credit should go out to all who competed, and UCL Muay Thai should be proud of achieving such a historic victory.
The non-decisions: fights, scraps, and stars
Varsity comes late in the season, and with that many of the top fighters have already competed in events like University Fight Night, leading to a slightly different lineup entering the ring at this time of year. That proved to be no problem whatsoever with an amazing display of talent that brought solid entertainment and heart to every match.
Rustam Toshov (UCL) vs. Abid (QMUL): A scrappy opening fight. Abid brought some decent head kicks and plenty of energy which set the tone for the evening. Credit to Toshov for his performance, and I hope he steps back in the ring soon with more confidence and experience under his belt.
Ali Aamir Mughal (UCL) vs. Jonathon (QMUL): Ali opened with some good sweeps, but Jonathon turned the match around with some good clinch work that saw Mughal take a beating in the third round. There was a good amount of blood, but he kept it up to the end and deserves nothing but respect for a solid performance.
Luvneet (QMUL) vs. Altaib (KCL): This was a pretty even matchup. I could’ve scored this either way, but the crowd got very passionate. The referee even told off the crowd for swearing at one point which was quite funny. Got to love the passion from everyone.
Massimo Signori (UCL) vs. Yeyint. (KCL): The first UCL-King’s fight of the evening, and Signori sure left an impression. A crowd of Italians appeared for this fight and helped bring the energy to a proper scrap with stoppages, but one that certainly ended in Signori’s favour. Bravo!
Masaki Hayashikawa (UCL) vs. Rogerson (KCL): This was Hayashikawa’s first fight, and it was a trial by fire. Rogerson strutted up with full confidence and backed his attitude with an equal measure of brutality. With the crowd behind him, Hayashikawa did not give up, even after a proper beatdown, stoppages, and a kick to the balls. Credit where credit is due.
Aimee Ha (UCL) vs. Violetta Christou (KCL): This was a very impressive and skillful matchup! Both fighters were composed, and managed their energy well. I was particularly impressed by Ha’s double kicks and how she managed to smile through the entire match, scary stuff.
Arnold Ho (UCL) vs. Jiachang (KCL): Ho is a rising star. Only five months into his Muay Thai career and his 2nd fight, he put on a very technical display against a fighter with multiple years’ experience on him. By listening to his corner and keeping a cool head in moments where other amateurs at his stage would’ve cracked under pressure, he maintained a level of control over the fight that was unbelievably impressive. Watch out for him next year if you are a returning student, as his fights will be worth seeing for sure.
The decision fights: UCL fends off top competition and maintains their win streak
This year’s three main fights could have gone either way. Victory was by no means guaranteed, and it took everything UCL’s team had to see this to the end. In all three of these fights, they went to war, and the crowd absolutely loved it. Going into the final fight with everything on the line was immense pressure, but UCL pulled through yet again.
Ambrose Leung (UCL) vs. Noah (KCL): Now this was a scrap. Leung picked up some real momentum catching kicks in the 2nd round, and made a valiant attempt in the 3rd, but Noah ultimately scored better with a greater volume of strikes. Tough luck, but it was a solid fight that will serve as a good experience for future bouts.
Christopher Ong (UCL) vs. Aitor (KCL): This was also fairly scrappy in the beginning with Ong being deducted a point, but his domination of the 2nd and 3rd rounds was so clear that it more than made up for the setback. The crowd went absolutely crazy as the bell rang and UCL levelled the score, setting up the stakes for an intense finale.
Jonathan Ho (UCL) vs. Vir Kanwar (KCL): This finale was something of an underdog story; With a clear reach disadvantage and going up against the KCL Muay Thai president, the odds were stacked against Ho. He opted for a close-range, full frontal attacking strategy that required a lot of confidence to pull off against an opponent with a strong teep. This looked to work against him in the first round and most of the second as Vir looked in better shape, even taunting his adversary at points. However, against all the exhaustion, Ho managed to bring the 3 rounds to a draw, leading to an extraordinary scenario. Everyone was surprised when the judge and referee called for the extra round, but with the scores even there was no other way to settle it. Everyone was on their feet, the shouts were deafening, every strike led to endless cheering. When the dust settled for the dramatic final announcement, UCL remained champions.
The night ended with UCL flooding the ring and a contagious feeling of celebration as all spectators grappled with what they had just witnessed. As far as fight nights go, this was definitely one of my personal favourites and I am very glad to have gotten the chance to cover this event before my graduation this year.
Thanks should also go to all the organisers, staff, the cameramen, and KCL FilmSoc for the livestream.