After an 18-month hiatus Nick Denholm will return to the cage on Saturday night.
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Regraded as one of Tasmania’s most fearsome Mixed Martial Arts athletes, the East Coast product will face off with South Australian Ryan Angell for the light heavyweight Muay Thai (80 kilogram) title during Legion 7 at Elphin Sports Centre.
The bout is the co-main event on a 12-fight card with Denholm heading in with a seven win and three loss record.
“This fight has been a long-time coming and I’m keen to get back in there and test my skills,” the South Launceston premiership player said.
“We don’t really know a lot about him [Angell] but he is reasonably tall and been fighting regularly with six fights in the past 12 months, so he is going to be a tough opponent.
“Probably my best one yet.”
The other feature event on the card is a four-man MMA tournament with the winner to be crowned Legion’s maiden 76kg MMA champion.
Launceston duo Damon Upton-Greer and Jamie Watterson will vie for the belt along with Burnie’s Ant Poke and Victorian Stephan Friedrich.
Promoter Jacob Gelston said there will be two random-drawn preliminary fights before the winners back up and face each other in a decider.
Gelston said it was a brutal event, however, it is something experienced campaigner Upton-Greer is looking forward to.
“This is the main title that I’ve been chasing for a while. I’ve always wanted to win the welterweight Tasmanian title,” he said.
“You never know what can happen on the night but you always back yourself in to fight two times in one night – I’m pretty excited about that challenge.
“One fight is usually pretty brutal so two will be twice the fun.”
A semi-main event will see Musashi Ledger and Felix Fletcher fight it out for the middleweight title (68kg).
Other Launceston fighters to take centre state are Jayden Bohdal, Matt Lowe, Rowan McKenzie and Josh Hill.
Gelston said the sport was growing in popularity across Tasmania.
“Muay Thai kickboxing is really growing as more and more people become exposed to it,” he said.
“Everyone is very conscious of head contact and concussion these days with all precautions taken.
“The fighters train up to 20 hours a week with strength and conditioning, Muay Thai sessions, kickboxing, plus runs and recovery so they are not just rocking up and expecting to fight.
“The are a lot of tactics and years of training behind it. Fighters are a lot smarter than they used to be.”
Weigh-in will take place on Friday when the random four-man draw will be conducted.
Corey Martin
Having started at The Examiner as a cadet in 2009, I have held various positions telling the stories of Northern Tasmanians in sport and news. I was appointed deputy editor in 2019 and became editor in September 2021.
Having started at The Examiner as a cadet in 2009, I have held various positions telling the stories of Northern Tasmanians in sport and news. I was appointed deputy editor in 2019 and became editor in September 2021.
