For the first time SuperLeague visited the beautiful city of Paris and the French fighting sport fans gathered on the 11th of Mars to witness the SuperLeague extravaganza “Apocalypse 2006”. After overcoming some last minute changes in the fight card the show started of in spectacular fashion. The first fight featured Dutch based Egyptian fighter Amir “The Sphinx” Zeyada against Jordan “Terror” Tai from New Zealand. In the first round Tai fires of some firm punch combinations and follows up with kicks. Zeyada looks strong but seems to be just a little bit too slow against the fast kiwi fighter. In the second round Tai continues punching away and lands some hard hooks that sends Zeayda to the floor. The referee gives an eight count and Zeayda is up but Tai is all over him with heavy punches. Zeyada is taking a lot of punishment and when he is not answering back the referee breaks them up calls for the doctor who stops the fight.
Peter Crook going forward
In the second bout we saw French fighter Cedric Muller up against one of England’s best fighters all categories Peter ”The Gentlemen” Crook. Crook was the one initiating in the first round walking forward punching and Muller countering with various kicks. The Gentlemen appeared to have the stronger techniques but Muller was always answering back. In round two both fighters picked up the pace and really showed they want to win. Crooke still the one with more explosive punches and attacks while Muller used more combinations with kicks as well. In the end of the round the French fighter was showing some signs of fatigue while Crook was marching on. In the third round Peter was still coming forward but Cedric managed to keep up and could get the win in front of his home crowd by a small margin much thanks to the variation in technique he showed throughout the fight.
Coming up next was the anticipated rematch between Fadi Merza and Sahin Yakut. Merza have improved a lot since they last fought but was it going to be enough to beat the incredibly strong Yakut? Both guys started of in a high tempo throwing solid punch combos followed with kicks. Nobody wanted to back down in this fight. The first round was really close and so was the second although Sahin was starting to push forward and Merza was forced to go on the defence. Third and final round, both men know the fight is very close and whoever wins this round is probably going to be the winner. Sahin manages to gain a little bit of control and is declared the winner of this tough fight which was much closer then their first encounter.
Halfway through the card we find yet another rematch with Alviar Lima squaring of against Jose Reis. Lima seems to be in the shape of his life pilling up win after win and looks almost impossible to stop. But Reis is a very accomplished fighter and we all remember the tough fight they had in their previous fight at the SuperLeague Torunament in Istanbul, Turkey last year. This fight turned out to be no different and was full of excitement from beginning to end. Both guys started out showing good technique unloading several punch, kick and knee combinations. The second round continued in the same manner only with more intensity. Now Lima started putting the pressure on Reis who towards the end of the round began to look as if he was a bit frustrated from his opponent’s constant attacks. However after two rounds there was not much separating both men and the last round was going to be war. In the final round we saw a lot of clinching and Lima who is very strong in the clinch showed no signs of weariness and bulldozed his way to a point victory.
The fifth fight of the evening features Moises Babtista De Sousa vs. Thomas Hladky. Not a lot of activity in the first round, both men feeling each other out. Second round is also pretty slow both fighters throwing single shots looking for the big K.O blow. In the third round Baptista is starting to look tired and Hladky is the one coming forward landing some fine punch combinations. Winner Thomas Hladky.
Ait Bassou find his target with a knee.
Next up we saw last minute substitute Alexandro Orella taking on Moroccan although Dutch based fighter Hassan Ait Bassou. Hassans was initiating in the first round and showed a good offence combined with a solid defence as well. Orella on the other hand is a good counter fighter and had good answers to Ait Bassous attacks. The first round was quite even with both fighters scoring about the same. In the second round its Orella who is the aggressor and puts the pressure on the Morroccan who has got beautiful footwork and moves well in the ring avoiding some of the attacks from this strong Italian fighter. In the third round both fighters show a lot of heart. Orella is still marching forward and manages a few times to grab the leg of Hassan and sweep him to the floor, but it is Hassan who with his speed and footwork lands most of the significant blows and is therefore awarded with the victory. Winner Hassan Ait Bassou!
Now was the time for the awaited return to the SuperLeague ring of New Zealand top fighter Shane Michael “Choppa” Chapman. He was matched up against Petr “The Chez Thunder” Polak who is a very strong fighter and has proven just that time after time with great performances in the SuperLeague. Coppa starts of the first round by firing of several of his devastating kicks right in the beginning of the fight after that there is a little bit of feeling out going on with a few punch exchanges. Petr is finding his rhythm in the second round and starts coming forward using his hands. Coppa responds by using his full arsenal of kicks, knees and punches to counter Polak. In the third round Coppa is showing very high-quality keeping Petr out of the fight by moving around and scoring all the time. Petr is not able to get back into the fight ad does not get any serious work done in the last round. Earning the win after fulltime is Shane Michael “Choppa” Chapman!
The final fight of the card was between French Muaythai legend Danny Bill and Italian Roberto Cocco. This fight also starts out with a feeling out round with Bill landing a few good knees. The second round shows some good kicks and some throws from Bill and Cocco replays by scoring with some punches of his own. After a while Cocco is looking like he is a little bit out of gas possibly due to the knees from the French fighter. Bill pulls of some nice sweeps and throws from the clinch and Cocco finds himself on the canvas quiet a few times. In the third and final round of the evening we see some more beautiful Muaythai techniques from Bill who is using his great timing throw Cocco to the ground a few more times. Bill is also working good with the knees but receives a warning for holding the ropes. Despite the warning he still gets the decision and is declared the winner of the fight.
