Saturday 29th May saw none other than established star Michael Wakeling walk away with the prestigious WMC M.A.D Intercontinental title.

Michael shared the bill with one of the world’s biggest nak Muay superstars to date – K-1 Max veteran, Buakaw por Pramuk – in an event undoubted to take the sport forward in the British mainstream. The MSA Muay Thai Premier League was held at the London ExCeL venue, which is set to be an official venue of the London 2012 Olympics.

Having already taken the fight at less than 5 weeks notice for such a high-calibre show, Michael’s opponent was changed again just a couple of weeks before the scheduled fight. While this kind of last-minute amendment could certainly cause a rift in many fighters’ training regimes and mental preparation, Michael showed no signs of weakness in the days leading up to the fight, and only confirmed his professionalism in the ring on fight night.

Errol Koning, from the Netherlands, was Michael’s opponent on the night. A veteran in the sport boasting minimal losses, Koning also held a significant height and reach advantage over Michael, who had already accepted the fight at a weight class heavier than usual.

From the minute the bell struck, Michael showed no mercy, opening with classy combinations and a faultless balance of composure and aggression that, despite Michael’s somewhat twenty fight record, is something only those with much more decorated records seem to perfect in the same way.

The fight continued in Michael’s favour for the first two rounds, proving that the height advantage that Koning brought into the fight was not in fact an advantage at all. Unfortunately, the third round saw an injury incurred from the Dutch, prematurely ending the fight and crowning Michael Wakeling the new WMC M.A.D Intercontinental champion at 76kg.

Although the fight was brought to an abrupt end ahead of time, it was clear to supporters from both sides that it was only going one way – in favour of the Scorpions fighter. The only question left to ask was: when will Michael’s overdue world title fights begin?