Team Ontario Shines at IFMA Senior World Championships
– Post drafted by Sam Skinner, MTO VP of Communications & Team Canada Athlete, 18 June 2024
From May 31st to June 10th 2024, ten of Ontario’s top Nak Muay traveled to Patras, Greece to compete in the 2024 IFMA Senior World Championships.
MTO is proud that ten of Team Canada’s fourteen athletes came from Ontario, making up ~70% of Team Canada. When they were not getting ready to fight themselves, Ontario athletes helped get the rest of Team Canada prepared for their fights and cheered loudly from the stands.
MTO is additionally proud of the talent and generosity of the seven Ontario coaches who attended the tournament with their fighters, and additionally coached, trained, and cornered for athletes unfamiliar to them in a coaching capacity. Under the leadership of Head Coach Kru Mikey Perez, Kru Mark Cleary, Kru Gerald Ching, Kru Darryl Marin, Kru Bruce Ong, and MTO’s own VP of Communications Kru Lanny Chan and MTO President Kru Dylan Benitez coached all of Team Canada’s athletes through the competition.
MTO was further represented by two excellent officials, Kru Matthew Richardson and MTO’s VP of Judges, Referees and Rule Sets Kru Laura Vuculescu, who refereed, judged, and kept time all 8 days of the tournament.
MTO was also honoured that former MTO President, and current President of Muaythai Canada, Kru Alin Hălmăgean, attended the last few days of the tournament. He traveled straight to Greece from Thailand after coaching in One Championship event ONE 167.
Results:
As a team, Canada placed 26th out of 91 participating nations. As one of the smallest teams in attendance, placing so high is a great accomplishment for Canada!
Kru Martello Jones, representing Art of 8 Martial Arts Academy, was Canada’s only medalist this tournament, earning Canada a bronze in the Senior Men’s -86kg division. Martello bravely fought three fights in the tournament to earn his medal. In his first bout, Martello delivered a cutting blow to his opponent from Italy, causing a win by injury stoppage. In his second bout, Martello rained down elbows on his opponent from Hungary, earning a clear decision win. In his final bout against Croatia, Martello went the distance, but lost by decision. We are extremely proud of Martello, and happy to add his name to the list of IFMA medalists from Ontario.
Several Ontario fighters earned their first IFMA wins during the tournament, showing the strength of Canadian Muay Thai, and impressing other nations in attendance.
Nida Uz-Zaman, representing Baan Muay Thai, let her left cross fly, earning her first win against Singapore. After a back-and-forth with Finland, Nida ended up on the wrong side of the decision. Nida displayed wonderful Muay Thai going into this tournament as a B-Class Ontario athlete.
Aramiss Mohamed, representing Ottawa Academy of Martial Arts, and current MTO Title holder, won a comeback victory against Hong Kong for his first IFMA win. Unfortunately, the decision was not in his favour against Israel in his second match. Aramiss earned the MTO Title, and proved why he deserved it in this tournament.
William Ortiz, representing Southside Muay Thai Academy, had his first bout against a hometown fighter from Greece. With the Greek crowd roaring in support of Will’s opponent, they were split 1-1 going into the third round, where Will showed extreme heart to win the final round and decision. Will continued fighting with heart during his next bout against the UAE, but did not get the decision. Will left it all in the ring; an excellent display of Muay Thai technique and spirit.
Our remaining Ontario athletes drew difficult opponents in the first round, but nevertheless fought bravely and represented Canada well.
Stephanie Goode, representing Darkside Muay Thai, fought powerfully for Team Canada during this, her second, IFMA World Championships. She drew a tough match in Türkiye for the first round of the tournament. All three rounds were close, but Stephanie did not get the decision.
Sam Skinner, representing Toronto Kickboxing & Martial Arts Academy, faced a tough opponent from Sweden in their first ever IFMA bout. Despite the strength of Sweden, Sam fought toe-to-toe for three rounds, but lost the decision. Sam was another of Ontario’s B-class fighters in the tournament, proving the high level of Muay Thai that persists even in Ontario’s B-class athletes.
Kayla Taylor, representing Evolution Muay Thai Petawawa and Savage Muay Thai Kingston, and Team Canada’s returning bronze medalist from last year’s IFMA championships, fought an excellent match against an independent neutral athlete (AIN) from Russia. For three rounds, Kayla put constant pressure on her opponent, but did not get the decision.
Simon Bonello MacQuarrie, representing Etobicoke Martial Arts, showed extreme power during his match against the UAE. Unfortunately, it was not enough to win the decision. As another B-class Ontario athlete in this tournament, Simon’s performance showed definitively how Ontario’s B-class can stand against the world’s best.
Adel Darras, representing Westside Muay Thai, drew a tough opponent from Jordan. Adel fought well for two strong rounds, but the referee stepped in to stop the fight in the third.
Noah Giraldo, representing Stride Muay Thai, and current MTO Title holder, dominated his match against Poland from the start, commandingly winning the first two rounds, and dominating the third as well. To the shock of all watching, with 22 seconds left in the match, the Head Official of the Jury forced the match to end because Noah sustained a small cut underneath his eye. Though technically this counts as a loss for Noah, this was a win in the hearts of Team Canada.
Congratulations to all Ontario athletes who earned their place on Team Canada and represented our country well on the world stage!
Congratulations also to the amazing Team Canada athletes from out-of-province, who traveled to Greece alone, but were fully embraced by the entire Team, including coaches and athletes.
Kevin Patenaude showed his excellent boxing technique, winning one match and losing his next in the tournament.
Scott Mackenzie fought an absolute war, fighting despite taking serious damage, but unfortunately the referee stopped Scott’s first bout in the second round due to a nose breakage and bleed.
Gregory Gauvin fought a cheeky bout, displaying excellent Muay Thai, but lost by decision in his first bout of the tournament.
Harrison King showed incredible strength and heart in his first match, but unfortunately the referee stopped the bout due to a nosebleed.
This was an incredible experience for all athletes, coaches, and officials who attended. MTO is so proud of the representation of Ontario and Canada Muay Thai at IFMA!
MTO looks forward to hosting the 2024 PanAmerican Muay Thai championship tournament in Ottawa later this fall. Surely, Ontario will shine again, and this time on Canadian soil.
