Kickboxing and Muay Thai has a comparatively long history with kickboxing and Muay Thai compared to other Pacific Islands such as Fiji.
Today in Port Moresby and other Provincial Centres in PNG you can train kickboxing, muay thai and MMA and grappling.
These martial arts are not available to train in most Pacific Islands countries.
So what has contributed to the growth of kickboxing and muay thai in PNG? And how has the martial arts impacted PNG and the youth in particular in the sprawling and densely populated urban areas of PNG?
Growth of Kickboxing/Muay Thai in PNG
The growth of Muay Thai and Kickboxing in PNG is thanks in part to the success of former Kickboxing World Champion from PNG, Stanley ‘Headhunter’ Nandex and his love for the sports of muay thai and kickboxing.
Nandex is the current PNG Kickboxing Federation President and under the WKF sanctioning body international world title fights have been held in PNG and PNG has produced a number of World ranked fighters and Champions.
Stanley ‘Headhunter’ Nandex
Current President of the PNG KF and former professional fighter, Stanley Nandex has done a lot to promote kickboxing in PNG and has also had great success on the World stage in K-1 kickboxing.
KNown for his spectacular knockouts, Nandex has a pro record of 48 fights with 41 wins, 30 of those wins coming by KO.
Nandex also won Ko of the Year awards 4 times in his pro fighting career.
Nandex is known for putting PNG on the map in terms of world class kickboxing.
His influence in PNG’s martial arts development has seen the rise of PNG fighters today who compete on the international stage.
Impact of Kickboxing in PNG
Kickboxing/muay thai and the martial arts overall can have a positive influence on youth and society.
This is the case of Mt Hagen in Papua NEw Guinea where the City Rats kickboxing club has organised weekly training and exhibition matches at Mount Hagen market in the provincial capital in the Highlands region of PNG.
An ABC article about the City Rats and their impact on PNG youth from 2019, points out that PNG is now in the middle of a population boom with a huge number of youths who have little or no education.
The organiser of the City Rats events in Mount Hagen, Enoch Yapoi, says:
“Before, they were in the marketplace smoking marijuana, drinking and stealing, but once the sport came, they started to change,”
Below are some of the active fighters from PNG who fight on the local, regional and international stage.
Active PNG Fighters Today
Jonathan Tuhu
Johnathan Tuhu is a muay thai fighter from PNG and is currently the WKF Middlweight Muay Thai World Champion.
He is most famous for his spinning tornado kick KO in K-2 Kickboxing.
Tuhu has a pro record in muay thai and K-1 kickboxing of 30-10 out of 40 fights with 12 KO wins.
A former Tae Kwan Do Champion, Tuhu previously won the intercontinental gold belt of the World Taekwando Federation (WTF).
Tuhu’s titles include:
*WKF World Muay Thai Champion
*ITF Professional Muay Thai Champion QLD
*I-1 WMC Supreme Champion
*WKF Intercontinental Champion
He has fought some of the best in muay thai today including muay thai legend Saenchai and big name fighter Ashkor.
Check out Tuhu’s fight against the legendary Saenchai below.
Adrian Pang
Adrian Pang is a pro MMA fighter who represents PNG and Australia as his countries of birth and citizenship respectively.
Pang’s record in Pro MMA is 23-13-2 with 6 KO’s and 10 submission victories.
Adrian is known for his proud PNG heritage and has contributed much to martial arts in PNG including hosting Johnthan Tuhu and training him out of Integrated MMA in Brisbane.
Through Pang, Integrated MMA now has a gym in Port Moresby training local martial arts enthusiasts and fighters in kickboxing , MMA and BJJ.
Pang currently fights in the ONE Championship, MMA competition.
Lee ‘Flash’ Garap
Lee ‘Flash’ Garap is an active fighter out of Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.
According to the World Kickboxing Federation (WKF), Lee is the current WKF Welterweight Kickboxing International Champion.
Garap is also ranked #5 in the world by the WKF.
Garap has a record of 211 fights 143 wins and 3 draws.
Rickson Yamo
Rickson ‘Powerhouse’ Yamo is the current WKF Welterweight World Champion in Kickboxing.
A former pro boxer with a record of 3-3-1 in professional boxing, Yamo is a versatile martial artist and striker as evidenced by his current WKF World Title.
Jeffery Daka
Jeffery Daka, another pro fighter out of PNG is the current WKF K-1 Kickboxing Australian Champion in the Middleweight Division.
Daka fights out of Stanley Nandex’s gym, Headhunter KB Acaemy.
According WKF rankings, Daka is #2 in the World in the Middleweight Division for K-1 kickboxing.
Kickboxing and Muay Thai in Papua New Guinea – Final Thoughts
Kickboxing and muay thai have definitely found a long term home in Papua New Guinea and for sure will be in the country’s sporting programmes and initiatives for a long time to come.
The influence of former world champion Stanley Nandex has lifted the profile of the sport in PNG and youths such as those of the City Rats club in Mount Hagen have taken to the fighting art.
Current and former world champions from PNG will see that the sport only grows in the country and with a potential to produce many more world champions and exciting fighters.
