September 2011: Five Kickboxing and Muay Thai Bouts to Watch

September is going to be a rather busy month in the world of kickboxing and Muay Thai. It's Showtime will be hosting their Fast and Furious 70 kg. tournament in Belgium on September 24th, and the K-1 World MAX 2011 Japan Tournament will be happening a day later. The Muaythai Premier League will also debut early in the month, with a card full of fights that are guaranteed to leave an impression on those able to watch. There will be a number of other relevant events in Europe and elsewhere throughout the month, making it quite likely that September will bring some of the best kickboxing and Muay Thai action of the year.

5. Nieky Holzken vs. Marco PIque: Muaythai Premier League: Stars and Stripes (September 2, Long Beach, California, USA)

Nieky Holzken and Marco Pique find themselves matched up in the first bout for Group B of the Muaythai Premier League's middleweight division. This will mark the second time that Holzken and Pique have met, with Holzken having taken a knockout victory over Pique back in November 2008. It's a little less than three years later and both of them could definitely use a win. Holzken was just getting back to form when he was thoroughly outdone by Artur Kyshenko in May. As for Pique, he had taken recent wins over Bruno Franchi and Yassin Lahmidi before losing a close decision to Naruepol Fairtex this April, in Italy. Perhaps adding some intrigue to the bout, fans can see Marco Pique in the upcoming Muay Thai reality series, The Challenger Muaythai.

4. Mosab Amrani vs. Houcine Bennoui: Thai Fight 2011 Quarterfinals (September 25, Bangkok, Thailand)

Mosab Amrani and Houcine Bennoui will meet in one of four very intriguing 67 kg. tournament quarterfinals in Bangkok. Honestly, many of the fights from this upcoming Thai Fight event could have ended up on the list. The thing that sets the bout between Amrani and Bennoui apart, however, is that they've already met once this year. Bennoui walked away the winner when they fought in a Muay Thai rules bout on the under card at It's Showtime Lyon in May. The bout was reportedly one to see. The problem is that we never did. It's Showtime has never released the video.

3. Artem Levin vs. Murthel Groenhart: It's Showtime Fast and Furious (September 24, Brussels, Belgium)

Artem Levin and Murthel Groenhart will meet in a bout for Levin's It's Showtime 77 kg. MAX title. This bout marks Levin's first title defense since winning the vacant belt against L'houcine Ouzgni last December. Since that time, Levin has also picked up the WBC Muay Thai light heavyweight title and run the table on amateur Muay Thai competition (as he's done more often than not over the past five years). Murthel Groenhart impressed with wins against Errol Koning and Rafi Zouheir in back-to-back weekends this July. There is a lot of hype surrounding Groenhart, and rightly so. He's performed quite well on a number of occasions, though he's also dropped his share of bouts along the way. This title shot against Levin really is Murthel Groenhart's chance to show what exactly it is that he can do inside the ring.

2. Chris Ngimbi vs. Murat Direkci: It's Showtime Fast and Furious (September 24, Brussels, Belgium)

Chris Ngimbi has his It's Showtime 70 kg. MAX title because he beat Murat Direkci. Direcki was the champion from the time the belt was established in February 2009 until he fought Ngimbi in December 2010. To be frank, the first bout between these two wasn't a thing of beauty. That said, they are both massively talented fighters. Chris Ngimbi throws flying knees as though they are a fundamental technique. Murat Direkci has a real willingness to step away from strong technique and trade, but he possesses a left hook which makes him rather dangerous when things go that way.

1. Yuya Yamamoto vs. Shintaro Matsukura: K-1 World MAX 2011 Japan Tournament (September 25, Tokyo, Japan)

When the participants for the K-1 World MAX 2011 Japan Tournament were announced in August, fans had good reason to be excited. The tournament field includes other name fighters like Albert Kraus and Hiroki Nakajima, but the quarterfinal bout between Yuya Yamamoto and Shintaro Matsukura is all the reason anybody should need to watch this event. These two met in the quarterfinal round of the Krush 70 kg. Tournament this spring and it ended up being one of the best bouts so far this year. Yamamoto has had a career of ups and downs, making it so far as the K-1 World MAX semifinals back in 2009. Meanwhile, Matsukura won the K-1 Koshien 2009 70 kg. tournament.