Mike Zambidis vs Jenk Behic

this was my first time i saw zambidis fight live and everything i had heard from people and seen on tv was true,
this guy is dynamite, we all know how great a fighter jenk has been over the years but he was outclassed in a way that simply shocked me, i never expected to see jenk beaten like that,
the knockout came in the 6 round from a head kick, in fact his kicks were dangerous all night which throws out the theory he is only a puncher,
what i was amazed about mostly was his reflexes, he deflected EVERY kick and punch perfectly.
stan the mans speech after the fight on behalf of mike was nice to hear, the sportsmanship shown after the fight from everybody gave it a perfect ending.

It would be interesting to see how JWP would handle Iron Mike,JWP is slotted in to fight Jenk but this may change now with these results aswell as Mike openly saying he'd like to fight JWP.It would be a war.

If any fighter is going to trouble Wayne Parr it will be Mike. That is of course depending on the rules of the fight.

I didn't think Zambidis would fight Muay Thai, but I read that he said he wants to fight on the Kings Birthday card, so a Muay Thai fight could be on the cards. And hopefully it would be in Melbourne!

I meant a Muay Thai fight against JWP!

I was thinking the same thing today, how is Zambidis going to fight on the Kings birthday with out knee\'s or elbows? I hope that the fight between us happens soon, but under my rules. Zambidis is a awesome fighter but I have to prove that he hasn\'t beat all the Aussie\'s yet.
John Wayne

Wayne,


Aren\'t you schedueled to be fighting in the Aus K1 Max?
I was thinking that we\'ll probably get to see you guys meet in the final fight.



I got to give it to Zambidis, He The Man. The guy is untouchable in regular Kickboxing rules.

Pic:


Gurkan Ozkan Vs Arthur Tsakonas.

I hope Arthur doesn\'t retire. He proved on the night that he can take massive shots, and I\'d like to see him develop further as a fighter.

Pic: Jenk Behic.


I think Mike broke Jenk\'s nose pretty badly, there was a lot of blood.

Pic:

Tarik Solak, Jenk Behic, Stan Longinidis, Michael Zambidis

i personally feel jenk behic, being the awesome kickboxer he is was he best challenge for mike under normal kb rules, but it was barely a contest. hopefully jenk still fights jwp and this loss doesnt affect that match, because although jenk had never been ko\'d before mike got him, surely the promoter knew it was a strong possibility given mikes track record.
a 12 round fight between mike and jwp for mike\'s world title would be great, jwp has fought kickboxing against the likes of dawson and chapman so i dont see why he couldnt challenge mike for his title, but then again, mike would be heavily favoured so its understandable. Hopefuly they meet in between in a k1 rules fight! mike certainly seems to be gaining exp there as his win in italy proved and i read he will be challenging for a wpkl title with knees as well.

paul did you get more shots of the fight?
zambidis reaction from the crowd was louder than most aussies on the night, its good to see him gaining a huge following.
all respect to jwp, but in anything but full thai rules (which would be silly considering mike has no experience at all there against a guy who is used to elbows) i\'d favour mike.

Having seen Mike Zambidis fight live several times,he is an awesome kickboxer and I think it would be a mistake for JWP to fight Mike under kickboxing rules.
K-1 rules is abifferent thing and would be a good neutral ground for both fighters.JWP would still have his knees and Mike wouldn\'t have to worry about being cut from an elbow.
Hope Tarik puts this togethre down here it would be awesome.

Lee,

I have some realy great pictures of sweat vapourising from head and mid kicks from both fighters, but I want to save the best for International kickboxer magazine. This was a pretty big show and I\'m sure the article and pics will be a big part of the next edition.

ooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Pic:
Paul Lee Left Vs John Purcell

I dont think zambidis is a muay thai fighter.. he definately has the ability to become.. but at this point in time i dont think he would do very well. Iv seen him fight full thai rules against mike cope - zambidis lost from an elbow cut if i remember right

that makes no sense.
from what i hear,zam was winning the fight,cope lands a knee and he gets cut.the cut is too bad to continue.cuts happen to everyone.it would be different if he was getting killed the whole fight by knees and elbows but he wasn\'t.what if the knee didn\'t cut zam?he probably would have won.thems the breaks.

Guys where is the write up for this fight night?

It was K1 rules against Cope. That isn\'t a Muay Thai fight. He lost from a cut due to a knee. I was there.

Sorry i got that fight mixed up, it was under k1 rules

Zambidis bombed cope with hands from the start, just as expected from the greek, and cope obviously needed to stay in the clinch which he did well but zambidis managed to get cope an 8 count from 2 short left hooks while they were in the clinch. After that zambidis went for the kill however once again cope just covered and clinched, pulling zambidis head down into a knee which took 25 stitches to close up.

as far as im concerned that was copes game plan from the start and it worked.. a classic cass of a kickboxer fighting a thai boxer

i doubt it was copes plan to get dropped, badly hurt and punched around the ring before pulling out a desperation knee, :)
but regardless I think its getting all too predictable to mention this loss everytime someone praises zambidis, its getting to the point where we ask why? people dont bring up JWP being cut to shreds against chris allen everytime his name is mentioned. its getting a bit predictable and funnily the people who repeat this like a broken record always forget or dont seem to want to believe that in his very next outing he demolished 3 european thai boxing champs in 1 night in italy in a k1 style event,
i say enjoy mike zambidis while you can because win lose or draw and regarldess of where or what rules he fights he is responsible for a huge amount of excitement.

Mike destroyed JWP protege Shannan Forester in QLD and yes knees would have probably prolonged the fight but I still think Mike would have bombed Forester out,prior to that fight JWP was very confident in Shannan upsetting Mike.Mike and JWP would be an awesome fight and a very even match up.

I was their for the Chris Allen vs JWP bout and it was a great war (one of the best fought here)Allen\'s timing was spot on that night and those elbows were like razors on JWP face.Great fight.

Lee,

by the write up in INTERNATION KICKBOXER i wouldnt call it a lucky knee, they make it sound like zambidis fought the fight with hands, cope fought it with knees. I dont think his plan was to get dropped and pull off a lucky knee, rarther he was fighting someone who he knew was going to punch, so what would you do?? punch it out with him?? hope for a lucky kick?? i think ud like to stay nice and close where those punches dont have as much sting and use the only weapon you have left.. your knees. Cope wanted to be in the clinch the whole fight

If zambidis was a thai fighter he\\\'d clean up because he is a natural athlete where others have to work at it, id love to see him make the transition, but at this point in time he\\\'s a kickboxer not a thai boxer and i dont think you can even start to compare the two, not because one is better than the other but they are completly different ballgames, there\'re different sports

well u gott to give him credit.if he wants to fight on the kings surely he knows it will be under mt rules,and i\'m sure if he loses he won\'t cry about it not being his rules like so many do after the fact.

and from what i hear,it was looking bad for cope.lucky punches and kicks don\'t happen,desperation shots do.

where could I get Zambidis fights on tape???

Muay Thai Guy,

I don\'t know about the Mike\'s other fights, but the ones here in Australia were televised on Fox Sports cable channel, so I don\'t really know if you can legally buy them.

Perhaps you can do a trade with one of the other members.

Here in Aus we\'ve been fortunate enough to get great shows televised so often that I\'ve stoped taping them.

What I meant was where is the write up of the Ozkan v Arthur Fight? I am in the dark as to what happened on the night and I would really like to find out. Cheers.

koshy, this was the write up in INTERNATIONAL KICKBOXER

First up into the ring was tough malvern martial arts fighter and former amatuer world muay thai champion "iron" mike cope. An unassuming fighter, cope gained many skills as a bare nuckle, full contact karate champion in NZ. Once he steps into the ring it becomes clear that his unassuming demeanour hides a very fit, talented and dangerous muaythai fighter. It was a big call for anybody, but taking up the challenge stood an equally "iron" micheal zambidis. Having destroyed every person who stepped into the ring to kickbox him, the big question hanging over zambidis's head was how would the diminutive world champ stand under K-1 rules? an incredibly popular fighter comming out of athens greece, zambidis is without a doubt pound for pound one of the hardest hitting kickboxers in the world. The crowd held their breath as the first bell rang, the two fighters exchanged some tentative blows in the opening seconds. Zambidis suddenly unloaded a left hook, right hook, left hook left body rip, right thigh kick combination in blinding succession. people at the far end of the crown casino showroom could here the impact of the blows as mike cope gained th clinch and fired off some piercing knees to zambidis ribs. They stalked each other around the ring, cope clinching again and turning the shorter zambidis around to set up for further knee strikes. Maintaining his balance zambidis let rip two short left hooks from the clinch. It took a few seconds, but after a few wobbly steps mike cope was forced to sit down and clear his head. back on his feet cope received a standing 8 count from ref dave hegecock. the crowd were on their feet as zambidis leapt in to take advantage but cope skillfully avoided being taken out. As zambidis closed the range mike cope covered and clinched, ripping zambidis's head down into a vicious knee to the face. It was perfect timing for the for the lethal thai technique. Blood splatted over mike copes brute force shorts as zambidis tried to sheild a succession of knees. As cope kneed zambidis clear of the clinch the greek warrior signalled to the ref and went down on one knee. Blood was streaming freely from his right eyebrow and began to pool on the canvas. the brutal cut later required 25 stitches to suture. certainly no fluke, an elated mike cope proved why his muaythai skills are considered so dangerous as he clamied the scalp of a renowned world champion and progressed to the second round. A true warrior, expect to see zambidis in the ring as soon as he makes a recovery.

f16 shouldn't have been fighting against mike.tarik changed the weight in the last week and the rules. f16 is a light welterweight not a super welter,he only went in it for the money.

If Shannon only went in it for the money, why did his camp have a little side bet with Mike's camp? Surely you don't do that when you expect to lose?
Shannons camp were confident, I can remember how confident they sounded on another board.
As for the rules, everyone knew it was a 12 round fight for Mike's title well before the show, it as advertised a good month and a half before hand.

If Shannon It wasn't a small bet either.

Sorry, that should have only read: It wasn't a small bet either.

so what was the result of Gurkan's fight?

Thanks for the write of the cope fight but I actually have seen that one. What I want to know is what happened in the Arthur v Ozkan fight.

Mark,

I miss a lot of the action because I'm concentrating on focus and framing etc.

I don't remember much of the fight except that most judges pretty much had Gurkan winning just about every rnd. Ozkan looked realy disciplined this last fight. He paced himself pretty well and I thought he was looking as good in the last rnd as he did in the 2nd or 3rd.