It’s a long way from Halmstad, Sweden to Phuket, Thailand — 5,990 miles to be exact.
A young man like many others, with a dream to make a name for himself in the MuayThai world undertook that journey and with a lot of help from his friends at Sitsongpeenong gym he now has the Muay world’s attention.
This past Friday night, Magnus Andersson, aka ‘The Viking’ took home a tremendous amount of money (4000,000 Baht) and huge amount of personal glory in winning the inaugural MX MuayXtreme 70kg 8 man tournament.
Over the space of nine weeks and three hard fought battles the Sitsongpeenong fighter took home the coveted accolades to his adopted home, on the glorious island of Phuket.
Magnus’s journey in the tournament began back on the 4th of August when he faced off against Thailand’s Duangsompong in the quarter finals. Duangsompong is a former
The fight was a truly sensational slug fest —Duangsompong knocked Magnus down in the first round with a brutal head kick — Magnus survived the eight count and what followed was two more rounds of intense muay mayhem cumulating in Magnus’s awe-inspiring come from behind KO, of the Thai fighter.
He literally pinned Duangsompong in the corner and unleashed hell with his hands, which in turn sent the former champion crumbling to the canvas — to the point of no return.
Next up for Magnus was a semi-final showdown with Petchmai Lookboonmee. This fight took place on Friday the 25th of August and again it was another stormer of the battle, with both fighters giving a fantastic showing to the fans.
The fight went to the judges decision and as history tells us, Magnus took the unanimous decision moving onto the final, in his dogged pursuit of claiming the lucrative winners prize.
The man standing in front of him in the final was Russia’s Magomed Magdomedov, a very dangerous fighter — known for his potent boxing skills.
The opening stanza started off with both boys tentatively testing each other’s defenses, as the round progressed it was the Russian fighter who got the better of Magnus when he sent him to the canvas with a punishing blow that brought about a standing eight count.
The second round saw Magnus step on the gas, pushing forward with formidable composure finding his range with each and every kick and knee he threw at Mogomed — the tall Swed favoring to clinch and launch his piercing knee’s to the body of the Russian fighter.
More of the same followed in the third and final round as Magomed seemed to tire, Magnus’s energy levels never dropped as he continually hunted his opponent around the ring landing more dan shots over the three minutes.
The final bell rang, both corners and most of those in attendance expected an extra round to be called!
But, that wasn’t to be — and the young man from Halmstad, Sweden had his hand raised in glory, after all three judges decided his ring prowess, spirit and aggressive fighting style was the more deserving of the two fighters standing in the center of the ring.