Phuket-based fighters Kaiwhare Kara-France and Pedro Paulino walked away with first round victories in front of a crowd of over 400 people.
It only took New Zealand's Kara-France 12 seconds to claim his win over Filipino fighter Dindo Camansa. From the outset of the bout, the Tiger Muay Thai fighter swarmed Camansa with a furious flurry of punches which forced him to retreat early. Kara-France's right hook dropped Camansa, who was unable to continue after the Kiwi continued his onslaught.
Earlier in the night, Brazil's Pedro Paulino – who regularly trains at AKA Thailand in Rawai – submitted standout Filipino fighter Trestle Tan with an arm triangle. Paulino, a grappling specialist, took Tan down early in the fight and was able to control most of the bout once on the ground.
Organised by Malaysian telecommunications company Tune Talk in association with Star Cruises, the event showcased 10 bouts with fighters from Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, the Phillippines, Canada, the US, New Zealand, Brazil and Holland. The entire fight show took place in the middle of a cruise that set sail from Penang, stopped in Phuket and will continue on to Krabi before returning to the Malaysian island.
The 718-cabin Supster Libra cruise ship was the site of the event and was hosted by the same company that also organised the Malaysian Invasion MMA tournament, a televised amateur tournament that is currently in its third season and includes local Phuket-based fighter Ali Motammed.
The event was headlined by a middleweight fight between Nik Harris, a ONE Championship standout, and American Matt Pellino, who won via submission. Other winners included Mitchell Adelina over Dylan Fussell, May Ooi over Zhen Wei in a women's bout, Thai fighter Chamlong Chanream over Allen Chong and Caleb Lally over Reysaldo Biagtan.