At Vendetta – Queens of Muay Thai on Saturday, November 28, Melody Downs defeated three opponents in one night to claim the Queen of Muay Thai New Zealand title.

The event was the fourth iteration of Vendetta, taking place at the Southern Trust Event Centre in Timaru.

Downs had no easy path to the top, defeating Mel Mackey-Huriwai in a fiercely contested quarter-final bout, before defeating her friend Miriam Tio Lenzen by round-one TKO in the semi-final.

In the tournament finale, Downs faced undefeated IKBF New Zealand champion Mackenzie Jean, imposing her clinch game to hand Jean her first career loss.

The tournament results are given below:

The fight card also featured three New Zealand title fights, sanctioned by the Aotearoa Muay Thai Association.

TITLE FIGHTS

In the penultimate fight of the night, MTC’s David Bendall took a split decision win over SMAC’s Moe Hussain to become the AMTA Elite Class Super Heavyweight New Zealand champion. The fight was well matched, with both men having their moments of success, but Bendall emerged as the winner on two of the judges’ cards, earning his first New Zealand title at super heavyweight.

The second fight of the night was total war, with MTC’s Matt Sutherland taking a split decision victory over Assassins MT’s Swade Wallace to win the AMTA A-Class Super Light Heavyweight NZ title. Both men pressure fighters, the fight was action from bell to bell, culminating with Sutherland picking up his second New Zealand title belt.

Fern Nixon of ROC Taupo displayed her technical acumen in her victory over CKB’s Ashley “the Assassin” Nesbitt, winning the AMTA Youth Flyweight New Zealand title in the process. Nesbitt fought like a lion, winning the Vendetta “Gutsiest Fighter” award from promoter Scott Tweedie.

PRO MUAY THAI

Diego Beneduzzi stopped Zen Neethling in the fourth round with a brutal leg kick in the only professional Muay Thai fight on the card. The fight was incredibly well-matched, with both men veterans of the Thailand circuit. Beneduzzi put money in the bank with leg kicks throughout the bout, culminating in a TKO victory.

YOUTH FIGHTS

The youth fights showed the next generation of New Zealand Muay Thai is alive and well, displaying a high level of technique and cardio.

Lucky 9’s Karuwai “Taniwha” Taha avenged her August 2020 loss to TMT’s Lauren Ellison, stifling the pressure of Ellison to take the unanimous decision victory with effective kicking and clinch work, levelling the score to 1-1.

Lucky 9’s “Cyclone” Izzy Atkinson channelled the spirit of injured team-mate Kaitlyn “Tornado” Tucker as she stopped her opponent Sammy Salanoa in the first round by leg kicks. After sustaining some damage to her lead leg early, Salanoa was given an eight-count. She bravely continued after some advice from her corner, checking kicks and returning fire. Atkinson was too much, though, setting up her leg kicks to take a TKO victory in round one.

WATCH THE REPLAY

The fourth Vendetta event was a resounding success, with a high level of Muay Thai being displayed. If you missed the action, the event is available for replay on Fight News for a cost of $10.

Register here, then follow this link to watch the replay.