Taiwanese welterweight Jeff Huang will be fighting on home soil for the first time in more than a year when he takes on Kristoffer Persson in Pro Fighting 8 at the Luxy Night Club in Taipei on Sunday night.
The 34-year-old made headlines recently due to his decision to pack in a well-paid job in the financial sector in order to travel to South America to try and fulfill his dream of becoming a successful mixed martial artist.
Huang is now back home after a year training in Rio de Janeiro and a shorter stint in San Jose, and says he is looking forward to taking on the Swedish fighter, who is best known for beating previously undefeated Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt Alexandro Machado in Bangkok last year.
Photo: Courtesy of Ruff
“He is a tough fighter and he trains in a good gym, so I know it’s not going to be easy, but I am not just expecting a war, I’m looking forward to it. I know I am still improving, but I train with a good coach and teammates who make me tougher, and I am confident about this fight,” Huang said.
After returning home Huang, took a fight in China’s biggest mixed martial arts promotion and went up against Mongolian sanda champion Anying Wang at Ruff 9 in Sanya on Hainan island.
The first round was action packed, but unfortunately his eye was so badly damaged that the doctor called off the fight.
While Huang was disappointed with the outcome, which saw his record drop to 1-1, he believes that the experience will stand him in good stead for future fights.
“I am not pleased with my last fight because not only did the doctor stop the fight when I thought I could still keep going, but also I didn’t stick to my game plan in the first couple of minutes. My opponent was a top level sanda fighter so I paid the price for some really bad mistakes, but I won’t make the same mistakes again and at least I know I can really take a punch,” Huang said.
In total there are 10 fights on the card at Pro Fighting 8, which gets underway at 6pm and features a mixture of local fighters and mixed martial artists from Turkey, the US, South Korea, New Zealand, Sweden and Australia.
Having left his days as an investment banker behind him, Huang is just happy to be living the martial arts lifestyle. However, he is fighting in Taiwan for the first time since leaving the country to train overseas and is hoping to make it a triumphant return.
“I love fighting, and if you train hard and fight with your heart you will learn things, no matter what the result is, but of course I want this victory because it is in my hometown,” Huang said.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and