On Saturday January 10th in Castle Rock Colorado, Duane ****! Ludwig will make his second attempt at becoming a WORLD CHAMPION in the sport of Muay Thai.
In the main event of the Popular RING OF FIRE series ****! will face off against one of the top Muay Thai fighters in the world, Thailand's Malapaiet Sitprapom.
Malapaiet has 154 fights under his belt and is star in the European promotion SUPERLEAGUE. He holds the IKBA World Championship and is a former stadium champion in Thailand.
Up for grabs will be the ISKA Light Middle Weight Muay Thai World Title belt (153.1-159 lbs/69.6-72.3 kg). This belt has special meaning to Ludwig. On the under card of the K-1 USA show in Las Vegas, Ludwig first fought for this belt with the legendary Alex Gong. This was a fight for the ages and everyone in attendance that night was treated to a true battle of champions. Gong edged out the decision and retained his title, while Ludwig finally broke through to the big leagues. Gong's untimely death earlier this year has left the title vacant.
"This title means a lot to me. I plan to keep the title here in the United States and keep a bit of Alex Gong's memory with it. Since his last defense of the title was against me, I have a little emotion wrapped up with this fight. I hope that I can keep the title here for a lot of reasons but one reason in particular and that's to keep it here in Alex Gong's memory." said Ludwig. It has also been just about a year since Ludwig has been able to fight in front of his home town fans. He has a busy year competing for the UFC and K-1 in Japan. " I love fighting at home.. I get a lot of energy from the crowd. Denver has some of the best fans in the world!"
ISKA president Corey Schafer commented "We feel that Duane definitely should be first in line at a shot at this belt. This particular title has such a great history and legacy, and for the fight to be against a true Thai champion only adds to that history."
With a fight of this magnitude only a referee like the legendary Cecil Peoples could handle the duty. Peoples has refereed for the top promotions in the world and has more title bout experience than any other ref in the world.
Also on the card is UFC veteran Brad Gumm. Gumm will be fighting at 155 lbs for the third time in his career. All of his previous matches have been at 170 lbs and he feels that he can really make a statement in the light weight division. Facing Gumm is KOTC veteran and undefeated New Mexico fighter Carlos Condit. Condit has a MMA record of 9-0. He has also fought as a professional boxer and recently traveled to Japan to face one the top fighters in the world in Shootboxing.
Rounding out the main card, Jay Jack makes his long awaited return to the ring. Jack was scheduled to fight last month in the Canadian promotion TKO but had his opponent with draw at the last minute. His last appearance was at ROF 7 where he beat the game Isais Martinez (TX). Opposite Jack will be the tough Utah based fighter Steve Gomm. Gomm is a submission stylist who recently finished local wrestler Eric Heinz in the IFC. Gomm's last Ring Of Fire appearance was at ROF 8 where he submitted Cruz Chacon via choke.
In the main event of the Popular RING OF FIRE series ****! will face off against one of the top Muay Thai fighters in the world, Thailand's Malapaiet Sitprapom.
Malapaiet has 154 fights under his belt and is star in the European promotion SUPERLEAGUE. He holds the IKBA World Championship and is a former stadium champion in Thailand.
Up for grabs will be the ISKA Light Middle Weight Muay Thai World Title belt (153.1-159 lbs/69.6-72.3 kg). This belt has special meaning to Ludwig. On the under card of the K-1 USA show in Las Vegas, Ludwig first fought for this belt with the legendary Alex Gong. This was a fight for the ages and everyone in attendance that night was treated to a true battle of champions. Gong edged out the decision and retained his title, while Ludwig finally broke through to the big leagues. Gong's untimely death earlier this year has left the title vacant.
"This title means a lot to me. I plan to keep the title here in the United States and keep a bit of Alex Gong's memory with it. Since his last defense of the title was against me, I have a little emotion wrapped up with this fight. I hope that I can keep the title here for a lot of reasons but one reason in particular and that's to keep it here in Alex Gong's memory." said Ludwig. It has also been just about a year since Ludwig has been able to fight in front of his home town fans. He has a busy year competing for the UFC and K-1 in Japan. " I love fighting at home.. I get a lot of energy from the crowd. Denver has some of the best fans in the world!"
ISKA president Corey Schafer commented "We feel that Duane definitely should be first in line at a shot at this belt. This particular title has such a great history and legacy, and for the fight to be against a true Thai champion only adds to that history."
With a fight of this magnitude only a referee like the legendary Cecil Peoples could handle the duty. Peoples has refereed for the top promotions in the world and has more title bout experience than any other ref in the world.
Also on the card is UFC veteran Brad Gumm. Gumm will be fighting at 155 lbs for the third time in his career. All of his previous matches have been at 170 lbs and he feels that he can really make a statement in the light weight division. Facing Gumm is KOTC veteran and undefeated New Mexico fighter Carlos Condit. Condit has a MMA record of 9-0. He has also fought as a professional boxer and recently traveled to Japan to face one the top fighters in the world in Shootboxing.
Rounding out the main card, Jay Jack makes his long awaited return to the ring. Jack was scheduled to fight last month in the Canadian promotion TKO but had his opponent with draw at the last minute. His last appearance was at ROF 7 where he beat the game Isais Martinez (TX). Opposite Jack will be the tough Utah based fighter Steve Gomm. Gomm is a submission stylist who recently finished local wrestler Eric Heinz in the IFC. Gomm's last Ring Of Fire appearance was at ROF 8 where he submitted Cruz Chacon via choke.