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Shaolin Monk Yi Long To Take Part In A Knockout Only Fight

Shaolin Monk Yi Long To Take Part In A Knockout Only Fight

Yi Long last took on 7ft-2 super heavyweight Hong Man Choi and will be back in the ring in a knockouts only, headbutts allowed match.

Ryan Sidle

Ryan Sidle

Conor McGregor and Tenshin Nasukawa aren't the only ones that can move sports. Shaolin Monk Yi Long is set to face a Lethwei fighter named 'the most dangerous man in combat sports.'

Changing sports is all the rage these days with kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa set to drop his kicking prowess in order to face Floyd Mayweather in the ring following on from Conor McGregor's own move into boxing and Usain Bolt's attempt at becoming a footballer.

However that's nothing compared to one kickboxer Yi Long. The Shaolin Monk's most recent kickboxing fight came against 7ft-2 super heavyweight Hong Man Choi, Long is a 5ft-10 middleweight, but resulted in the smaller man coming out on top.

As if that wasn't enough he is now set to face 'the most dangerous man in combat sports,' Dave Leduc.

Leduc is known by his impressive moniker for taking part in the Lethwei discipline, where Leduc is the king of the brutal sport.

Lethwei is known as the world's most brutal sport because the only way to win is by knockout and headbutts are allowed and there's no gloves. You either win by KOing your opponent inside five rounds or it's a draw.

Leduc is set to fight in his sport on December 9th but could next move to MAS to take on The Shaolin Monk, according to Muay Thai Authority.

All these crossover fights are hardly anything new. Muhammad Ali travelled to Japan to take on Antonio Inoki in a hybrid fight in the 1976.

Back in 1976 Ali travelled to Japan to face wrestler Antonio Inoki in a 'special rules' match that was essentially the beginning of MMA as a thing.

The pair fought in a 15 round fight that Ali initially thought was a professional wrestling style 'worked' match but soon found out was a legit contest.

Everyone will be hoping that whatever the rules of the Mayweather vs Nasukawa fight are it'll be a more interesting one than Ali and Inoki's match up, with the Japan Times describing it as, "The 15-round contest was pretty much a bore from start to finish. Ending in a draw, it proved once again that when an apple fights an orange, the results can only be a fruit salad."

Inoki lands another kick on Muhammad Ali. Image: PA Images
Inoki lands another kick on Muhammad Ali. Image: PA Images

The fight has become infamous for the image of the Japanese man lying on the ground and aiming kicks at the former Olympic champion whilst Ali, then the WBC and WBA heavyweight boxing champion, was only able to land six punches.

Inoki led the scorecards by three points, which seems very a small lead considering how much his opponent was actually able to do, but was docked three points during the fight so it ended a tie.

The kicks that landed to Ali's leg led to bleeding and became infected, nearly leading to the American to have his leg amputated.

At the end of the fight fans were so unimpressed that the Nippon Budokan was littered with rubbish that the crowd had thrown towards the ring.

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Topics: UFC News, MMA News