Tyrone Spong vs Joerie Mes 2006

In 2008 Tyrone Spong took his plunge into heavyweight, following a weight increase from 75 kg to 95 kg over about 1.5 years. This match was about a year before he would start his rise through cruiserweight to fight in the K-1 WGP.

Spong is a technical fighter now as a super-heavy, but at 75 kg he was fast and technical. Spong's game now looks very similar to his game then, but a little less busy. He employs a variety of punches, mixed with well-executed teeps, knees, low kicks, and the occasional middle or high kick. One thing I really enjoy seeing in Tyrone is his excellent deployment of rhythm that allows him to roll with strikes and land his own with precise timing.

Joerie Mes was a strong contender in the Dutch 70 and 75 kg in the mid '00s and has met most of the big names in Holland, like Nieky Holzken, Andy Souwer, and even Ramon Dekkers. His CV contains an interesting mix of older generation and new Dutch names. He hasn't fought since dropping a decision to Yoshihiro Sato in K-1 in 2009.

This fight took place in Rotterdam, Netherlands under Muay Thai rules modified with no elbows. Spong varies a little from the usual Dutch style, but this is a good example of Dutch Muay Thai, a very effective school of boxing. Spong wears the red gloves and Mes is the skinhead in camo shorts who looks like a Neo-Nazi. He's not, but the resemblance is frightening and hilarious.

[The first round is missing a few seconds. I chose this upload out of preference for Youtube's less intrusive ads. You can watch the complete fight on Dailymotion here: Spong vs Mes.]

Part 1


Part 2

Part 3


Thanks to k1fightclub for the videos. Mes really gets worked in this one. Spong outworks him and picks him apart with superior tactics. It's clear that Spong is the more well-rounded fighter, with his use of sweeps, knees, and teeps that are almost absent from Mes's arsenal. Spong even outmatches Mes in the traditional Dutch Muay Thai weapons of punches and low kicks. He exhibits better boxing technique and sharply counters Mes's punches, rarely letting him get off a combo, rather, using disrupting with jabs, step knees, and teeps to avoid punching range. His incredibly sharp inside low kicks jam Mes's base and really take a toll in the later rounds. The slow motion replays do a good job of showing how much more technical Spong was even in Mes's strongest suit, boxing.

Spong downs Mes in the 3rd with punches, but once he realizes the knees are getting through, he really works them until his final beautiful knee to the liver ends the fight in TKO. The constant leg kicks seemed to have a devastating compound effect on Mes, discouraging his punches and stiffening his movement. He starts out the fight looking frustrated, but by the last two rounds, he just looks dazed.

I say Spong's style is strange for Dutch Muay Thai because Dutch fighters are usually pressing the offensive, but he uses his height and reach advantage superbly in showing how the tools of the style can be used in an aggressive counter-fighting style.