The Contender Asia
| The Contender Asia The Contender: Kickboxer (UK) The Contender: Muay Thai (US) (AU) |
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The Contender Asia logo
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| Created by | Mark Burnett |
| Directed by | Jerry Schaffer Ozzie Smith |
| Presented by | Stephen Fox Jaymee Ong |
| Country of origin | Singapore |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of episodes | 15 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Riaz Metha Mark Burnett Jeffrey Katzenberg |
| Release | |
| Original network |
AXN Asia ITV4 (UK) Versus (United States) DStv (South Africa) FOX8 (Australia) |
| Original release | January 16 – April 23, 2008 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | The Contender |
| External links | |
| Website | |
The Contender Asia (known as The Contender: Kickboxer in the United Kingdom, and The Contender: Muay Thai in the United States) was a reality-based television series that follows 16 Muay Thai middleweight fighters from 12 countries as they compete in a series of outdoor challenges and sanctioned matches. The series is a deviation from the original Contender series, which involved boxing. The winner received US$150,000 and bragging rights as "The Contender Champion".
The program was hosted by Vice President of World Muay Thai Council and former World Champion Stephen Fox (who also serves as the show's main trainer) and Jaymee Ong.
The second season has been announced on its official website. Production will begin in late September 2009 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with 16 fighters (14 currently revealed) vying for the title and a bigger cash prize, which the producers say as "the highest prize money ever to be paid out in the sport of Muay Thai."
1 Currently based in the United Arab Emirates.
2 Currently based in Thailand.
3 Currently based in Thailand.
Original airdate: January 16, 2008
The contestants, handpicked by Fox and his team of trainers, were introduced and brought to their loft where they would be staying during the course of the competition. The fighters were then divided into two groups: Blue Team and Red Team. Fox selected the team captains based on their fight records and characters. The leaders then chose their teammates in a "school yard pick", with John Wayne Parr choosing Yodsanklai first while Sean Wright was chosen last by Rafik Bakkouri.
Blue Team and Red Team were given the names "Wild Boars" and "Tiger Kings" respectively, based on legendary Muay Thai fighters.
During the challenge, Kim stumbled and cost the Tiger Kings a loss.
Original airdate: January 23, 2008
The Tiger Kings were devastated with Trevor Smandych's loss and felt unwell that they did not gave him a decent farewell. Meanwhile, the Wild Boars were triumphant with Naruepol declaring that the fight was "easy". Other members began contemplating about the pressure of defeating Thai fighters especially in their national sport, but Rafik Bakkouri stayed firm that he was not afraid of the Thais in and out of the ring.
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Wikipedia