Theebaan Govindasamy Picks Up Asian MMA 'Amateur of the Year' Award

By IMMAF.org lead writer/photographer, Jorden Curran Presented by The Fight Nation, the inaugural Asian MMA Awards took place last week in Hong Kong. Invited to represent the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation, IMMAF equipment manager Jaine Shah was in attendance to present the award for Amateur of the Year, picked up by Malaysia’s Theebaan Govindasamy. Hailing from Kuala Lumpur, the 28-year-old competed in the middleweight division of the 2017 IMMAF World Championships in Manama, Bahrain. Govindasamy eliminated Mexico’s Alan Garcia via a unanimous decision in the tournament’s opening round before facing defeat against high ranked Australian Joseph Luciano. From April 2016 to November 2017, the Karate specialist remained undefeated with a streak of 8 victories under the regional Malaysian Invasion banner, regulated by the Malaysia Mixed Martial Arts Association – the nation’s affiliated IMMAF representative. With 22 years of karate experience, many spent competing for his country at international competition, Govindasamy was the official Ambassador for Malaysian Youth Sports at the Beijing Olympics. The eight-time national karate champion began training MMA little more than three years ago and has transitioned to become a dual-sports standout.  ]]>