PARAMARIBO–Friday’s Soema Na Basi event will stream live from Anthony Nesty Sportshall Paramaribo, Suriname at 5:00pm EST. The live stream can be found, free of charge, at the official Slamm website. Most anticipated maybe is the super fight between Ismael Londt and Raemon Welboeren. Londt, who is currently ranked 18th on Head Kick Legend’s own heavyweight kickboxing rankings, will be a significant favorite and rightly so. This is meant to be a showcase bout for the Team Slamm member. Certainly, Raemon Welboeren is a great fighter with a history at Mejiro Gym, but this is all about Londt. This fight stands as perhaps the most high profile bout of the event.

The match ups for the event are as follows:

-70kg Tournament:

Miles Simson vs. Ajay Balgobind Antoine Mandela vs. Alessandro Campagna Miloud El Guebli vs. Xavier Benedito Anthony Kane vs. Cedric Bacuna

Super Fights:

-95kg Ismael Londt vs. Raemon Welboeren +100kg Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Godzilla

MMA:

Victor Kuku vs. Hyram Rodriguez Brian Lo-A-Njoe vs. Murat Gotepe

Meanwhile, the eight-man 70 kg. tournament at the heart of this event is guaranteed to feature some excellent action. The first round already boasts such match ups as Antoine Mandela and Alessandro Campagna, as well as Miles Simson and Ajay Balgobind.

Many may be unfamiliar with Mandela and Italy’s Campagna, but these two fighters have shown some moments of brilliance. Mandela thoroughly handled fellow tournament competitor Anthony Kane earlier this year, while the 19-year-old Campagna has excelled in Europe and holds a stoppage win over Houcine Bennoui. It’s a shame that two fighters with such promise will square off in the opening stage of the tournament, but their bout should be impressive.

by Brent Ducharme for Kickboxing News

PARAMARIBO–Suriname will play host to a Team Slamm-backed kickboxing event on August 26th. The event is worth keeping an eye on as it will feature an eight-man 70 kg tournament featuring some up-and-coming talent.

The biggest name included in the eight man tournament is Team Slamm member Anthony Kane. Somewhat undersized for the 70 kg. weight class, Kane has never managed to break through to the top of the division since making it to the semifinal round of the prospect-packed K-1 World MAX 2010 West Europe Tournament. He has had some recent struggles, losing bouts to Faldir Chahbari and the relatively unknown Antoine Mandela.

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NEW YORK –Suriname born kickboxer Melvin “No Mercy’’ Manhoef will face American Military hero Tim Kennedy on Saturday, March 5, at Nationwide Arena in Columbus. The featured fight at middleweight class (185 pounds) will air live on SHOWTIME® (10 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast). The fight is a World Championship Doubleheader  promoted by Strikeforce, a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) and kickboxing organization based in San Jose, California.

Manhoef (24-8-1) replaces an injured Luke Rockhold who withdrew after suffering an injury to his left leg during training. A devastating and offensive-minded stand-up fighter, Manhoef is making his second start for STRIKEFORCE on SHOWTIME. In his debut on January 30, 2010, he had mostly manhandled hard-hitting, former two-time world champion Robbie Lawler before getting caught and losing in the first round. But exciting and crowd-pleasing, “Manhoef does not know the meaning of a full night’s work,” Strikeforce hypes up. “The Destructive Dutchman has registered KO or TKO victories in all but one of his 24 victories.”

Born in Suriname, Manhoef relocated to Rotterdam with his family when he was three years old.  He was introduced to the sport of Muay Thai at the age of 18. A winner in seven of his last 11 bouts, he has participated in more than 60 professional fights between MMA and kickboxing, but  is seeking his first MMA victory in the United States. “I come to fight and give my very best,’’ the 5-foot-8, 34-year-old kickboxer said. “I am very, very hungry. I need to win this fight. I am looking forward to fighting Tim Kennedy.’’

Tim Kennedy (12-3) of Fort Bragg, N.C., is a popular an American military hero who’s toured the Middle East multiple times, and earned the Army’s Bronze Medal Star medal for valor under fire.

Standing 5-foot-11 and aged 31, this is his fifth start for Strikeforce and his first since losing a close, hard-fought decision to “Jacare” Souza in a fight for the then-vacant Strikeforce middleweight title on August 21, 2010, on SHOWTIME. The disputed defeat ended a four-fight winning streak for Kennedy, who has split two fights against Jason “Mayhem’’ Miller.

The March 5 main event will also feature Dan Henderson (26-8), who will challenge defending belt-holder Rafael “Feijao’’ Cavalcante (10-2) of Brazil for the STRIKEFORCE World Light Heavyweight (205 pounds) Championship. In a second world title fight, Marloes “Rumina’’ Coenen (18-4) of the Netherlands will risk her lightweight title for a first time against No. 1 135-pound contender, Miesha “Takedown’’ Tate (11-2), of Tacoma, Wash.

Undefeated Billy Evangelista (11-0) of Fresno, Calif., will take on Jorge Masvidal (20-6) of Miami, Florida, at lightweight (155 pounds) in a previously announced televised  bout.

The event, STRIKEFORCE’s first in the state of Ohio, will take place in conjunction with The Arnold Sports Festival, the nation’s largest health and fitness exposition founded by Arnold Schwarzenegger.