Kriss Axelsson fights through the pain

“After the elbow I blacked out,” Kriss Axelsson said. The Swedish fighter took a hard shot during the second round of his rematch against Jaowayha Sitnayoktang. In their previous collision, for the Silver Belt championship, Jaowayha edged out Kriss on a razor thin decision that had Kriss believing he won.

“I just went on auto pilot. I can’t remember anything that happened after I got rocked with the 8 count,” he said.

Kriss was able to persevere despite the knockdown and pushed forward aggressively after the count and into the third round.“In the beginning, I felt stiff. Then I can’t remember anything. I got caught by the elbow midway through the second” he said.

The bout was particularly important for him because of the close decision in their prior match. “It felt really good to prove that I was better. It was a good victory for me,” Kriss said.

Now Kriss will go on a break. Having spent the last four years training and fighting over 80 times out of Talingnam Muay Thai gym in Koh Samui and is personally trained by Meechai Junkaew, Kriss has racked up a wealth of experience.

“I’ll have a little break. I will go back to Sweden and teach. Muay Thai is my job. I teach and I fight. I actually felt a little pressure for this fight because I wanted to prove that I was better. I wanted to prove it to myself and to everyone else,” Kriss said.

And prove he did. Kriss showed tremendous heart and willpower in his bout which had him seize the victory. No doubt he’ll be back in the ring at Max Muay Thai.