Maromo (photo via Maximum Fighting.com)

Lightweight Concedes Victory “Not as Glorious” Due to Non-Title Status

By Kelsey Mowatt

Mukai Maromo needed an impressive win at the Maximum Fighting Championship’s latest event Friday night, and the rising lightweight did just that. After earning a controversial, split decision win over Adam Lynn in May, the promotion elected to set up a rematch at MFC 34. Not only did Maromo manage to score his second win over the resilient vet, but this time, the talented striker left no room for debate.

“I always like to win fights decisively and never leave a shadow of a doubt,” said Maromo, who finished Lynn off with devastating knee to the jaw in round two. “That’s what I set out to do for this one and I’m glad it went exactly as I planned.”

“It was just like I said; I was going to feel him out in the first round, try to figure out how to beat him, nullify his takedowns, and go for the knockout in the second,” Maromo added.

Heading into the MFC 34 headliner, Lynn had relayed to Full Contact Fighter that he believed his bouts with Maromo were going to “make each other a better fighter.” As the bout unfolded, it became apparent that Maromo had more answers for the takedown and grappling game of Lynn than when they fought before.

“This has definitely helped me,” said Maromo, while discussing the impact of the bouts. “The first encounter more than anything. My ground game had gotten to a point where I was really comfortable letting my hands and my kicks go and then he came along and put a couple takedowns on me and was able to keep me down for an extended period of time. That was something I didn’t like at all.”

“I took the onus to be able to get up out of most situations,” the 29 year-old-fighter furthered. “Whether a person’s in sidemount, fullmount, halfguard, and it paid off dividends as everybody saw in the fight.”

Thanks to Maromo’s 16-3 kickboxing record and various Muay Thai titles, the fighter transitioned into MMA with an extensive striking background and a highly regarded rep to go along with it. Maromo admits, however, that the rest of his MMA game needed a little work.

“At the beginning of this journey my ground game was non-existent,” said the Edmonton resident. “I sort of knew what I had seen on TV but I didn’t really know what BJJ was. I didn’t know what an armbar, or triangle-choke was, at least the technical applications of them. It looked cool, but I didn’t know how to use them or get out of it. Even the wrestling aspect of it was a tremendous journey.”

“I think a lot of people overlook that I’ve done a lot of work on my wrestling and BJJ because of my Muay Thai,” the Iron Tiger Muay Thai fighter relayed. “After doing Muay Thai so extensively it was a really big challenge to change up my stance and fighting style, and be able to add in my wrestling and jiu-jitsu as part of a MMA fight.”

Although Maromo closed the book on his series with Lynn in dramatic fashion, there was one disappointing outcome for him on the night. The fight did not end up being a championship bout as scheduled, due to the fact Lynn failed to make weight for the headliner.

“I was partly disappointed because the highlight reel finish was part of the plan from the get go, and it was a bonus to get it on such a high level stage,” said Maromo, who is expected to fight for the promotion’s belt later this year.“The MFC is a renowned organization and gets a lot of exposure…but the plan was to get the finish and that belt, so it wasn’t as glorious as it could have been.”