Meet the YOKKAO Next Generation fighters: Myk Estlick!
Myk Estlick has been around the block when it comes to showing what he is made of in the ring. He began he fighting career at the ripe old age of 14 and has since grown from a child into a man. He is currently undefeated in the YOKKAO ring and has shown his worth to the community, most recently by taking a tough win over Spanish champion, Carlos Campos. Estlick is definitely going to be a name that people will be watching out for in the next year or so and is in the running for YOKKAO Next Generation fighter of the year 2016.
YOKKAO 17: Myk Estlick vs Matty Here is what Estlick had to say about his experiences both in and out of the ring and how he has found this past year and looking forward to 2017:
“Muay Thai for me came at the perfect time of my life. I started when I was 14/15 years old and was just a teenager from Manchester that got in trouble quite a bit. I can honestly say if I didn't start the sport when I did I have no idea where I'd be or what I would be like right now. My uncle, Gordon, had his own Thai boxing gym called Spartans so I started going a couple nights of week just for a bit of fitness really. I used to play a lot of football, 2 different football teams and my school team, so just seen it as trying to up my game a little bit. Soon though, I realised football didn't give me the same buzz Thai boxing did and after about 6 months of training I dropped a lot of weight and had my first fight. When I started out I was heavier then than what I am now and that was 6 years ago, I was about 72/73kg and the lowest I ended up fighting at was 56. I've never seen 72kg since and I'm 21 years old now! The years have passed and I've dedicated myself to it completely. Spartans is now closed and I had some great times at that gym with all my old gym mates but I now fight for GFC in Bury under Darren Phillips. The thing about fighting that brings me back is that you can never 'complete' Muay Thai. Even the top, top level fighters in the world have room to improve. I love pushing myself and trying to better myself all the time and the qualities needed to be a fighter help me big time just in life. The whole mental & physical challenge is brilliant, there's nothing better than putting yourself against somebody who has put their self through however many weeks/months of training to beat you. YOKKAO Next Generation: When you come out on top it's a sense of achievement that just can't be compared to anything else. My fight record is 18 fights - 14 wins & 4 losses. That's fights without shin pads, I don't count any of the others, n class etc and couldn't even if I tried...the biggest challenge I overcome is overcoming troubles outside of the sport and doing my best not to allow them to have a negative effect on fighting. Fighting gives me direction and helps me focus on something to keep me in the right place. 2016 has been good for me I'd say. I started the year with a win on YOKKAO vs Matty Maguire, who is a very good fighter. I won comfortably on points to get myself ranked 6th in the country, since then Matty has gone on to win an area title so he is clearly rated highly. I had a bit of a frustrating period after that as I was down to fight Andrew Lofthouse, but I was forced to pull out after injuring myself. I twisted ligaments in my wrist and just couldn't train properly which was frustrating as it would have been a very big fight for me. Lofthouse is now trying his hand at MMA so it's unlikely we will ever fight now so I can wish him all the best in what he is now doing, although if he ever returns to Thai boxing I'd love to be the one to fight him. After that I spent another month in Thailand training at Kiatphontip Bangkok, I fought on Max Muay Thai and won vs a Thai opponent by KO in round 2. Then my last fight was against Carlos Campos, Spanish champion, on YOKKAO. Originally he was matched with our number 1, Luke Turner, but he had to withdraw through injury. I knew it was a big step up but I got the win in a tough fight. I didn't perform to the best of my ability but I gained valuable experience going forward and proved I belong at that level. I can't wait for 2017. I've got another big, hard fight on YOKKAO in March and I'm hoping to be really busy after that. I love being active and I want more big fights! I don't have anyone in particular who I want to fight. I'm happy to fight anyone either above or below me in the rankings, I'd love to challenge myself and try to further climb the rankings but I'm happy to defend my spot also. I fought a good Spanish opponent last time out so if there's chance to boot some international opponents I'm down for that too. I can only see myself getting better, improving more and growing as a fighter. I've got a great team around me to help me do that and I want to establish myself as one of the top boys in my weight. YOKKAO have been great to me. I've fought on every YOKKAO event in the UK and won each time. They keep bringing me back but the fights they get me are spot on for my progression. I get to step up every time as the fights get harder which is what I need. It's great having the backing of such a big brand like YOKKAO and I'm grateful that I've been on every show they've done in the UK, hopefully I can fight on some of their events abroad **hint hint.** It's amazing getting to fight on the same shows as the top fighters in the world, which is where I aim to be one day. YOKKAO, in my opinion is the only promotion that will take Muay Thai where it needs to go. Nowhere else, in the UK for sure, puts the fighters on the same card that YOKKAO does. Nowhere else are having the likes of Saenchai, Manachai, Singdam, Pinca, Harrison, Watson, Panicos etc. fight on their shows regularly. The shows get bigger and better every time, and obviously, there's jealous people who will try and knock it or hold it back, but it's impossible to deny that when YOKKAO comes to England it's something special. A big thanks to everybody involved in my life; all my team at GFC help me get ready physically but my girlfriend and family have to put up with a lot when I'm fighting so I'm grateful to them too.”
You will be seeing a lot more of Estlick around in 2017 and YOKKAO will be by his side as he continues to grow and become a force to be reckoned with. He will be getting the recognition he deserves and the calibre of his opponents will continue to increase as he begins pushing the boundaries and showing exactly why he is where he is. Myk is a credit to the sport, showing what is means to be dedicated to developing and always pushing to achieve. A brilliant quote that he mentioned in this is: “you can never 'complete' Muay Thai” and that is spot on. Keep working hard Estlick, good things will come your way! *** HOLIDAY SALE IS ON NOW! Get 25 to 60% off site-wide! Don't hesitate to take this once a year opportunity ? NO COUPON NEEDED at uk.yokkao.com/shop ***
