21/09/2026
ULEMU FIGHT ACADEMY PRESS STATEMENT
PORTUS CHAMA IMPRESSES AGAINST HIGHLY EXPERIENCED THAI OPPONENT
Zambian fighter Portus Chama delivered an exceptional performance in Thailand, stepping into the ring for only his second professional Muay Thai bout against a vastly more experienced Thai opponent with over 100 fights to his name.
Already an accomplished amateur MMA athlete and IMMAF Africa Champion, Chama is currently based at Superpro Samui as he continues his development and prepares for his transition into professional MMA.
For this contest, Chama also stepped significantly outside his natural weight category, competing at 77 kg despite being a natural lightweight.
Across the fight, Chama demonstrated tremendous physical strength, speed and striking power. He repeatedly landed heavy, accurate punches and damaging low kicks, while using intelligent feints and forward pressure to push his experienced opponent backwards and spend significant periods controlling the centre of the action and forcing the fight towards the ropes.
Perhaps most impressive was the composure Chama showed against an opponent possessing an enormous advantage in Muay Thai experience. His hand speed and power were evident throughout, while his strength, posture and balance also showed when the fight moved into the clinch.
The bout was also another important lesson for our team in understanding the nuances of traditional Muay Thai scoring.
Muay Thai is not necessarily judged simply by which fighter appears to land the hardest punches or inflict the most visible damage. Judges traditionally place significant value on clean and effective Muay Thai techniques, particularly effective kicks and knees, balance and composure, successful clinch work, defensive control and the ability to attack effectively while preventing or neutralising an opponent's attacks.
This means that a fight can look very different when viewed through a Muay Thai scoring lens compared with MMA or conventional striking.
While Chama appeared to land some of the heavier shots and controlled significant portions of the contest through pressure, his experienced Thai opponent was able to use his Muay Thai technique and, particularly later in the fight, his clinch work effectively within that scoring framework.
For Chama and the team, competing in Thailand is about exactly this kind of experience.
To enter only your second professional Muay Thai fight, move up considerably in weight and stand across the ring from a Thai fighter with more than 100 bouts and still produce a competitive performance of this quality is an achievement in itself.
Chama demonstrated that his power, speed, physical strength and composure can translate against extremely experienced opposition.
Every round in Thailand adds another layer to his development, and this performance provided further evidence of the level of athlete Zambia has in Portus Chama.
We are extremely proud of his performance and excited to watch his continued development at Superpro Samui.
The result goes on the record. The experience goes into the fighter.
🇿🇲 Portus Chama continues to represent Zambia with pride in Thailand.
You can follow his journey on his socials Portus Chama MMA and on Instagram (Search Portus Chama)
