Swedish MMA and Muay Thai fighter Samuel Bark, identified to the fight sports activities world as “Sammon Decker,” carries a reputation earned the knowledge of warriors who got here earlier than him. This weekend at Oktagon 79, he steps into the cage towards Mate Sanikidze with the potential to say championship gold, however the story of how he received his iconic nickname is simply as compelling because the combat forward.
The Identify That Honors the Biggest
Sammon Decker’s moniker wasn’t given to him calmly. It emerged from his time coaching in Thailand, with coach Sangtiennoi Sor.Rungroj, who was an adversary of Ramon Dekkers. In line with the fighter himself, talking in an unique interview with LowKick MMA’s Tim Wheaton, he mentioned:
“So, I moved to Thailand, in Bangkok, you recognize. And I educated beneath Sangtiennoi. And he fought Ramon Dekkers like 3 times. And after I lived there and educated there, after I hit the pads, he was like saying, you recognize, like Samuel and Ramon after which somebody, after which I used to be like, what?
“I heard him say it, like somebody was like… after which he mentioned, are you going to have the identical model? You’re going to have the punches, and also you look much like him, and we’re going to combat like him, and we’re going to construct that character that’s like him. And don’t smile once you go within the ring and, you recognize, simply yeah, he’s due to my instructor.”
The identify is a fusion, Samuel merged with Ramon Decker, the legendary Dutch striker who dominated Muay Thai and kickboxing within the Eighties and 90s. Sammon Decker’s coach noticed the potential in his younger pupil. It’s a nickname earned by way of lineage and expectation, not bravado.
Coaching with an MMA Legend
Samuel Bark lived and educated with MMA legend Enson Inoue for a number of months, a partnership that emerged from an act of generosity. He defined:
“So [Sangtiennoi’s]complete gymnasium received destroyed. Enson got here there and he paid for a brand new gymnasium and so they received actually shut and that’s how they began their friendship and in order that’s why I went from Sangtiennoi to Enson as a result of they have been shut and yeah. I lived with him for like three to 6 months, I feel.”
Dwelling within the family of a fighter keen to die within the ring supplied some classes that stretch past approach. When requested what it was like coaching with somebody of Inoue’s caliber, Bark defined:
“He’s cool. He’s actually cool. Additionally scary. He’s scary. I’m not going to lie. He’s very scary. He’s scary as nicely. He’s cool. He’s good.”
Prepared for His Second at Oktagon 79
Mate Sanikidze holds actual property at featherweight within the Oktagon promotion, and a dominant efficiency this weekend may catapult “Sammon Decker” straight into title rivalry. The Swedish fighter feels ready.
Bark outlined a philosophy rooted in his Muay Thai basis: making use of strain, constructing energy, and letting the combat dictate the specifics. He’s trying to make a press release this weekend at Oktagon 79.
