It was until he moved to Canada with his family in 2005 that Mukai Maromo tried his hand at martial arts as a way of staying in shape and found himself enthralled by the world of martial arts.
He began training with Kru Eric Advincula of Tiger Gym Muay Thai in Kingston, Ontario in July 2005. After training for three months, Maromo fought in his first exhibition fight and from there he was hooked.
He relocated to Hamilton, Ontario and began training under Kru Alin Halmagean with Iron Tiger Muay Thai. Shortly after, he had his first official Muay Thai fight in Windsor, Ontario and was victorious with a first round KO (knockout).
After 18 fights with the Iron Tigers, Mukai had a record of 15 wins, three losses with seven KO’s. He held three titles including the World Muay Thai Federation (WMF) Canadian Middleweight Championship.
“I had always been a rugby player during my days at Falcon College in Esigodini. I was also a football fan and I love DeMbare. I never thought about mixed martial arts until I tried my hand at it. And I have never stopped,’ Maromo told Standardsport.
Maromo, nicknamed the African Assasin; is currently one of the biggest draw cards on the Maximum Fighting Championships (MFC) based in Edmonton, Canada.
MFC events are broadcast on pay television The Fight Network and HDNet in North America. The MFC is known to be the biggest MMA promotion in Canada.
“I like fighting. I am now a professional fighter. I make a living from fighting and I cannot complain about the earnings. I earn good money,” Maromo said.The African Assassin’s 2011 record stands at five wins, two losses with three KO’s and one submission. Maromo competes in the middleweight muay thai (kickboxing) and mixed martial arts category.
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Mixed martial arts is a brutal “bloodsport” where fighters use approved lightweight open-fingered gloves to fight and also kick. Every round in MFC competition is five minutes in duration. Title matches have five rounds whilenon-title ones have three.
The 28-year-old Maromo was born in Chitungwiza before his family moved to Botswana and was enrolled at Falcon College in Esigodini as a border.It was at this pivotal point in time when Maromo matured into an athlete in many different disciplines, focusing on track and field events and rugby.
“My father always told me to be whoever and whatever I wanted to be in life, with one condition: try to be the very best at it!” Maromo said.During his final year of high school, Maromo moved to Charlotte, North Carolina in the United States where he finished off his schooling and attended Livingstone College on an academic and sports scholarship.
As a member of the track team, he specialised in the 400m and was also a part of the 4x400m relay team. Near the end of 2004, Maromo made a decision to migrate to Canada with the rest of his family. It was at this stage that he tried his hand at mixed martial arts and like they say; everything is history. Maromo is single.
