The Main Event: Will Chad Sugden be '2slick' for Michael Wakeling?

The biggest Thai boxing and kickboxing event in the UK takes place on Saturday night in Birmingham

The event takes place on Saturday night

This Saturday night fight fans will descend upon The Barclaycard Arena in Birmingham to witness the biggest Thai Boxing and Kickboxing event ever to hit UK soil.

The Main Event takes place on May 23rd with a fight card stacked with some of the world’s biggest names, including 5 current UK number 1 ranked athletes, sharing 10 World titles between them.

After previously hosting events at venues including EventCity Manchester, Old Trafford LCC and Bolton USN Arena, the promoters have pledged to raise the bar once again, with several thousand fans expected in attendance.

The newly refurbished Barclaycard Arena recently hosted combat sports show BAMMA and as well as the Matchroom Boxing show headlined by heavyweight star Anthony Joshua. The Main Event lineup features stars of Muay Thai and Kickboxing of similar stature, with multiple World champions and the best fighters from the UK and across the globe set to showcase their skills.

Top of the bill is the International Kickboxing Federation championship bout between Chad ‘2Slick’ Sugden and Michael Wakeling from the Scorpions gym in Beckenham. Undefeated in ten years and with one solitary defeat on his record, Wakeling has been top of the 75kg division for many years and will bid to retain that crown and collect another World strap, while Sugden - who boasts a record of over 100 contests and is already a multi-weight World champion - will look to knock him off his perch and cement his status as the one of the planet's best kickboxers over two weight classes.

French star Dylan Salvador punches Liam Harrison from Leeds at The Main Event November 2013

Supporting this much talked about fight are several equally intriguing contests. Greg ’The Prodigy' Wootton, undisputed UK number 1 lightweight and current double World title holder, takes on one of Thailands emerging stars, Rungrat Sasiprapa, who, at 19 years of age, already boasts more than 60 professional wins on his record. Birmingham's Dean James, the long-standing UK Featherweight number 1, bids to add another scalp to his CV with a win over Thailands Wuttichai, a veteran of over 120 fights and former Southern Thailand champion.

19 year old wonderkid Daniel McGowan will be looking to further enhance his reputation as one of Europe’s finest when he takes on Italy’s Gery Bavetta, who currently sits inside the top 15 of the WBC World rankings. McGowan's rise to stardom has been a unique one, having begun fighting from an early age, collecting several European and World straps as a junior, before beginning a demolition job on the professional ranks, securing the UK number 1 spot last year and now setting about taking on Europe’s elite.