Trail’s Pride Gym Muay Thai fighter Charles Bisset came back from a 12-month layoff with a vengeance.
Bisset, who lives in L.A., defended his WKL World Muay Thai title and won the IKKC World Super Cruiserweight title by defeating MMA-Pride veteran Amir Rahnavardi with a second round knockout at the World Championship Muay Thai Mega Show in Burbank, Calif. on April 22.
The Bisset-Rahnavardi fight headlined the Mega Show event, and at five-foot-11 Bisset dominated from the start knocking the 22-and-1 pro Muay Thai fighter down in the first round.
Bisset went on the attack in Round 2, and staggered the six-foot Rahnavardi with a series of blows and a roundhouse kick to the head. His relentless assault put Rahnavardi on the ropes and then the mat, finishing him with two devastating knees.
“I put on one of the most violent, dominant performances of my career,” said Bisset. “The fight probably should have been stopped earlier, the guy was just too tough for his own good.”
With the win, the 36-year-old four-time world champion improves his record to 35-7.
Bisset is the winner of more than a dozen titles in Muay Thai and kickboxing, including WBL and WKA World Muay Thai champion, WKL and IKKC World kickboxing champion, WBC U.S. National Champion, North American Muay Thai Champion, and Canadian Muay Thai champion.
To say Bisset’s daily agenda is full is an understatement. The Slocan native juggles a number of careers.
“I would like to keep fighting, but we will see, I worked on some big projects last year and it was really exciting.”
Bisset is a card-carrying member of the SAG-AFTRA (Actors) guild. He recently acted on a movie called Knox Goes Away, directed by and starring Michael Keaton, with co-stars James Marsden and Al Pacino.
In addition, Bisset has appeared in a number of commercials, TV shows, and music videos, most recently with Diplo and Dove Cameron. And in his “spare time,” he went back to his Retallack ranch roots, and began wrangling horses and competing on the rodeo circuit, riding saddle, ranch, and bareback broncs.
Last year, Bisset rode the rodeo circuit in five different states and three provinces, taking a buckle and a bronze in Wyoming and winning another buckle in California.
The rodeo circuit goes from spring until November so Bisset’s weekends will be filled with a lot of travel, training, and hopefully eight seconds on a bronc.
“I won a bareback bronc buckle and broke my ribs at the same time,” said Bisset. “Bareback bronc riding is rough, whether it’s a good horse or a bad horse you get banged up no matter what.”
Through it all, he manages to stay in fighting shape, and was all too ready to get back in the ring when approached by the Mega Show promoters six weeks before the fight.
“They offered me a dual world title fight, so I said let’s do it, let’s dance,” said Bisset.
“I was getting up at 5 a.m. in the morning doing my conditioning, doing these runs, and after doing a 10-to 14-hour day on set, I’d drive into Burbank and then go do my paddle work and sparring, and just put it in. I had zero life, it was just eat, sleep, train, wrangle horses, back and forth.”
As for Bisset’s fight plans for the future, he anticipates less action in the ring as his priorities change, but he is by no means calling it quits.
“With wrangling horses, acting in movies or doing stunt work, it’s a very different life. I want to keep fighting and I plan on fighting again, but it depends on if I get the time to do it,” he said.
“If something comes up and I’m able to fight, I’m going to do it, I am not retiring.”
His Muay Thai trainers and coaches were a bit concerned when prior to the fight, they called and asked if he was at home resting?
He was not. Bisset was at a rodeo on the Arizona border, just getting ready to get on a bronc.
When they asked again in disbelief, what he was doing?
Bisset replied: “I’m livin’ man!”
Charles dedicates his latest Muay Thai IKKC World Title victory to his father.
Read: Pride Gym fighter wins ninth World Muay Thai title
Read: Bisset captures WBC Muay Thai title
sports@trailtimes.ca
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter