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After 11 months out of the ring, Ryan Li made a tremendous return to competitive action at Muay Thai Grand Prix 6.

Li fought against late replacement Pedro Luque of Spain, and put on one of the most emphatic finishes of the night. In front of a strong crowd at the Indigo O2, Li piled the pressure on the Spaniard, and easily took the finish after two minutes of the first round.

A powerful right leg kick from Li landed to the elbow of Luque, which sent him crashing to the mat, grimacing in pain. It was evident that Luque had suffered some damage to his elbow, which required medical attention following the bout.

“It was a good finish, I felt strong, I mean I had a really good fight camp, I’ve been training hard, after having such a long time out it was nice to be back in the ring knock that ring rust off and now I just want to keep fighting, keep improving, that’s it.”

It was a momentous return for Team Tieu’s Li, after 11 months out helping his partner through a tough personal struggle, Li admitted that his extended time away from the ring helped him get his ‘head straight’.

“It meant a lot because my partner’s dad passed away at the beginning of the year to cancer so I spent a lot of time involved in that and looking after her. I took time out, coming back into it my head was straight. I was back in, 100 per cent again, focused and it meant the world, it meant everything.”