Bermuda’s Muay Thai fighters have produced a string of impressive performances in recent competitions in the United States and Thailand.

The four-member team made up of Ashton Bell, Jay Astwood, Ashleigh Mayo and Trevor Smith all claimed medals, including three silver, in their respective divisions of the Tournament of Champions in Columbus, Ohio.

Bell claimed his silver in the 165lb division after being stopped in the final by Bryan Miller, of home town gym Revolution Fight and Fitness, with Mayo adding a second silver in the 112lb weight class, after losing by unanimous decision to Cassidy Horton, of Short North Muay Thai.

There was also a highly encouraging second-place finish for Smith, who was making his competitive debut in the 186lb class, in which he went down by unanimous decision to Wolfgang Stolts, of MX Muay Thai.

Astwood rounded off the medal haul with bronze in the 159lb division after coming out on the wrong end of a split decision against Xavier Gonzalez, of Southside Muay Thai in Toronto, in the semi-finals.

Coach Chuck Morgan hailed the endeavours of his fighters at the prestigious event at the Arnold Sports Festival, which attracts some of the best fighters from across the United States, Canada, Sweden, United Kingdom, Jamaica, Mongolia and Kazakhstan.

“Funny enough the guys were a little disappointed not to have come back with at least one gold [belt], but overall I’m incredibly proud because they did an awesome job,” he said.

“The results did not go our way, but that’s the name of the game sometimes, and to have competed the way that they did against such a high level of competition was amazing.

“All of them more than held their own and the level of fighters this year far exceeded anything we’ve seen at the tournament in the past.

“As well as performing so well it is always great to go and test ourselves at these high-level events and gain vital experience.

“Even though some of the guys were a little disappointed they have to remember that they were fighting against fighters from big gyms and in many cases against opponents who had come down a weight division.

“They’ve certainly put Bermuda on the map and so much so that throughout the event I kept getting asked when we would be hosting an event so that these gyms could come out to the island and compete. It’s something we’re definitely hoping can happen in the near future.”

After enjoying success in the first of four international events this year, Morgan has even greater expectations for his fighters ahead of the TBA Classic and Muay Thai Expo World Championships in Iowa in June.

“The minimum expectation has to be to go and build on this performance,” he said.

“We are hoping to compete at three more events this year, but the main focus is the TBA Classic. It’s one of the biggest Muay Thai tournaments in the world and another chance to go and impress.”

Elsewhere, compatriot Tyler Kerr got his professional Muay Thai career off to a sensational start with victory in his debut bout at the JF Boxing Stadium in Pattaya, Thailand.

Kerr, who has been training in the spiritual home of the sport for the past two months, overcome a vastly experienced opponent who has more than 50 fights under his belt, in a televised bout as part of the JF Muay Thai show.

“It’s just awesome to see Tyler fighting out in Thailand and we’re all just so excited to see him competing out there,” said Morgan. “He has a chance to go out and really make his mark to an international crowd.

“Just as we are at Fight City Fitness, the whole of Bermuda should be incredibly proud of Tyler and our other fighters have been achieving.

“It will always rank as one of our proudest moments seeing one of our own fighters competing professionally in Thailand.”