Jason Suttie has been training for thirteen years and this has changed his life from a young man getting into trouble on the streets to becoming a champion fighter and trainer of champions.
Jason began his Muay Thai in Thailand when he went on an exchange program in the seventh form. Outside Jason's academic scholarship studies in Thailand he spent his free time at a Muay Thai camp. Jason had his first Muay Thai fight up against a veteran of 40 fights – this was full Thai rules to 5 times three minutes rounds, elbows and knees to the head, punches, kicks; the whole deal. This fight came after only two months training and Jason went the distance losing only on points. The college where Jason was studying forbid him to fight again as they considered it to be too dangerous, however Jason did manage to sneak out for an amateur boxing fight which he won with a second round TKO.
Mascot Yakuza at front, Jason 'Psycho' Suttie, trailed by the other half of Elite Thai Boxing Roger Earp and team Suttie.
On his return to New Zealand he began training with Lollo Heimuli where he trained for many years having some 25 fights before opening his own gym.
Jason has been very successful both as an amateur and professional fighter. As an amateur he took a New Zealand title and the South Pacific super middleweight and light heavyweight titles. His professional achievements include a Commonwealth light heavyweight title, ISKA Commonwealth title, ISKA intercontinental title, World ISKA title, World Middleweight Title, U.T.C. – United Titles Commission (USA based sanction), WKBF World Kickboxing Federation World Titles, the cruiserweight and light heavyweight titles. Another one of Jason's achievements was to win a brute force energy drink sponsored heavyweight-boxing challenge in Thailand. Jason's championship opponent in this brute force challenge was Mark Mayer from the United States; Jason stopped him in the first round.
Jason's excellent well-equipped Muay Thai facility The Elite Gym has a stable of proven and up-and-coming future fighters such as Sio Vitale, Spa Mafue, Dimitri Simoukov, Jay Hepi, Paul Sillic and Steve Anderson. Formerly of Lollo Heimuli Balmoral Gym Jason, champion fighter and now top trainer has well and truly completed his apprenticeship training under the great Lollo having sparred top fighters like Ray Sefo and Jason Vermoa.
Jason the ring warrior.
In 1996 Jason graduated from Auckland with a B.A. in education and in the same year was the first Kiwi to fight in the K-1, Ray Sefo was in the audience negotiating his K-1 contract. In 1997 Jason won his first world title and by 2000 he had racked up six world titles in five different weight divisions from super middleweight (76kg) through to super heavyweight (95kgs) with four different federations.
His first K-1 fight in the heavyweight division lasted less than two minutes in the first round when he was KO'ed by a spinning backfist which was actually a forearm. The next year 2002 he came back with vengeance defeating Mike Angove, Ron Sefo and reigning champ Doug Viney.
2002 also included winning a KB4 Kickboxing 4-Man event where he defeated Peter Graham in the final. Jason also fought in the 2002 K-1 Oceania, losing on points in his second fight of the night to Adam Watt, who won his first and third fights by KO.
2003 NZ K-1 Jason won his first fight and lost what he feels was a controversial decision to Ron Sefo in the semi finals. Jason Suttie in 2003 broke new ground as the first Kiwi to fight in the famous Mixed Martial Arts Pride Tournament where he lost to a fighter from the Russian top team. The same fighter was this year in the final top four of Pride.
K-1 Oceania 2003 Jason lost in the final to Peter Graham and started 2004 with a pro boxing fight against Lawrence Tuasa of Australia. This boxer has a record of over one hundred amateur fights and 18 professional fights with only one loss and one draw, that was until he lost to Jason on points. Then came K-1 Oceania where he stopped Mitch O'Hello in the first round of his first fight followed by stopping Matt Samoa in the first round of his second fight. "The final was all mine", says Suttie, "That is until I dropped in the first. I chased peter Graham around for the next two rounds but it was no draw as I had hoped, it was a loss to Peter Graham in the final".
August 2004 in Dunedin Jason fought Hiwiri TeRangi for the third time beating him on points. September Jason was scheduled to fight Faisal Zaalaria from Kenya and predicted stopping him inside two, unfortunately due to visa entry problems, a replacement fighter had to be found at the last minute in the form of Edwin Marsh. Jason stopped Edwin early in the first round by way of KO brought about by leg kicks and now he is taking a well-earned break from fighting in Thailand.
Jason and his daughter Yuki and mascot Yakuza the pitbull.
