Muay Grande

Why would you bother to mix your martial arts when Muay Thai alone is so much fun? It is to traditional American boxing what Hanukkah is to Christmas: Instead of one way of punching, you get eight crazy body parts. Fists? Check. Elbows? Hell, yes. Knees and shins? Absorb a few of those to the ribs, then see how much you feel like staying in the ring. To paraphrase Mike Tyson, everyone has a plan until they get kicked in the face.

Alas, formal Thai boxing no longer includes head-butting. Still, it wouldn’t matter much in a setting such as Warriors Collide IV, the fourth event by local Left Hook Productions to bring amateur MMA fighters together to tenderize each other’s innards. They wear headgear during competition. (But then again, so did Dale Earnhardt, so the possibility of gruesome, highlight-worthy injury always looms.) Come root for the guys (and girls) next door as they go all Bloodsport on each other Saturday at 7 p.m. at War Memorial Auditorium (800 NE Eighth St., Fort Lauderdale). Tickets cost $20 to $75 and are available through www.ticketmaster.com. For more event info, call Left Hook Productions at 954-257-6916.
Sat., March 22, 7 p.m., 2008