{"id":181180,"date":"2026-02-27T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/?p=181180"},"modified":"2026-02-25T18:11:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T07:11:10","slug":"local-duo-to-make-pro-fight-debut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/local-duo-to-make-pro-fight-debut\/","title":{"rendered":"Local duo to make pro fight debut"},"content":{"rendered":"

A pair of Torquay residents will hit the mat for their professional fight debuts this weekend in Melbourne.<\/p>\n

WBC Amazing Muay Thai World Festival champion Billy O’Brien and 19-year-old Ki Young will feature on a pro card for the first time in their career tomorrow night at Roots 31: Rock Stone, to take place at Melbourne Pavilion.<\/p>\n

O’Brien comes into his first professional bout with a strong resume from his junior career, headlined by his world championship victory in Italy last year.<\/p>\n

\"\"
The Torquay pair are pumped to show off their best on a professional card. Photo: Supplied<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

The four-year Bones MMA member said he was heading into tomorrow (Saturday 28 February) with a head full of steam and plenty of confidence in his ability.<\/p>\n

“I’ve had a pretty decorated amateur career and now I’m really looking to make my mark on the pro tour,” he said.<\/p>\n

“I’m still holding the WBC title and I’ve had two knockout wins in Thailand.<\/p>\n

\"\"
WBC Amazing Muay Thai World Festival champion Billy O’Brien has had a fine amateur career.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

“I feel my IQ will be stronger than my opponent, I’m feeling in a really good space.<\/p>\n

“Everyone has been in my camp helping me out with my training. We’ve been going five to six days a week to prepare.”<\/p>\n

For Young, it will be his first time with no pads and headgear, but “being free” is what he is looking forward to the most.<\/p>\n

The 19-year-old Torquay resident had four victories and two losses in his amateur career.<\/p>\n

\"\"
The Torquay pair are pumped to show off their best on a professional card.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

“I’m feeling strong, sharp and really confident. My opponent is someone who Billy has fought before, so I know a bit about him,” he said. “I’ve been here at Bones for two years, and my training has been going really well. I’ve worked hard on my left kick, which is my biggest weapon.”<\/p>\n

The local pair have had the recent privilege of training alongside New Zealand IKBF 63.5kg super lightweight champion Alex Sorensen, who will also be fighting on the card.<\/p>\n

Sorenson, who has done most of his training camp in Auckland before arriving in Torquay, is also feeling ready to show off his best.<\/p>\n

\"\"
NZ champion fighter Alex Sorensen has been training in Torquay ahead of the Roots 31: Rock Stocne ard.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

“I’m also feeling great. It’s been a while; I haven’t been in the ring since June 2024 as I’ve taken on more of a coaching role at my gym,” he said.<\/p>\n

“These two boys here [Billy and Ki] don’t need my coaching. They’re really sharp for their experience, I haven’t seen anything like it.”<\/p>\n

For more information and tickets, head to rebellionmuaythai.com.au<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A pair of Torquay residents will hit the mat for their professional fight debuts this weekend in Melbourne. WBC Amazing Muay Thai World Festival champion Billy O’Brien and 19-year-old Ki Young will feature on a pro card for the first time in their career tomorrow night at Roots 31: Rock Stone, to take place at […]<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":201,"featured_media":181187,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-181180","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLocal duo to make pro fight debut - Surf Coast Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Torquay pro debut: Billy O'Brien and Ki Young make their professional fight debut at Roots 31 in Melbourne this weekend.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/local-duo-to-make-pro-fight-debut\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Local duo to make pro fight debut - Surf Coast Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Torquay pro debut: Billy O'Brien and Ki Young make their professional fight debut at Roots 31 in Melbourne this weekend.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/local-duo-to-make-pro-fight-debut\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Surf Coast Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-26T17:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Untitled-design-26-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Nathan Rivalland\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Nathan Rivalland\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/news\\\/local-duo-to-make-pro-fight-debut\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/news\\\/local-duo-to-make-pro-fight-debut\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Nathan Rivalland\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bf7cb8dfe63a187785b4e65994914833\"},\"headline\":\"Local duo to make pro fight debut\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-26T17:00:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/news\\\/local-duo-to-make-pro-fight-debut\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":510,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/news\\\/local-duo-to-make-pro-fight-debut\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/Untitled-design-26-1.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/news\\\/local-duo-to-make-pro-fight-debut\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/news\\\/local-duo-to-make-pro-fight-debut\\\/\",\"name\":\"Local duo to make pro fight debut - Surf Coast Times\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/news\\\/local-duo-to-make-pro-fight-debut\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/news\\\/local-duo-to-make-pro-fight-debut\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/Untitled-design-26-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-26T17:00:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"Torquay pro debut: Billy O'Brien and Ki Young make their professional fight debut at Roots 31 in Melbourne this weekend.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/news\\\/local-duo-to-make-pro-fight-debut\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/news\\\/local-duo-to-make-pro-fight-debut\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/news\\\/local-duo-to-make-pro-fight-debut\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/Untitled-design-26-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/Untitled-design-26-1.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630,\"caption\":\"Billy O'Brien, Ki Young and Alex Sorensen are ready for a battle this weekend.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/news\\\/local-duo-to-make-pro-fight-debut\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Local duo to make pro fight debut\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/\",\"name\":\"Surf Coast Times\",\"description\":\"Free local news\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Surf Coast Times\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/cropped-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/cropped-logo.png\",\"width\":350,\"height\":38,\"caption\":\"Surf Coast Times\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bf7cb8dfe63a187785b4e65994914833\",\"name\":\"Nathan Rivalland\",\"description\":\"Nathan Rivalland is a journalist with the Times News Group. He covers community news, lifestyle and sport across the Surf Coast, Bellarine and Geelong.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/author\\\/nathanrivalland\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Local duo to make pro fight debut - Surf Coast Times","description":"Torquay pro debut: Billy O'Brien and Ki Young make their professional fight debut at Roots 31 in Melbourne this weekend.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/local-duo-to-make-pro-fight-debut\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Local duo to make pro fight debut - Surf Coast Times","og_description":"Torquay pro debut: Billy O'Brien and Ki Young make their professional fight debut at Roots 31 in Melbourne this weekend.","og_url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/local-duo-to-make-pro-fight-debut\/","og_site_name":"Surf Coast Times","article_published_time":"2026-02-26T17:00:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Untitled-design-26-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Nathan Rivalland","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Nathan Rivalland","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/local-duo-to-make-pro-fight-debut\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/local-duo-to-make-pro-fight-debut\/"},"author":{"name":"Nathan Rivalland","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#\/schema\/person\/bf7cb8dfe63a187785b4e65994914833"},"headline":"Local duo to make pro fight debut","datePublished":"2026-02-26T17:00:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/local-duo-to-make-pro-fight-debut\/"},"wordCount":510,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/local-duo-to-make-pro-fight-debut\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Untitled-design-26-1.jpg","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/local-duo-to-make-pro-fight-debut\/","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/local-duo-to-make-pro-fight-debut\/","name":"Local duo to make pro fight debut - Surf Coast Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/local-duo-to-make-pro-fight-debut\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/local-duo-to-make-pro-fight-debut\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Untitled-design-26-1.jpg","datePublished":"2026-02-26T17:00:00+00:00","description":"Torquay pro debut: Billy O'Brien and Ki Young make their professional fight debut at Roots 31 in Melbourne this weekend.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/local-duo-to-make-pro-fight-debut\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/local-duo-to-make-pro-fight-debut\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/local-duo-to-make-pro-fight-debut\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Untitled-design-26-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Untitled-design-26-1.jpg","width":1200,"height":630,"caption":"Billy O'Brien, Ki Young and Alex Sorensen are ready for a battle this weekend."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/local-duo-to-make-pro-fight-debut\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Local duo to make pro fight debut"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/","name":"Surf Coast Times","description":"Free local news","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#organization","name":"Surf Coast Times","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/08\/cropped-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/08\/cropped-logo.png","width":350,"height":38,"caption":"Surf Coast Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#\/schema\/person\/bf7cb8dfe63a187785b4e65994914833","name":"Nathan Rivalland","description":"Nathan Rivalland is a journalist with the Times News Group. He covers community news, lifestyle and sport across the Surf Coast, Bellarine and Geelong.","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/author\/nathanrivalland\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181180","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/201"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=181180"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181180\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/181187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=181180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=181180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=181180"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=181180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}