KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 24 ― Australian Quaden Bayles will be packing a punch when mixed martial arts artist Chatri Sityodtong is done with him.

In a Twitter post, Sityodtong wrote that Quaden's mother Yarraka Bayles had accepted his invitation to come to Singapore to let Quaden learn martial arts.

 

“I just spoke to his amazing mom, Yarraka, over the phone. She has graciously accepted my invitation to come to Singapore for an all-expenses-paid vacation so Quaden can learn martial arts at EVOLVE,” he tweeted.

Evolve is a chain of martial arts academies and home to one of the leading teams in mixed martial arts founded by the 49-year-old Sityodtong, who is a martial arts champion.

Sityodtong added that the instructors would “bully-proof” Quaden.

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“Let us all take the opportunity to show little Quaden how much the world cares.”

Speaking to Singapore’s Straits Times, Sityodtong said he wanted to use his power to help those who are powerless.

“It will help us bring attention to bullying too. I will teach him personally myself with the Evolve instructor team to bully-proof Quaden.”

“Let’s do everything we can to raise awareness and rally the world to come to Quaden’s aid.”

Chatri told the portal that he saw the video of Quaden on Thursday and said on Facebook that “it broke my heart”.

He then spoke to Yarraka on Friday, when she accepted his invitation to come to Singapore.

The travel dates have yet to be confirmed.

Quaden Bayles cried after he was bullied at his Brisbane, Australia school. ― Screenshot via Yarraka Bayles’ video that had since been taken down
Quaden Bayles cried after he was bullied at his Brisbane, Australia school. ― Screenshot via Yarraka Bayles’ video that had since been taken down

Quaden suffers from Achondroplasia, the most common form of Dwarfism.

He tugged the heartstrings of internet users after his mother posted a video of him crying following a bullying incident at his Brisbane school in Australia.

From walking the Indigenous All Stars NRL rugby team onto the pitch on Saturday night to Disneyland trips, hashtag #QuadenBayles also trended on Twitter.

The video, which went viral last week, has however been taken down following claims that Quaden and his mum were lying about his age and he was actually 18.

Social media users, however, provided “proof” of Quaden's  real age.

News portal news.com.au reported that photos of Quaden at an 18th birthday party have been used as one of the main reasons for his age being called into question.

Many pointed out that those photos were actually taken at the birthday party of a person named Garlen, one of Quaden’s friends.

A photo of the nine-year-old posing with a group of older boys has the words, “Garlen’s 18th birthday” written underneath it.

Just like many other parents,  Yarraka also documents her son’s milestones on Facebook and Instagram.

“Posts from when he was born in 2010 right up until now show how Quaden has grown up over the years.”

“There are numerous baby photos and pictures from his birthday parties, making it difficult to believe they could all be fake or misleading,” added the portal.