Luke Greenshields (Black Widow) V Steve Johns (Chao Phraya)
Steve said: “So as much as I’d like to say that after a hard fought bout yesterday I came away with a win, unfortunately this wasn’t to be the case. I was caught with heavy leg kicks in the first round taking it out of action and was unable to continue. I would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone that wished me luck and especially those that traveled to support me.
With a hostile local crowd it meant the world to me. After seven weeks of hard training I’d also like to thank Kru Leigh Edlin, Kru Brian Pawsey, Fight Specifix and Max Skidmore for all their help in my training. Most importantly the never wavering support of my amazing wife Lisa… Much love to all”.
A few photo’s and video from the event:
These fantastic images from the event are by Howarth Photography and can be purchased online here >> www.howarthphotography.com
Muay Thai Living Legend Saenchai PKSaenchaimuaythaigym, called the best pound 4 pound in the World and YOKKAO World Champion Pakorn PKSaenchaimuaythaigym, will join together with YOKKAO mastermind Stefania Picelli and YOKKAO UK distributor Jack Bolam, from May 16th until May 24th to host a series of seminars at the most prestigious gyms in the UK.
In just a few days, from Edinburgh to Bournemouth, 5 staging grounds have been confirmed covering strategic zones throughout the UK.
The growing importance of YOKKAO Seminars continue after a series of successes in Asia, Europe and USA. A consolidated guarantee for Muay Thai lovers of any age. This year the YOKKAO seminars will work alongside the Games whose workouts will see an overall winner of the season win 2000USD prize money. More info to be released soon at www.games.yokkao.com
One month after the successfull edition of YOKKAO YOKKAO 12 and 13, YOKKAO continues a massive promotion of Muay Thai in the UK, helped by the solid support of fighters, owners of gyms and trainers, all together with the common goal of promoting Muay Thai in to new levels.
Yodsanklai Showcases How to Beat a Kickboxing Opponent
One of the biggest rivalries in stand up striking is Kickboxing vs Muay Thai. Given the fact that most Kickboxers fighters don’t train with elbows, clinching, or throws, it is only a fair fight if Thai fighters fight under the Kickboxing rules. This means that in every “Kickboxing vs Muay Thai fight,” it is essentially a Kickboxer vs Muay Thai Fighter who isn’t allowed using half of his weapons.
Recently, more Thai fighters have been fighting in Kickboxing promotions, in pursuit of a bigger pay day. For Muay Thai fighters who don’t have good boxing skills, this can often result in Knockout losses.
This fight between Yodsanklai vs Marat Grigorian showcases the classic matchup of Kickboxing vs Muay Thai in a Kickboxing setting. Check out the full fight below:
Yodsanklai Fairtex vs Marat Grigorian @Kunlun Fight:
Differences in Blocking Kicks
A very noticeable difference between between Kickboxing and Muay Thai is the way fighters block body kicks. Instead of using their legs to absorb the impact of the kick, Kickboxers use their arms to absorb the damage of the kick. While this does a good job of protecting the side of the body from any impact, the arm and elbow take a lot of damage from the kicks.
Repetitive kicks to the arm over time will weaken a fighters punching ability as the fight wears on. Over time a fighter will have less knockout power in the later rounds of the fight.
Yodsanklai exploits this difference against Marat Grigorian, beating his opponent with relative ease. There was no time in the fight where he was in danger from Marat, a fighter who packs a strong punch. (Marat recently Knocked out Aikpracha)
The Basics Win Fights
Since Yodsanklai Fairtex is a southpaw fighter, his left kick is his weapon of choice. He demonstrates that you don’t have to be fancy to win fights, you just have to be effective at what you do. Instead of throwing a variety of flashy kicks, the whole fight he smashes his left kick against his opponent who is unable to block it.
Throughout the entire fight, Yodsanklai uses 3 basic moves that win him the fight: Right Jab, Left Straight, Left Body Kick
No flashing spinning back fists, flying knees, head kicks or anything else. His opponent was not blocking his body kicks, so why would he change something that was working? Even though Yodsanklai has a lot more tools at his disposal, he knew that his opponent had a lot of knockout power in his hands.
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”
Marat’s strategy the entire fight was to come forward with aggressive punches and try and get a knockout win. While this strategy is effective against Thai fighters who lack boxing skills, it is not a winning strategy against Yodsanklai.
Yodsanklai once again showcases why he is the best Thai fighter that is currently fighting foreigners at the higher weight classes. His mix of timing, power and speed make him a tough matchup for anyone, regardless of their fighting style.
